Fire Prevention

Fire Alarm

Maintenance

Training

Fire Alarm Division

NOTIFICATION of fire has always been of great importance. Some early towns in America had a fire warden (or fire watcher) who patrolled the town between dust and dawn. When a fire was discovered, the fire warden ran through the town screaming "Fire! Throw out ye buckets." This was a rallying call for able-bodied citizens to man the bucket brigade and fight the fire. Everyone was required to have a leather fire bucket.

There were times where a fire warden carried a wooden fire rattle (left) or muffin bell (right). The rattle was rotated giving off a clacking sound loud enough to rally all but the soundest sleepers. Muffin bells were shaken to make a ringing sound. A fire warden sounded his warning device for fire. Fire wardens were often paid from fines levied against a home owner who violated one of the fire ordinances.

In 1659, Nieuw Amsterdam Governor Peter Stuyvesant appointed a "Rattle Watch." The Watch was made up of selected individuals who patrolled the streets from nine at night until "the beating of a drum signaling the arrival of dawn." Each individual carried a fire rattle. Essentially, the Rattle Watch was the first municipal fire alarm system. Other types of fire alarms in the United States included beating huge drums, ringing of bells, lights, sirens, and gunshots. Firing a gun was usually done in western towns. Large stationary bells followed to sound fire alarms. The number of peals of a bell indicated the section of town where the fire had been discovered. Churches in a town repeated the signal with their church bell. In addition to the ringing of a bell, one city suspended a crimson ball (lantern at night) from the cupola of city hall. The position of the ball or lantern around the cupola indicated the direction of the fire.

Houston's Fire Bell A fire bell hung from a heavy-timber frame early in the development of Houston. No details could be found about sounding an alarm of fire, but it is probable that anyone who discovered a fire would run to and ring the bell. In 1840, the fire bell was moved to the steeple of a new church. It served a dual purpose. One was to sound an alarm of fire; the other purpose to call parishioners for worship.

A spot for the fire bell was made in a tower of a new Market House in 1873. Houston's city offices occupied part of the building. The bell was rung to signal the volunteer firefighters of a fire, and the number of peals indicated which city ward the fire was discovered. Fire Bell Destroyed Late in the afternoon of July 8, 1876, a tax clerk noticed smoke in the hallway of the Market House. He sprang up the stairs to the belfry to sound the alarm, but the rope to the fire bell was missing. He could only scream from the belfry to summon the firefighters.

The fire bell was destroyed in the Market House fire. Houston's Daily Telegraph described the destruction of the fire bell: "It pealed forth its own requiem in one wild frenzied clanging, rising in a shrill alto above the hoarse bellowing of the hungry, maddened flames."

Construction of a second Market House began in October, 1876, and a new fire bell was cast using the remains of the old fire bell. The fire bell once again hung in a tower of the new Market House. (Houston city fathers enacted an ordinance in 1866 that forbid any person to ring the fire bell for any purpose without an order from the mayor or city marshal.) Telephone Telephones were added to transmit alarms to firefighters in 1880. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone four years earlier, and it was ready for general use. One telephone was installed in each fire station and at fire alarm. A fire dispatcher had to go through a telephone operator to reach a fire station. The old fire bell still pealed an alarm of fire. Buildings in Houston had been springing up and growing taller. It was getting harder and harder for volunteers to find a fire in a ward. The taller buildings would hide a rising column of smoke. The telephone made it possible to direct firefighters to an exact address when it was known. It also provided a means to contact the fire dispatcher in case of fire for those individuals who could afford a telephone. Alarm Box An earlier invention using wire to transmit alarms of fire was the Gamewell system. It was invented in 1852 and consisted of a series of fire alarm boxes connected to fire alarm. Houston added a Gamewell system in 1892 with fire alarm boxes on the street corners downtown. Maintenance of the fire alarm system was under the direction of a city electrician appointed by the mayor for two year terms. Most of the 123 fire alarm boxes were kept locked, and the key was stored in a nearby store or home. This was to prevent someone pulling a false alarm. A few of the alarm boxes had the key under glass which was broken to get the key. Later removal of the lock from a few of the alarm boxes and installing a bell to prevent false alarms did not do much better. People opening the box heard a bell and thought the alarm had been sent. They did not go on and pull the alarm lever. Another modification removed the bell and had a break-glass covering the lever.

A lever inside a fire alarm box (pictured) was tripped and sent a signal to a receiver (register) in the fire alarm office. (The register was also called a "joker.") Each alarm box transmitted a different three-digit number to indicate the location. The three-digit number tapped into the register and was repeated three times. (The number of a fire alarm was increased to four digits later.) Simultaneously, the signal went to the registers at each of the fire stations. The register was tied to a large gong which sounded the number of the fire alarm box throughout the fire station. The signal also connected to the fire bell in the Market House which pealed off the box number.

If a second alarm was pulled by the firefighters at a fire, the fire dispatcher would transmit the box number preceded by 2-2-2. A third alarm was 3-3-3, and a general alarm 4-4-4.

Sounding of fires on the Market House bell alerted firefighters who were away from the station on a meal break or off on their monthly three days off. They were required to respond to all fires downtown and to two-alarm fires elsewhere in town.

Fire Alarm Destroyed The Central Fire Station burned to the ground in February, 1902, and destroyed the fire alarm equipment. A new Central Station at Texas and San Jacinto was under construction at the time. When it was finished, a new fire alarm office was put on the second floor of the station with new fire alarm equipment. Pictured is the "modern" fire alarm board at the Central Fire Station on Texas Avenue.

A National Board of Underwriters Report in 1910 recommended several improvements to the fire alarm system: 1) put the fire alarm system under the supervision of the fire chief; 2) install better exposure protection against outside fires; 3) put in a fire department telephone system; 4) install additional fire alarm boxes in closely built-up areas outside of downtown; and 5) install red lights on top of fire alarm boxes in business districts. New Central Station A couple of the recommendations were made when a new Central Fire Station was built at the corner of Preston and Caroline in 1924. The new building was five stories tall and headquartered both the fire and police departments. The dormitory of the fire station and chief offices were on the second floor. The police department occupied the upper three floors, including the city jail on the fourth floor. Fire Alarm occupied the penthouse of the new Central Fire Station along with the police dispatcher. (It was well-protected from exposure fires, but still was not under the supervision of the fire chief.)

Pictured in the foreground is Austin Jules "Jimmy" Jourde, reported to be the first fire alarm dispatcher.* An unidentified police dispatcher is seated at the rear desk. The two dispatchers would alternate leaving the office for meals The remaining dispatcher would handle the other dispatcher's calls.

Enclosed in glass on the front desk is the Gamewell receiver that recorded the box number of a street fire alarm box. One hundred, twenty three street fire alarm boxes were added, and pulled boxes no longer rang in the fire stations. Calling Help Firefighters were dispatched to a fire according to a run schedule. The run schedule listed the fire companies that responded to each box alarm. If firefighters needed more help when they arrived at the scene, they had only two methods to call the dispatcher, either by telephone or from a street fire alarm box. This was before firefighters had radios on the apparatus. A telephone, though, was not always available. To signal for more help from a street fire alarm box, the door was unlocked and opened. (Every fire company had a box alarm key.) A telegraph key was inside to signal what extra fire equipment was needed. One tap on the telegraph key signaled an extra engine; five taps for an extra ladder truck. After the signal was given, the box lever was pulled to identify the location of the fire alarm. The signal for extra alarms was 2-2-2 for a second alarm, 3-3-3 for a third alarm, and 4-4-4 for a fourth alarm (also called a general alarm). Holes were punched in the joker tape at fire alarm. Below shows what a tape looked like if the district chief struck a second alarm from box 4315. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Special Signals Fire dispatchers sent special signals on the Gamewell at various times. Some of the special signals were:7-1 to signal that daytime response was in effect; 7-3 signaled nighttime response was in effect meaning extra fire apparatus would be dispatched on a downtown box alarm; 7-5 when extra fire appartus was needed at a fire during the daytime hours; 7-7 signaled pay day and someone was sent to Station 1 to pick up the pay checks; and 1-7 was a signal to call back off-duty firefighters.

Fire Alarm Building In 1939, a fire alarm building opened on the corner of Bagby and Dallas catty-corner across Bagby from the new city hall. This was the first time fire alarm had its own building. A fire alarm operator, a telephone operator, and a police operator were on duty.

All fire alarm boxes were replaced with new alarm boxes. The old boxes were rebuilt and installed in the city, making 819 the total number of fire alarm boxes. Evolution: 1946-62 By 1946, fire alarm operations finally came under the control of the fire chief. (Maintenance of the fire alarm system still remained under the city electrical department.) L. W. Clooney was named to head the fire alarm division. Seven fire dispatchers were under his command. A vocal alarm system had been added and greatly improved the transmission of alarms of fire. Voice alarms were transmitted over telephone lines. A fire dispatcher could broadcast an alarm only to the fire companies responding to a box alarm or to an individual company responding to a still alarm (single engine response). A master switch on the vocal alarm board opened speakers in all of the fire stations simultaneously to broadcast multiple alarms. A switch in each fire station acknowledged receipt of an alarm. In 1952, J. F. Arto was temporarily put in charge of fire alarm. Chief Fire Dispatcher Clooney was assigned to develop a new street guide for the department (Street Index section). Fire dispatchers held the rank of senior captain and were promoted from the suppression junior captains. They were certified without examination by the Civil Service Commission. Fire alarm boxes had been increased to 822. Phantom boxes were designated for 1,152 streets, which provided box numbers for areas lacking live fire alarm boxes. Box numbers were now four digits. Three dispatchers normally worked 8-hour shifts on an average 40-hour week. One dispatcher attended the telephone switchboard and broadcast over the vocal alarm system and radio. A second dispatcher attended the police switchboard and assisted in the transmission of fire alarms, and the third dispatcher handled tests and transmission of alarms. All of the dispatchers rotated between the three positions. Only fire companies that were to respond to a fire were alerted by the vocal alarm. The number of the fire alarm box or phantom box followed on the Gamewell system to all of the 34 fire stations. All of the police communications had been removed from fire alarm by 1962. Another fire dispatcher was added to each shift which provided three or four fire dispatchers on duty. New fire alarm boxes were added and brought the number to 845. Station Watchmen Station watchmen played an important role in the communication of fire alarms since the fire department went fully paid in 1895. Each of the firefighters took a turn on station watch. Early firefighters were disciplined severely if caught asleep on watch. Repeat offenders were fired. There was a period of time that watchmen had to telephone the dispatcher periodically throughout the night. If a watchman failed to call the dispatcher at his designated times, his name was turned over to the fire chief the following morning. One firefighter received a five-day suspension for failing to call the dispatched at the designated time. Another firefighter was given one day off for failing to record companies back in service from a fire. Punishment was also meted out when a watchman was derelict with the fire phone. One long ring of the fire phone indicated a message for all fire stations. The watchman only picked up and listened to the message. If the fire phone signaled two short rings, the watchman answered quickly with his name and station number. It may or may not be an alarm of fire. Failure to pick up the phone before a second set of rings resulted in a blustering dress-down or worse. Some fire dispatchers were quite quick at sounding the second set of rings, which was a nightmare for station watchmen who were not close to the watch desk.

Houston may not have had as colorful beginning of its fire alarm as other cities did, but it was an interesting history. Houston signaled alarms of fire long before an organized fire department. It is hard to imagine the crude methods to summon firefighters in the early days, given the fire communications around today. The improvements have been many. It is hard to envision what could possibly improve, but it will. Future firefighters will look back on communications today as the firefighters today look back to the days of the fire bell in the old Market House. New Communications Center. 2006

* On the back of the picture of the fire alarm office in Central Fire Station in 1924 was a notation telling of Austin Jules Jourde as the first fire dispatcher. Surely there were firefighters assigned to the fire board at the previous Central Fire Station. One explanation for Jourde being the "first fire dispatcher" is that an official position of fire dispatcher may have been created by the fire chief in 1924. Illustration in heading above from The Romance of Firefighting by Robert S. Holzman.