Fire Leaves 12,000 Czech Households Without Phone Lines

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Some 12,000 households and offices were left without phone connection after a fire destroyed a telephone exchange in northeastern Czech Republic, police said Monday.

The fire broke out late on Sunday on the third floor of the Telecom building in Ostrava, 360 kilometers (225 miles) east of Prague, destroying equipment worth some 50 million koruna (US$2 million; euro1.58 million), police spokeswoman Ilona Branzovska said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, she said, adding it would take a month to fully restore the system