On this episode of What the Tech we take a look at one of Boston's oldest and most visible pieces of street tech with a visit to Fire Alarm and some on the street interaction with a Fire Alarm Box
i remember pulling a city fire alarm to report a laundromat fire in Bosyon & was very impressed with the fire department arriving within 5 minutes. i have been an emt on a rescue squad in rural virginia. We easily traveled 15-20 minutes to farm fires. For fires in VA, fire, rescue, & law enforcement are required to respond.
That actually was a pretty lame "What the Tech" There's so much more to how these things work. From the coded wheel for EACH box, and how it is decoded at the Fire Alarm center. How it used to "Tap out" a series of punches on a ticker-tape strip, tap-out the actual bell and gong strikes at each fire station--corresponding with the box number. Also, that the chiefs could open up the inner door to the box, and inside, there's a Morse Code key, so that the chief could communicate back to the fire alarm building in Morse Code.
