A reported fiber optic line problem has made it impossible for many Broome County residents to directly call their police department.

Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
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Local emergency services officials say the trouble apparently developed early Monday.

Several agencies could not be reached via their seven-digit "non-emergency" phone numbers. Callers to those numbers encountered a busy signal or a recording.

Broome County emergency services dispatchers said people who need the police or other assistance may call 911 to reach the communications center. If their situation does not involve an emergency, they may call the center at (607) 778-1911.

Endicott, Vestal and Port Dickinson police could not be reached using their seven-digit numbers. State police stations at Endwell, Kirkwood and Deposit also had no incoming service to their non-emergency lines.

Other telephone users in the Binghamton area also were encountering problems with service that were believed to be linked to the fiber optic problem.

There was no word as to when the issue would be resolved.

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