General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Metal

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

56.0 cm

Width

39.5 cm

Height

19.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Fire Fighting

Category

Alarms

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

American Fire

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Type of device which started to be used in urban Canada at the time, to alert firefighters in a fire department, of the presence of a fire in the neighbourhood where the alarm box was situated. Must have come from one of Canada's major cities.

Function

To rapidly transmit an alarm of fire to a firefighting force.

Technical

Replaced the use of bells and the human voice (shouting) to alert firemen about the existence of fires all while divulging their location. The first practical fire alarm system was developed in Boston in 1852, by Dr. William Channing and Moses Farmer. It worked on the principal of telegraphy: a signal was sent long distances over wires, by electric transmission. "In the first boxes, a notched code wheel was turned by a crank handle in the front of the box. Then, it evolved with a spring-driven, clockwork-type mechanism which drove the code wheel when activated by a lever." Boxes were put on a pedestal or telephone pole at a street corner. Early boxes were locked with keys which were given to the citizens and policemen who had the responsibility of pulling the lever in the event of a fire. In 1875 a model was made that did not need a key. In 1922, the quick-action door was put on the market. There are two main components that make up this kind of fire alarm system: the telegraph mechanism, located on a street corner, and the alarm apparatus (gongs and indicators), located inside a fire department's Headquarters. One-way communication between the telegraph and alarm system was made possible by linking both boxes with aerial and/or ground-level wires. Central station equipment would receive the signal, revealing the location of the fire, and would proceed to notify the firehouse nearest to the fire by transmitting another signal to their alarm box.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Stamped in pediment '1867#'/ Stamped on door in white raised lettering 'AMERICAN FIRE ALARM [in an arc]/ TELEGRAPH/ STATION/ 4'. Sticker on top of box reads: "KING'S TRANSFER VAN LINES INC./ KING OF THE MOVERS/ 287 ELEANOR ST. MONTREAL 3, QUE. TEL. 932-2957/ NAME/ FLOOR/ ROOM/ LOCATION/ DMB [written with marker]"

Missing

N/A

Finish

Red, gable roof type/ Screws in 3 corners of pediment support pipes at top and bottom. Top one is threaded inside.

Decoration

N/A