WELCOME TO
FIRE Safety Through The Decades:
Borough of Naugatuck Fire Alarm History
PUBLISHED, May 12th 2023
Written By:
Deputy Fire Chief
Ken Hanks
We take for granted that calling 911 from a landline or cell phone will connect us to the fire department. It wasn't that long ago when cell phones did not exist and home phones were a luxury that calling the fire department required someone to run down the street to a red box on a utility pole, open a small door and push a lever to sound an alarm. The fire department would only know someone at that location needed help, it could be a fire, vehicle collision or medical emergency; the alarm box sent no other information. These systems have been mostly replaced due to the proliferation of cell phones today.
What is that Thing? A telegraph fire alarm system!
Entering the lobby of the Naugatuck Fire Department administrative offices you immediately see a large slate panel in an oak frame. The panel is full of switches, knobs, meters and light bulb fixtures. The most common question is “what is that thing?” It is the control panel for the telegraph fire alarm system that operated in Naugatuck for nearly 100 years from 1895 to 1991. The imposing panel controlled the charging of the batteries that powered the system among other operating tasks.
Box Alarms
These systems are called telegraph box alarms and were manufactured by the Gamewell Fire Alarm Company. Telegraph box alarms replaced fire watches and patrols in larger cities and the ringing of church bells to alert people of a fire. The first telegraph fire alarms went into service in 1852. Gamewell Fire Alarms formed in 1879 and dominated the fire alarm business for many years. Gamewell is now a subsidiary of Honeywell.
Telegraph Alarm Boxes
The fire department had a rack of metal cards with the box locations and the route to travel to get to the location. A ticker tape machine would punch holes in a tape that corresponded to the box number. Many times a fire engine would be leaving the fire station as the last round of bells sounded.
Once on scene the fire department would check on the reason for the alarm and take appropriate action. If it was a false alarm the fire officer would sound two blasts on the whistle from a switch inside the box. If the alarm repeated it meant there was a fire and additional help was needed.
During this time Naugatuck had a very active volunteer fire department and many of the shops in town would let workers who were volunteer firefighters leave in the event of a fire. It also called back off duty full time firefighters
This mechanical repeater (L) would send the alarm signals from the fire boxes to the downtown steam whistle and the bells (R), lights and ticker tape machines in the fire stations.
More than just Fires
The Naugatuck box alarm system was used for two important functions in towns. The system was tested every night at 8:00PM. For the test a firefighter would manually activate the bells in the station and the steam whistle. Growing up here in the 1960s and 1970s the loud whistle at 8:00 PM meant it was time for the younger kids to head home. During the winter if there was snow overnight 10 blasts of the alarm whistle at 7:00 AM meant no school.
End of an Era
A decision was made in 1990 to take the box alarms out of service. The fire station on Maple Street, which housed the system, was scheduled for a major renovation. The box alarm system required constant upkeep and maintenance and its use was declining. The last year the box alarms were in service the fire department received 100 alarms, only one was a fire, and it was also reported by telephone. The control board and related hardware stayed in a room in the fire station where it had been installed in 1909. The boxes were removed from the poles and auctioned off.
If you would like to add an event, community news, or would like to promote your business on Destination Naugatuck please click here!
