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Safety First
The telephone is one of the safest appliances in your
home or office. There are, however, a few situations
where a telephone user needs to be cautious.
Use Of The Telephone Near Water
The telephone should not be used while you are in a
bathtub, shower or pool. Immersion of the telephone or
handset in water could cause electrical shock.
Use Of The Telephone
During An Electrical Storm
You should avoid using a telephone during an
electrical storm in your immediate area; calls of an
urgent nature should be brief. Although the telephone
industry uses protective measures to limit abnormal
electrical surges from entering your home, absolute
protection is impossible. There is a remote risk of a
dangerous electrical shock from lightning when using
the telephone during a nearby electrical storm.
Use Of The Telephone
To Report A Gas Leak
If you think you have found a gas leak, you should not
use a telephone in the vicinity of the leak until the leak
is repaired. The telephone contains electrical contacts
that could generate a tiny spark when you lift the
handset and dial. While unlikely, it may be possible
for this spark to trigger an explosion if the gas
concentration is high enough.
Use of Coin Telephone –– Warning
You should not use a coin telephone that has been
vandalized. Please inspect the handset to be sure
there are no exposed wires that could cause an
electrical shock. If possible, contact telephone
Repair Service 6-1-1 from another telephone
to report the damaged instrument.
Telephone Use In Emergencies
Emergency Calls Only
After a disaster, especially earthquakes, there is usually
a high volume of telephone calls. It is important that
you limit phone calls to emergencies only. Do not call
“9-1-1” or the police for confirmation of an earthquake.
Listen to your local radio or television station for
information.
Blocking
In cases of extreme congestion of the telephone network,
Ponderosa and/or long distance carriers may institute
blocking. Blocking prevents overloading the system by
diverting some calls to recordings, allowing other calls
to complete.
If you need to place an emergency call:
1. Make sure receivers of all extension phones are
on the switchhook.
2. Stay on the line. You may not hear dial tone
immediately; the delay could be as long as a
minute or more.
3. Do not repeatedly depress the switchhook, as
this will further delay your call.
4. If you receive a “fast busy” or “all circuits are
busy” recording, hang up and try again.
5. If physical damage occurs in our equipment or
facilities or your wiring, it may not be possible to
complete your call.
6. 9-1-1 may be available where there is a
power outage on your landline phone.
Out of Area Contact
It may be easier to call out of the disaster
area during emergencies. Contact a friend
or relative outside the immediate area and
have this person relay messages to your other
friends and relatives outside the disaster area
to reduce calling in and out of the affected area.
Safety