FRANKLIN—Franklin’s 911 system took a hit Thursday afternoon when construction workers cut a fiber-optic line.

For a little less than an hour, the city’s 911 service was unavailable except by cell phones. All callers still could reach emergency dispatchers by calling the fire and rescue administrative lines, though.

According to Capt. Timothy S. Dunn, the city’s public information officer, Verizon Communications contacted the city’s emergency communications center at about 2:30 p.m. to warn officials that the line had been cut by digging equipment.

By 3:20 p.m., the company had patched the 911 lines into the fire and rescue administrative phone lines, meaning that callers in the city’s homes and businesses could reach 911 on their “land lines.”

Late Thursday afternoon, arrangements were being made for permanent repairs to the broken cable, Dunn said in a press release.