# Fire Alarm Telegraph



## Uncle Bob (Aug 16, 2010)

I'm considering submitting this to the ICC as a code change; as a residential fire protection requirement;

*The Fire Alarm Telegraph*:

*The Automatic Central Office is furnished with a battery, lightning arrester, switch-boards, and galvanometers, and is located in an engine house, city hall, police station, or other public building, and is connected by telegraph wires with as many street signal boxes and bell strikers or whistle blowers, and engine-house gongs and indicators, as the size of the city or town may require. *

*It may, if desired, have call bells and registers similar to the manual central office, but its essential feature is the automatic repeater and transmitter, which instantaneously sends out over all circuits, and to every alarm station (box), each signal received from any of the alarm boxes in any part of the system.* 

*It is so arranged that a signal on any circuit is instantly repeated on all others; but if that signal is caused by a break of the wire, the repeater, after sounding one blow on the other circuits, throws the one disabled out of service, leaving the others intact. As soon as the broken circuit is repaired, the repeater automatically takes it into service. The use of this instrument enables us to connect the signal boxes, bell-strikers, gong-strikers, and indicators, directly with each other, on two or more circuits, all the circuits acting and re-acting on each other, without human intervention, at the central office.* 

*It may be properly said that our automatic telegraph WATCHES ITSELF. If a battery becomes too weak to work efficiently, or an intentional or accidental interruption occurs to any part of the wire, **in an instant** notice is given by one blow upon all the alarm bells and gongs, calling **Attention!** to its temporary disabled condition; thus not only keeping watch over the city, but actually watching itself, and guaranteeing reliability every moment.*

*In a complete Automatic System, such as is herein briefly described, any one who discovers a fire, by opening an alarm box and by (pulling the hook down once), can start into life a series of electric and mechanical movements by means of which bells, whistles, and gongs miles apart are instantaneously sounded,** not only alarming firemen and citizens, but announcing to them the locality of the fire**.*

This thing has been tested and used in major cities in the United States of America; as far back as 1873.



http://www.firehallmuseum.org/fire_alarm_telegraph/firealrm.htm 



I think I have a winner,

Uncle Bob


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## FM William Burns (Aug 18, 2010)

Showing your age  

Stiil in use in some places and acceptable in 72.  However, now collectables amongst many in the fire service.


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## That Inspector Guy (Aug 24, 2010)

FM William Burns said:
			
		

> Showing your age   Stiil in use in some places and acceptable in 72.  However, now collectables amongst many in the fire service.


I have 11 boxes of various manufacturers hanging on my garage wall, mostly Gamewells from Philadelphia Pa. and Camden, NJ. Emmaus, Pa. still has an active Gamewell system.

Newark, NJ still has the gong repeaters inside their stations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkVhUZ84Q_I


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## Coug Dad (Aug 24, 2010)

Welcome to the board TIG.


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## Uncle Bob (Aug 24, 2010)

TIG,

Welcome to the forum.  Hope you stay.  Keep in mind that although members disagree on many subjects; we are all in the same boat; pulling together.

Uncle Bob


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## beach (Aug 24, 2010)

The boat might leak a little, and we might throw people to the sharks........ but it beats treading water!

Welcome to the forum, TIG


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