Brockton housing complex without phone service for weeks

BROCKTON, Mass. — Phone lines went dead for residents at Caffrey Towers in Brockton two weeks ago, and many stayed disconnected until last night.

Mnay of the building's 318 residents are elderly or disabled or were unable to contact emergency services, if needed.

"Two weeks is a little bit too long considering it wasn't a major storm. It wasn't an act of God. It was an act of man. That's unacceptable," resident Carol Robert told FOX25.

The executive director of the Brockton Housing Authority told FOX25 he was told that a manhole outside a nearby McDonald's restaurant flooded, causing Verizon's phone lines to short out at Caffrey Towers.

"We are on a priority list, and they do service us well. I do think they did take this as a priority," executive director Thomas Thibeault said.

But for some residents, two weeks without a phone was too long, especially since many residents are without cell phones and need to be able to call 911.

While FOX25 was at Caffrey Towers, an ambulance responded to an emergency involving an elderly resident.

"If someone is elderly, the instances of needing 911 services are higher, and that's where the concern is. Can they reach out quickly?" Robert said.

Verizon issued the following statement.

"The cable under Crescent Street in Brockton was damaged on or about Wednesday May 11 which affected some customers in Caffrey Tower. Over the past week, when an impacted customer from the Tower reported an issue to us, we troubleshot, and if necessary transferred their service over to another cable to get them back up and running. My understanding is all customers are back in service and repairs were made throughout the week in the order in which troubles were reported."

Cox Media Group