Hooksett’s emergency response lines have gone down three times the last few weeks, preventing the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department and Concord 911 dispatch from getting through to Hooksett police.

The town’s service provider, One Communications, said it has fixed the glitch in the system, and the emergency response should now be working properly.

But is it really fixed?

Back in 2006, when the town switched to One Communications from Verizon, the lines were down for three days. Three days! Hooksett calls may have been going to the county during that time, but come on! That’s an awfully long time to be without emergency lines.

The Hooksett police do everything in their power to make the town a safe place to live, but how can they do their jobs if they don’t have working equipment? Switching from Verizon to this telecommunications provider has hurt the emergency response capabilities of Hooksett. One Communications may be a communications company, but it has shown a frightening inability to ensure service when absolutely needed.

Though the town may be locked into a contract with this provider, it should seriously reconsider its choice. This provider may be less expensive, but what is the price for safety?

- Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board.

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