On Sunday June 1, 2003 at approximately 12:30AM, the Monroe Fire Dept. was notified of a serious problem affecting the phone lines in Orange County. The telephony problem resulted in residents of the Monroe Fire Protection District and the entire Orange County unable to place calls to the 911 center. Monroe FD Chief Pat Kasch immediately requested firefighters to standby at the firehouse. Firefighters manned the firehouse in case a resident reported an emergency to the firehouse and also worked with Monroe Police Department to patrol the Village and Town of Monroe. Firefighters remained on Standby until 10am Sunday morning.

The following is a quote from the Time Herald Record Newspaper article "First, a fuse blew. Then, a generator failed and the backup batteries died. Before it was over, 96,000 Frontier Communications customers – as well as Orange County's entire 911 system – found themselves lost in a communication breakdown early yesterday morning. Long-distance and regular phone service was disrupted from Central Valley to Pine Bush, including three exchanges in Dutchess County. But more serious than that, 341,000 residents spent six hours without 911 service as a hard rain fell on Orange County yesterday morning. To compensate for the blackout, County Executive Edward Diana asked all police, fire and emergency medical service agencies to beef up patrols and man usually vacant firehouses and ambulance garages. Meanwhile, county dispatchers resorted to cell phones and handheld radios to keep contact with personnel on the road."... To see the newspaper article go to Newspaper Article.