LYME — Several residents were left without internet access for hours, others days, after a communications tower was removed from Lyme’s fire station late last week in preparation for the building’s upcoming demolition.

Outages started Thursday and, for many, lasted until Friday evening, according to Lebanon-based provider WaveComm, which had an antenna on the tower for more than a decade.

As of Sunday night, there were still three customers without service, the company said in a statement Monday morning.

The loss of internet was unexpected for some who said they didn’t receive advance notification from WaveComm or town officials, even though both knew for months that the tower would be removed as part of work to replace Lyme’s aging fire station.

Beatriz Pastor, a Dartmouth college professor and former state representative from Lyme, said she heard about the outages in a Listserv post after the internet had already been knocked out.

Pastor was out of state at the time, but her daughter was home and noticed the internet wasn’t working around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. She said it was “outrageous” that WaveComm didn’t notify customers but also is dismayed the town didn’t let people know either.

“The town should have communicated the removal of the tower to people in Lyme who might have been affected, and somehow they didn’t,” Pastor said in a phone interview on Sunday.

In its statement, WaveComm said employees worked “around the clock” to perform “emergency work” restoring service.

But Lyme officials counter that wouldn’t have been necessary had the company heeded warnings about the tower’s removal.

The town notified WaveComm on Feb. 6 that they should remove equipment from the tower by April 1, according to Dina Cutting, Lyme’s administrative assistant.

Fire Chief Mike Mundy said he also made multiple phone calls and sent emails to the company, which include a conversation about a month ago.

That’s when the town installed a temporary tower that didn’t reach high enough for the internet provider, he said.

The tower is used to dispatch and communicate with emergency services in Lyme but has also hosted space for commercial ventures, according to Mundy.

“Now that it is apparent (WaveComm) did not have a plan, it is obvious (the company) was in denial and squandered the months of advance notice we provided,” Mundy wrote in a Listserv post. “I do wish I saw the writing on the wall sooner to alert everyone.”

WaveComm did not respond to an email Monday seeking comment on Mundy’s message.

Mundy said the demolition of the roughly 50-year-old fire station is scheduled for next week.

Lyme residents voted, 202-6, during Town Meeting to build a new $1.4 million fire station and pay for the $500,000 balance with a seven-year bond.

Regardless of who is responsible for the internet outage, Pastor said, WaveComm responded quickly and had her internet working by 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“I don’t know what happened, who notified who or what, but what I do know is that they responded to the call,” she said. “My experience has been actually pretty reasonable.”

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.