Street fire alarm boxes leaving the Boston area
Departments
DISPATCHES
Boston, Mass., is in the process of phasing out its 1420 fire alarm boxes, from which more than 3/4 of the city’s 10,000 false alarms are turned in each year.
The City of Boston, which covers 47.5 square miles, received a total of 47,000 alarms last year. Of the 10,000 false alarms received, approximately 77 percent came in through the city’s street alarm boxes. These false alarms cost the city an estimated $700 in lost fuel and equipment wear, said Boston’s Fire Commissioner George Paul in a Boston Globe report.
Of the structural fires, only about 2.5 percent were reported through the alarm boxes. The majority of alarms are called in by direct telephone or the 911 emergency number. Paul said that there is less tendency to call in false alarms by telephone.
When the alarm boxes are completely dismantled around 1990, all fires will be reported by calling either 911 or the fire department.
Boston’s phone company is installing public telephones that do not require a coin to call emergency numbers. A fire department spokesman said that some voice alarm boxes will b maintained in key location throughout the city.
Last year, an NFPA survey was compiled of 43 major United States cities that either had or still have street alarm boxes. The survey showed that 20 cities completely removed their alarm boxes while 23 still maintain box systems.
