Brattleboro Fire Department
103 Elliot Street
Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
(802) 254-4831

A little bit of education.

Have you ever walked down Main Street and wondered how those shiny red boxes marked "FIRE" work? Or how the fire department knows which address to respond to when the alarm box on your local grocery store, restaurant, church or favorite hang out activates? Here's a little bit of basic information about fire alarm boxes for you.

The fire alarm system was first seen in America in the early 1850's using telegraph. In the early days of fire alarms the police used the same technique using telegraph prior to the innovation of radios. By 1890, Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company had their systems installed in 500 cities, with their factory in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts.

So again, how do they work? Well, fire alarm boxes activate one of two ways. The pull handle on the front of the box can trigger the alarm or, if the box is attached to a building with a fire alarm the internal alarm system can activate the box. When the box is activated, a spring tensioned gear turns. Each gear has a series of teeth matching the box number seen on the front of the box. Thus box 14 (Brattleboro Fire Station Two) has a gear with one tooth, a space, then four teeth. As the gear spins, it sends signal 14.

This signal goes through fire alarm cables to Central Station's fire alarm circuit board. This in turn sends a signal to dispatch notifying them of the box number. It also activates the bells inside both fire stations. These bells ring in the box number. Again, box 14 would ring one bell, pause, and four more bells. This series rings four times.

Each box has it's own individual number. This is how the fire department knows where to respond to when the alarm comes in. In the Town of Brattleboro, when a "Street Box" (a box on a telephone pole or pedistal) comes in, this brings a Still Alarm resonse. That is an engine and the rescue truck. When a "Master Box" or a box attached to a building comes in, this brings a First Alarm response consisting of the engine and ladder truck from Central Station and the engine from Station Two.

Why would we need all these trucks if we don't know what caused the alarm? Consider December 4, 2004 when Master Box 2114 rang in early in the morning. Members on the first due engine rounded onto Main Street to find fire coming from several windows on the third floor of the Wilder Block. This box alarm alerted fire fighters early enough to arrive and assist several occupants of the building to safety.

Above: Master Box's attached to buildings
Below: A Street Box on Western Avenue

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Home | Guest Book | Career Staff | Call Staff | Life Members | Stations | Training | Fire Prevention
Juvenille Fire Setters | Dive Team | History | Apparatus | About Brattleboro | Mission Statement

This site and all of it's contents are the property of the Brattleboro Fire Department
and may not be used without express permission from the owners.
Copyright © 2008, All rights reserved