Gamewell Fire Alarm Call Box

A fire alarm box is a device used to notify a fire department or district of a fire or a fire alarm activation. These boxes are typically installed on street corners; if you are from or visited Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, or San Francisco, you have seen these boxes on some street corners; or on the outside of commercial buildings in urban areas.They were the main means of summoning firefighters before the general availability of telephones. When the box is activated by turning a knob or pulling a hook, a spring-loaded wheel turns, tapping out a pulsed electrical signal corresponding to the box's number. A receiver at the fire department or district headquarters announces the alarm through flashing lights or tones, or via a pen recorder, and the box number is matched to a list of box locations. And just like most modern 911 calls, a fire engine will be dispatched to the location, essentially making these the first 911 calls.

In 1845, William Francis Channing and Moses G. Farmer invented the first telegraph fire alarm system for Boston and began demonstrating this system across the country. This partially fire alarm on display was made by the Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company that was formed in 1879, later it became the The Gamewell Company. In 1855, John Nelson Gamewell attended Channing’s lecture on his alarm system at the Smithsonian. Gamewell purchased regional rights to market the fire alarm telegraph in southern states with financing help from friend James Dunlap, obtained the patents and full rights to the system in 1859. This initial commercialization was unsuccessful due to the outbreak of the American Civil War, in which the governments seized Gamewell's patients. Following the war, bought the patents from the government and returned them to Gamewell, forming a partnership, Kennard and Co., in 1867, which later became the Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Company. Gamewell systems were installed in 250 cities by 1886 and 500 cities in 1890. By 1910, Gamewell had gained a 95% market share. Gamwell is currently owned by Honeywell Building Technologies as Gamewell Fire Control Instruments.

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