BRATTLEBORO-In the predawn hours of Nov. 7, a fire tore through the abandoned remains of the former Sportsmen's Lounge on Canal Street.
The incident quickly gained attention for more than the dramatic photos and videos of the burning building circulating on social media,as the blaze disrupted electricity, internet, and landline telephone service, leaving residents and businesses experiencing the stark reality of disconnection in an increasingly connected world.
"It actually burnt the power line off and melted all the communication lines that ran above it as well," said Fire Chief Leonard Howard III.
Restoring electricity took priority.
Despite the damage, Green Mountain Power (GMP) was able to restore power to most of the 1,400 affected customers by 6:40 a.m., thanks to a feeder backup system that rerouted electricity from other parts of the grid.
By late morning, GMP crews "came in, started taking the old lines down, and strung up the new lines," Howard recalled. Power was fully restored just before noon.
Multiple companies were faced with repairing the fiber optic cable network that provides continuous high-speed connections for many customers throughout what became a day without internet.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 77% of the approximately 5,600 households in the Brattleboro region have a broadband internet connection, including 1,900 customers of Consolidated Communications who were affected by the outage.
A number of Xfinity and Comcast Business customers were also affected well into the evening.
"We don't give out data about customer numbers," said Elizabeth Walden, director of public relations for Comcast's New England region.
For businesses, 'it was a mess'
For local businesses, which increasingly rely on the internet not only for web access but for digital telephone services, credit card transactions, cloud computing, and remote videoconferencing, the uncertainty of internet access made for a chaotic morning. Many shop owners arrived to find their Wi-Fi routers useless.
Nicole Chase, owner of Twice Upon a Time, decided early on to close for the day. "My credit card machine requires the internet, and my point-of-sale system is cloud-based," she said. "So I just shut down."
As a Comcast customer, Chase received an email warning that the internet wouldn't be restored until 4 or 5 p.m. "That's most of my business day," she added.
"School was out. The grocery store was out. Everywhere was out. It was a mess," said Cindi Krug, Chase's sister, and the store's manager and onsite IT specialist.
As customers of both Fidium and Consolidated Communications, the Brattleboro Food Co-op relies heavily on the Internet for its daily operations.
"We were lucky; we made it through most of the day," said Caz Clark, the grocery store's safety and outreach manager, but by 3 p.m., "it all shut down."
"Luckily, our ATM has a mobile connection, so it doesn't rely on the internet," Clark said, noting that with multiple providers, "there were different parts of our store that were non-functional at various times."
A digital oasis: the library
Amid widespread outages, word quickly spread of an oasis with an intact connection: Brooks Memorial Library.
"We were a little pressed for places for people to sit," recalled Matthew Wojcik, electronic services specialist. "Our internet was up and fast - we even had folks accessing it from out front."
Wojcik noted that the library's "business-class fiber connection from Consolidated Communications" remained operational throughout the day, providing a crucial service to the community in a time of need.
The library offers a community connection with public computers and wireless internet connectivity not just during emergencies, but daily.
"Conservatively, my math says we average about 340 Wi-Fi sessions a day," Wojcik said. "Even on Sundays, when the library is closed, I've seen people outside with laptops using our Wi-Fi, which is great - we intentionally leave it on."
For those who found a spot in the library, the flow of information remained uninterrupted, whether through communication, entertainment, or access to a vast array of online resources.
"The Internet is essential to conduct business or simply navigate daily life, and the library is an essential utility, providing access for all," said Director Starr LaTronica.
Painstaking repairs
Meanwhile, on the scene, fiber optic crews were hard at work, carefully splicing together new lines.
Howard reported that the crews worked into the early morning hours, leaving around 4 a.m.
"They brought in these big vans where they literally put the lines inside and fused them back together," the fire chief said. "Then they had to splice all the lines, which is very time-consuming."
The lines running along Canal Street handle a substantial volume of traffic, making the repair process especially labor-intensive.
"Fiber optic cable consists of extremely thin strands of glass, each capable of carrying data for multiple customers," explained Wojcik.
"When it's part of the trunk line, each strand can carry data to many neighborhoods," he continued. "From there, it branches out, with individual strands connecting to each residence."
'A lot more vulnerable'
By Friday morning, the flow of electricity and digital data through the town's communications infrastructure had returned to normalcy.
The disruptions highlighted just how deeply embedded the internet has become for individuals and professionals.
It's no longer just the computer pros who talk about just how critical - and imperfect - these invisible connections truly are.
A day without internet can now be a topic of discussion in the barber shop.
"People can do a lot more with the internet these days," said Michael, a patron at Gene's Barber Shop on Elliot Street. "But that also means we're a lot more vulnerable when something like this happens."
This News item by Devan Monette was written for The Commons.