Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2008) -- The city of Wilmington, North Carolina has dispatched firefighters to people's homes to help residents connect their Digital TV converter boxes.

That's according to various news reports, including The Los Angeles Times.

Wilmington on Monday became the first city in the nation to switch to Digital TV signals. But Bloomberg News reports that federal and local offices were jammed with phone calls from residents complaining that they couldn't watch television.

When the switch occurred at noon on Monday, analog sets no longer displayed a picture on local channels; instead a message appeared saying residents must upgrade to digital equipment.

"Our phone lines were lit up for an hour straight between noon and one,"  Thomas Postema, general manager of WSFX, the Wilmington Fox affiliate, told Bloomberg.

Postema said many callers had purchased digital converter boxes, but didn't know how to connect them.

Consequently, the Los Angeles Times reports, federal and city officials have asked Wilmington firefighters to go to people's homes to help out with the converters -- and while they are there -- check out the home's smoke detector.

Assistant Chief Frank Blackley tells the Times that he went to the home of one 79-year-old woman who said she was a "a nervous wreck, just trying to get it (the converter) going." But Blackely said he had her watching The Oprah Winfrey Show in minutes.

On February 17, 2009, all full-powered local stations must switch their analog signals to digital which means viewers will need a Digital TV, a digital converter box or a pay TV subscription to watch television.

Congressional lawmakers and others have raised concerns that many TV viewers will not be ready when the transition occurs. As a test for the nation, Wilmington's local stations agreed to officially switch to digital yesterday, five months early.

Federal officials yesterday said the Wilmington test will help them prepare the nation next February. But an inspector for the Los Angeles County Fire Department said he didn't believe his city could follow Wilmington's Digital TV 'rescue' policy and start connecting converter boxes door-to-door.
 

The Federal Communications Commission said its 'help line' yesterday received "several hundred" calls from Wilmington residents before 6 p.m. on Monday seeking assistance with their sets. The switch occurred on noon on Monday.

The complaints came although over the last few months, local and federal officials have bombarded Wilmington residents with TV commercials and other messages notifying them of the switch and offering tips on how to prepare for it.

Commentary
Firefighters going to people's homes to connect Digital TV converters?

One word: Pathetic.

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Also see: Wilmington Digital TV Switch Upsets Residents