Patrick_A_Townson@cup.portal.COM (05/08/88)
A fire Sunday, May 8 caused severe damage at the Illinois Bell switching
center in Hinsdale, IL. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago. As of
this posting (11:00 PM Central time) the entire center is off-line, and
nearly one hundred thousand subscribers in the west suburban area served
from the Hinsdale office are without phone service. There is no estimate
at this time as to when service to the affected communities will be
restored.
The Hinsdale office is also responsible for communications relating to air
traffic control between Midway and Ohare Airports in Chicago and the FAA
Center in Aurora, IL. Consequently, voice communications between control
locations which depended on landline phones has been severely disrupted.
Many airlines whose reservation systems are located in other cities also
have foreign exchange service through the Hinsdale office, and this has
been halted.
The fire was struck about an hour after it started, but damage estimates
are not yet available, nor specific plans made for the restoration of
service to the affected area.
Another update will be posted as soon as I have specifics. You can hear
more precise reports by calling the internal employee newsline at the
General Headquarters Building --
The Illinois Bell Communicator - 312-368-8000
Calls to the affected area at the present time are being intercepted with
a recording 'all circuits are busy now'.