Cayuga County residents should continue to dial 911 for emergencies despite a telephone outage reported by Sheriff Brian Schenck in a notice sent at about 8:14 a.m. Friday. The status of the county's phone lines could not be independently confirmed late Friday morning.
At the time of the notice, emergency calls were being answered by a dispatcher in Seneca County. That dispatcher could forward a call to a cellphone at Cayuga County's 911 center or relay the information so Cayuga dispatchers could send the appropriate responders, Schenck said.
For nonemergency calls during the outage, the sheriff listed four numbers that were reaching the Cayuga County center directly: 315-253-4274, 315-253-4639, 315-253-4549 and 315-253-4761.
Schenck said all of the center's 911 and administrative telephone lines were down when he sent the notice at about 8:14 a.m. Friday. Verizon had been aware of the loss of service since Thursday evening and was assigning a technician to fix the problem, he said.
The notice did not provide an estimated repair time. Schenck directed requests for additional information to Cayuga County 911 Director Ben Guzalak.
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