A History of the Fire Alarm
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America's earliest alarm system used the rattles and bells of night watchmen to alert townspeople. As cities grew, bell and lantern systems (such as Philadelphia's famous Liberty bell) were installed in public buildings. The first telegraph fire alarm system was developed by William Francis Channing and Moses G. Farmer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852. Two years later they applied for a patent for their "Electromagnetic Fire Alarm Telegraph for Cities". In 1855 John Gamewell of South Carolina purchased regional rights to market the fire alarm telegraph, later obtaining the patents and full rights to the system in 1859. |
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John F. Kennard bought the patents from the government after they were seized after the Civil War, returned them to Gamewell, and formed a partnership, Kennard and Co., in 1867 to manufacture the alarm systems. The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Co. was later formed in 1879. Gamewell systems were installed in 250 cities by 1886 and 500 cities by 1890. By 1910 Gamewell had gained a 95% market share. The telegraph system was essentially fully developed by about 1900, and served unchallenged until the 1950s. Telegraph systems were extremely reliable but were costly to install and intimidating for many citizens to operate. People preferred to call in fires on the telephone. The simplicity of telegraph alarm boxes and their associated networks meant that they were able to operate under conditions (such as a lengthy or widespread power outage, a natural disaster, or any emergency causing many people to attempt to contact others simultaneously) that may disrupt or disable other communication systems such as landline phones, cellular phones, and emergency services' radio systems. |
| In the later years of their use and proliferation, some fireboxes were designed with special devices and other functions in place in an attempt to curb the nuisance of false alarms. Some of these included an "ear-shattering" wail that would cause discomfort (and possible hearing loss) to someone activating the box, while others would handcuff a detachable part of the device to the person triggering the alarm so that responding police and fire officials (who possessed the key for release) could more easily identify and contact the individual responsible for the activated alarm. |  |
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By the 1960s fire departments began to install telephone systems capable of handling a large number of calls, and radio systems were also installed to communicate with individual firehouses and with fire officers at the scene of a fire. Computers and advanced telephony devices made it possible to install computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) systems using a universal number - 911. Today alarm systems allow dispatchers to send equipment, provide emergency medical advice, and control many firefighting teams in an extremely efficient manner. Despite these advances, a number of departments have kept their reliable, independently powered telegraph systems in use as reserves in the event of a power or telephone failure.
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