Phone Service Outage in Hastings County

Approaching noon on Thursday February 16, 2012  I received a phone call from the Emergency Planning Coordinator for Hastings County informing me that there was a situation in which phone and related communication services were inoperable north of Belleville in the County of Hastings. I was advised that there was no fire service coverage for two isolated communities, one in the centre and one in the extreme north of Hastings County. We (A.R.E.S.) were able to send an amateur radio operator to each of the two communities, as well as set up a 2-meter radio station at a fire hall in the centre (Eldorado) of the county. We were able to establish radio communication with the two isolated communities, as well as my location in the City of Belleville through the radio station at the fire hall in Eldorado. I was able to pass information to and from the Hastings County emergency management team. In mid-afternoon our network was joined by amateur radio operators at the Belleville Red Cross building.
Later in the afternoon, amateur radio operators from Belleville and Marmora, as well as the Tweed area, where dispatched to establish that there was communication from the local nursing homes and retirement residences to emergency services.
At 10:00 p.m. I received word from the Emergency Planning Coordinator for Hastings County that communication had been reestablished with the north and central areas of Hastings County. At that time I informed the active amateur radio operators, as well as those who were standing by in the areas around the municipalities of Kingston and Perth, that they could stand down. Matthew Dwight, VE3OCC,  who had driven from Picton to Bolter, a distance of 350 km. (return), was released from his operating position at that time.  He arrived back home in Picton after one o'clock a.m.
Google map link:  http://g.co/maps/3c52v
There was no "life and death" traffic that we were required to pass on, but we were able to play a role in keeping the county's emergency management team up-to-date with situations at isolated areas of the county as the event progressed.

Bill Milligan, District Emergency Coordinator, A.R.E.S. Loyalist District .