History of Fire Alerting Systems

        The fire alarm telegraph box was invented as early as 1852 in Boston. The telegraph fire alarm box was created soon after the telegraph was invented to be used to alert fire fighters when to respond to an incident. Soon after Boston started using the new systems, other major cities such as Philadelphia, St. Louis, Baltimore, and New York all had telegraph box alarm systems. In the late 1800’s many improvements were made on the systems. Some of the major improvements which were made include a circuit system so that multiple alarms could be sounded simultaneously without scrambling the signal and also mechanisms which made creating the signal easier for operators. After World War II the telephone alarm boxed began to appear, and in the 1950’s and 1960’s the first radio transmitter boxes appeared. With the ease of maintenance of the radio transmitting system over the telegraph alerting system, the old alerting systems became a thing of the past.
            Most modern alerting systems work via radio and internet. In my fire department, a radio signal and information via the internet is sent from the Public Safety Communications center in Prince Georges County to our fir house in College Park. Once the signal is received via radio, the “bells” go off in order to alert responders of the call. Not only do we receive an alarm via radio, but our station also receives a message via the internet with important information about the call. This information is sent to a printer in the firehouse office which automatically prints out a sheet with important information on it. This information includes information life patient information, call back numbers, and more detailed incident locations. The information which is sent over the internet is very useful to responders because they know what to expect before arriving to the scene. A good example of the benefit of this extra information is on a call involving a child. If the EMT’s know that a child is involved on the call they will know to bring the child/pediatric bag out of the ambulance to the patient. One last benefit of the extra information sent to the fire house via the internet is the use of a “pre-alert” system. This system is independent of the radio based alerting and helps firefighters get an early “jump” on calls. At the PSC center, the internet information is actually sent about 30 to 60 seconds before the radio signal is sent out. Our firehouse has a program on a computer which intercepts this signal before it hits the printer. The system is hooked up to the speakers in the firehouse and sends out an early alert which lets us know a call is coming. The computer is also connecter to about 10 scrolling sign boards which scroll important information about a call so that responders can glance at the board while running for a call and know where the call is before they are even in the fire apparatus. The developments in fire alarm alerting systems have been huge and continue to grow. With every advancement in these systems, lives and property can be better served and protected.