Loren Velthamp of Chanhassen, Minnesota, dialled 911 on his Voice over IP connection when he noticed the blaze and was stunned when he was put on hold.
Fire department officials said that by the time fire crews arrived on the scene, the fire had become a major incident and the house was toast.
It is the latest in a string of incidents where VoIP providers have been slammed for their lacklustre emergency service cover.
To be fair they didn't want to provide one in the first place and only did so because the FCC ordered them to do it.
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