Verizon’s 9-1-1 bungle nearly cost woman her life as home burned to ground [video]

By on Feb 24, 2011 at 4:23 PM
General February 24, 2011

It turns out Verizon Wireless may be in more hot water as a result of the 10,000 emergency 9-1-1 calls the carrier dropped during a blizzard last month. The Federal Communications Commission recently called for an investigation into the massive network failure that left thousands of Maryland residents with no way to reach police and other emergency services. One such resident was 94-year-old Carmela D’Antuono, whose house caught fire when nearby transformers exploded during the snowstorm. D’Antuono, who was trapped inside her home as it burned, was rescued by neighbors who took matters into their own hands when police and fire fighters could not be reached. “It was scary. It makes you think when a disaster like this happens. I know that was a pretty scary night. There were a lot of things going on, but it makes you want to hope that you can get a hold of help when you really need it,” one of D’Antuono’s neighbors said. Hit the break for video report from a local Fox affiliate.

[Via The Droid Guy]

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  • Geri O

    Wow, Eliseo, that’s how you stick to the topic. Right on, Dude.

    Eloquent, four-letter-word-rich, and change for a quarter.

    Geri O

  • Anonymous

    Can you hear me now? I’m on F&CKING FIRE!!!!!!!

  • Nick

    The 911 trunks that were turned down belonged to Verizon Core, not Verizon Wireless. Bit of a difference there. May want to get your facts straight and reread the pdf from the first article.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JQSHYDSMCJFGNLQ734P7XXLK7M p

    RUN to the nearest fire pullbox! Errrrrr, where did those all dissapear to?

  • Chut Pata

    Again. If Verizon was down, why did AT&T, Sprint, T-Mo, or other carriers picked it up? The last time I was in Copperhill, Tennessee with a T-Mo, there was no signal. However a 911 call was picked by Verizon as only Verizon had coverage there. Before that I was on Sprint and it did not work in certain part of Georgia, however a 911 was picked by other carriers. Isn’t this the law?

  • Casual Observer

    You should hear yourselves. Silent.

  • roebling

    Doesn’t Verizon’s CDMA technology enable more conversations in less bandwidth than other cellular technologies? Seems like no one could begrudge V. for that… Oh, and isn’t V. the only company that markets cellular phones that can operate on both their CDMA network and their competitor’s GSM network? Hmmm, and Big V. subsidizes those dual-mode phones for their subscribers, too, don’t they?
    No, I’m not a Verizon subscriber myself, I’m a T-Mobile fan, but I sure as hell do admire the folks at the V.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VHIEQAORAK4LYRVEUUW5GFTHWA Gray Trash

    “Burned to the ground”??!!?!? What is that house standing there? Bricks don’t burn, so it might have burned up, but it didn’t burn down. I’m just sayin…

  • Anonymous

    It is a shame that so many people follow blog postings to determine which carrier they should use for vital communication. Is it possible that alot of the complaints regarding AT&T are actually generated by Verizon employees? Could be.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SQ7NDZ4L4D2CBBTLDHXESNHOW4 Sal Menella

    Who is STUPID enough to count on a CELL PHONE in an emergency?

  • Anonymous

    Yup Verizon cannot be trusted.Pay as You go Virgin Phone has never has failed me. No frills no fancies just a simple phone for a simple guy. Seems like the more apps and bells and whistles they put in the less trustworthy the phone gets

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