No answer at 911

[Commentary] One effect of the post-derecho uproar over power outages three weeks ago was to divert attention from an equally serious infrastructure meltdown: the collapse of emergency 911 service in most of Northern Virginia.

Following the violent storm on June 29, some 2.3 million people lost access, for at least seven hours, to the nation’s most widely recognized telephone number, which in Northern Virginia is administered by Verizon; for some of them, it was not restored for several days. Incredibly, the lesson for Northern Virginians was that they can rely on emergency 911 service — except in an actual widespread emergency, when a critical mass of people need it most. As one official told us, “It was like the Titanic sinking and nobody rang the bell.” The 911 breakdown seems inexplicable; it is certainly inexcusable. Simultaneous investigations are now underway at the Federal Communications Commission, Virginia’s utility-regulating State Corporation Commission and the Metropolitan Council of Governments. Verizon, which is conducting its own inquiry, owes the public as well as the regulators some answers.