telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (05/08/89)
As Mother's Day approaches, one cannot help but be reminded of flowers, and fires, and telephones that work. Last year, the national center for FTD operations, which is located in Du Page County, Illinois, processed more than one million orders for Mother's Day flowers in the week before May 8. Then on Sunday, May 8, 1988 -- Mother's Day -- amidst a record volume of phone traffic even for that special day each year came what has come to be known as 'the world's worst telecommunications disaster' when fire struck Illinois Bell's 'Hinsdale Superswitcher'. Not being able to get the bills out to the florists for the Mother's Day flowers for several weeks caused much financial stress, but had the fire occurred a week earlier, with 250,000 orders in the FTD computer at any one time, the confusion would have been even worse. Imagine all the mothers who would have 'been certain' that their kids had forgotten all about them. Even the lost phone calls that Sunday afternoon a year ago left more than a few mothers miffed until word began spreading around the world -- just hours later -- of the terrible tragedy which had struck. It was shortly after 4 PM on that Sunday a year ago that an electrical fire started in the two-story, red brick building building in Hinsdale -- a building which looks like a thousand other phone company buildings across the United States. Neither Illinois Bell, long distance carriers, state or local officials would know for more than a day the extent of the damage. The 10 PM news on television that Sunday night showed the fire in progress, but had very little to say. The Monday papers printed a few paragraphs, but no one -- not even the employees at Hinsdale -- had any grasp of the extreme amount of damage they would find when they were permitted by the Fire Department to re-enter the building for the first time about 4:00 AM Monday morning; nearly twelve hours after the fire started. Miles of melted optic fiber; circuit boards twisted into bizarre shapes from the intense heat; extensive water damage to the main switch, with corrosion already starting; the offices totally gutted leaving not a single printed document to be used for reference in the days ahead. And where to begin restoring service? Not only did Hinsdale provide local phone service to several communities west of Chicago, but it provided cellular phone service for all of area 312. It was a long distance hub for all of northern Illinois. It also was the center for all communications traffic between the air traffic controllers at Ohare Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration control center in Aurora -- with links to Midway Airport as well. The first order of business was to restore the air controller's links, and these were back in service by late Monday evening; a few hours after workers were able to get into the building. Next came police, fire and other such emergency services throughout the west suburban area. By mid-day Tuesday, all police and fire departments in the area had at least one or two working phone lines. Then came area hospitals and other local government, again with just a phone or two. Cellular service, along with pagers were back in service Wednesday. Emergency phone service, in the form of trailers set up in various parts of the region were available beginning Thursday. There were *so many* vital emergency restorations all going on at once! Long distance phone service was re-routed around Hinsdale for nearly two weeks. Some local phone service became available about two weeks after the fire, and by a month later in early June, 85 percent of the restoration was finished. Was there anyone who did not at least have some inconvenience due to the fire? The most immediate impact was on business places with local service in the area who relied heavily on their phone service. Some of those companies shut down for three weeks. A few went out of business entirely. Calls between Chicago and the western suburbs were delayed or impossible to complete for at least a week after the fire. Of course, calls to Hinsdale were impossible for most of the month. James Eibel, vice president of operations for Illinois Bell pointed out, "We have had two fires in 104 years. I will never say never, but we have done everything possible to see that such a tragedy never occurs again." Eibel noted that an $80 million, five year plan to redesign its entire hub system in northern Illinois is underway, and on schedule. The new arrangement, when complete, will have each of the more than 100 phone offices here connected in parallel with at least one other office, any of which will be able to handle all the traffic from any office which shuts down for whatever reason. Illinois Bell has repeatedly declined to give cost estimates on the entire impact of the fire. But besides the $80 million redesign plan, new equipment was required at Hinsdale, which has been estimated at $20 million by telecom experts. And industry analysts claim that the company lost about $1 million per day in business during the period. "Illinois Bell believes this is the cost of doing business," Eibel said in an interview. "We foresee no rate increase at this time. After all, the company's capital investment budget is $600 million per year, and the $80 million in five years during the implementation of the new design can easily be worked in." Eibel also pointed out that the previously unmanned switching centers are now staffed around the clock, and that specialized training has been going on for some time. Other telcos have noted the 'Hinsdale experience' and changed their thinking on many disaster related issues also. "We did not ask to be placed in this position, but now we plan on being the leader in all areas. We are leading a change in the philosophy and attitudes held by many telcos. I can't afford to sit back and let someone else do it in the future. We are firmly committed to never again having something like this happen," concluded Eibel. Never again? Those are strong words. But if any good at all has come from the Hinsdale disaster a year ago this week, it is that Illinois Bell's telephone network is becoming stronger and more secure than ever against natural disasters of the sort that shook everyone with a rude awakening on May 8, 1988. Hey, New York Tel/PacBell/Southwestern Bell, et al -- are you reading this? You *do* remember Hinsdale, don't you? Patrick Townson
940se@mather1.af.mil (Pete Brown) (05/08/89)
Patrick, Thanks for the Hinsdale history... I first enjoyed reading the Telecom Digest shortly after the fire, and never quite figured out what had happened. By the time I understood archives, it was forgotten! Thanks for all your efforts which make the Digest so interesting and informative! POB [Moderator's Note: Thank you for the kind words. PT]
royc@uunet.uu.net (roy crabtree) (05/10/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0157m02@vector.dallas.tx.us>, telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) writes: > As Mother's Day approaches, one cannot help but be reminded of flowers, > and fires, and telephones that work. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mrph. [elided] > be known as 'the world's worst telecommunications disaster' when fire struck ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ .... yet. [elided] > nearly twelve hours after the fire started. Miles of melted optic fiber; > circuit boards twisted into bizarre shapes from the intense heat; extensive > water damage to the main switch, with corrosion already starting; the > offices totally gutted leaving not a single printed document to be used > for reference in the days ahead. Does anyone even remember the Manhattan Midtown fire (42nd Street, was it?), of a somewhat smaller long distance service nature, but around 500,000 subscriber lines wre fried? I seem to recall essential service online within 18 hours, plus 85% service restoral in two-three weeks .... ... and they complete rebuilt the central office from scratch ... [elided] > Never again? Those are strong words. But if any good at all has come from > the Hinsdale disaster a year ago this week, it is that Illinois Bell's > telephone network is becoming stronger and more secure than ever against > natural disasters of the sort that shook everyone with a rude awakening > on May 8, 1988. Hey, New York Tel/PacBell/Southwestern Bell, et al -- are > you reading this? You *do* remember Hinsdale, don't you? But of course reliable service costs too much, right? So who wanted to authorize the rate structure to _pay_ duplicate routing? Since it was almost there anyway, under the old single hierarchy provided by Ma Bell (with some exception in congested areas). If you want to cry, take a look at some of the traffic analysis plans for disaster recovery provided back in the old step by step days: they actually coul do the job faster than Hinsdale was done. But the cost was: $$$ for the facilities, adequate space for the equipment, and planning 5-15 years ahead in outside plant cable layout. Say, patrick, is anyone out there doing this type of stuff for the nation as a whole anymore ??? roy a. crabtree uunet!ami!royc 201-566-8584