It's apparently not enough for Verizon to torment customers with unreliable FiOS TV connections, months-long installation ordeals, and an appointment-keeping record worthy of Maryland's regulatory wrath.
Now they're setting a house ablaze and causing a neighborhood power outage in Needham, Mass., a suburb of Boston.
(Update: Be sure to see the note below from Verizon, which contends that the initial report of a fire was erroneous.)
(Update 2: And then read this, which calls into question the first update ... or, more precisely, calls it a crock.)
I had promised myself to leave Verizon alone today - honestly, it was an actual conscious thought - but then an e-mail pointing to this story popped into my in-box.
A small electrical fire at a Pine Grove Street home Wednesday, Aug. 8 - accidentally caused by a Verizon employee - forced the Fire Department to shut down power to several nearby homes.
"I noticed my TV was flickering off and on, something was wrong," said Thelma Papetti, who lives next door to the fire at 60 Pine Grove St. "Then the fire trucks came."
Was it actually necessary to describe the starting of the fire as accidental? ... I suppose so.
Needham Deputy Fire Chief Al Deiulio tells me that the Verizon technician "was drilling on the outside of the house when he hit an electrical main" and started the fire.
"He's lucky he's not dead," says Deiulio.
Electrical service to the house and a number of nearby homes had to be shut off while firemen attacked the blaze.
Here's the good news, though: The power company got the lights back on for neighbors in short order, damage to the house was minor, and its residents were expected to be able to return within a few days.
There was no word as to whether or not they'll have phone service when they get there.
(Update: Had the Needham firefighters not been so on top of their game, it's nice to know that Verizon has a Disaster Recovery Team standing by for true calamities. Just stumbled on this EE Times story.)
(Update 2: The Consumerist, which of late has been beating Verizon like a rented phone company, wasn't about to let the fire story slip by unnoted.)
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No fire in Needham
I'm in the press office for Verizon. Unfortunately, this story differs quite a bit from the version of the Verizon staffers on the scene. Here it is: One of our new techs was installing a triple play at a Needham home (they're selling like hotcakes, btw). When drilling a hole for the Optical Network Terminal, he accidentally hit an electrical wire, knocking out power to the house. Our bad, but no smoke, and no fire. Out of an overabundance of caution (always a good thing)the local fire department was called. The FD cut a hole in side of house where the drilling took place to expose the area and check for a fire. There was none. An electrician and power utility restored power shortly thereafter. And, the same tech came back and finished the install. Verizon is paying for any repairs to the house. We are calling the local paper to give them the string of events. BTW, nice of you to point readers to the EE Times article about Verizon Business' Disaster Recovery mobile unit, which is pressed into action after regionwide natural disasters, not accidental, individual instances such as this.
Uh, tell that to the Needham Fire Department ...
... which begs to differ with the Verizon public relations professional. Here's the money quote: "If there's flames, there's fire."
And the 50 people who saw the smoke ...
You can find another eye-witness account at the bottom of this update.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18392
Wrong time to plug
I realize that your job is to spin things for Verizon, but I find your writing of a shameless plug for a 'triple play' while adumbrating your company's carelessness is pretty reprehensible.