Blaze knocks out TV, Internet service

The fire near the airport chars cables and injures a man

By Alan Yonan Jr.

~~<p>It's not unusual for the Honolulu Fire Department to respond to fires at homeless encampments, HFD officials say. But Tuesday's early morning blaze under a freeway viaduct near Honolulu Airport marked the first time such a fire damaged telecomunications cables, cutting off telephone, Internet or cable TV service to about 25,000 homes and businesses.</p>
<p>The fiber-optic cables owned by Hawaiian Telcom and Oceanic Time Warner were charred by flames and intense heat from the fire that started at 1 a.m. and took 90 minutes to extinguish, said Capt. Terry Seelig, HFD spokesman.</p>
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It's not unusual for the Honolulu Fire Department to respond to fires at homeless encampments, HFD officials say. But Tuesday's early morning blaze under a freeway viaduct near Honolulu Airport marked the first time such a fire damaged telecomunications cables, cutting off telephone, Internet or cable TV service to about 25,000 homes and businesses.

The fiber-optic cables owned by Hawaiian Telcom and Oceanic Time Warner were charred by flames and intense heat from the fire that started at 1 a.m. and took 90 minutes to extinguish, said Capt. Terry Seelig, HFD spokesman. Login for more...