Fire leaves hundreds without phone service
WINTERHAVEN – A national telecommunications company is working to restores services to hundreds of customers after a fire destroyed its central network hub site in the 500 block of Second Street Thursday afternoon.
Mike Wanta, associate manager of communications for Madison, Wis.based TDS Telecom, said Friday 78 local customers were without internet and 523 customers were without phone services due to the fire.
According to Imperial County Fire Department Battalion Chief Danny Stauf, firefighters from the nearby Station 8 were on scene in moments, and when they arrived they found smoke coming from the roof and from underneath the doors.
Stauf said firefighters immediately made entry into the building in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but could not do so because it was in the ceiling.
Firefighters pulled back out of the building and called for mutual assistance, with the Yuma Fire Department, Rural Metro, the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Fire Department and the Holtville Fire Department all responding.
Additional units from the Imperial County
Fire Department also responded, including its hazmat unit, due to there being 27 batteries inside the building. When firefighters from the hazmat team were finally able to go into the building they found the batteries were undamaged.
“There was no hazard, everything was deemed safe,” Stauf said.
Firefighters remained on scene after putting out the fire to make sure it did not flare back up.
There were no reports of any injuries and the two employees who were in the building at the time of the fire were able to get out safely.
TDS said once a full damage assessment has been completed, it will have an estimated timeframe for restoration of services. In the meantime, updates will be shared with the communities affected.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to understand the full impact of the damage the fire has caused,” said Drew Petersen, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs for TDS. “We would like to thank the fire crews from the Yuma Fire Department, Rural Metro Fire Department, and the Holtville Fire Department for responding quickly and safely handling the fire.”