Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-07
FIRES NOISY SIGNMS.
GREAT EFFECT OF PULLING A
LITTLE HOOK.

Complicated Apparatus or the Fire
Alarm Telegrnph-HOw the Alarms are
Turned In" from Signal BOxes-The
Battery Room In the City Exchange.
Four strokes on the bell OF the Ex-
change. then two. and the passer-by pulls
out his box list and knows there's fire
at the Central railroad wharf, over the
canal. At the same instant clappers are
striking gongs all over the city, in the
engine houses, the police barracks and
the residences OF Chief Fernandez aud
others Of the department.
A moment later and the doors Of the
engine houses fly open and out rattle the
engines, leaving behind trail OF smoke
and a resinous odor in the air. And all
This because but a few seconds before
somebody pulled down a small hand in
the box at the wharves where the Ocean
Steamship Company's ships land their
passengers, away up northwest OF the
city. How did the result come aboutY
In the box was clock work run by
spring. Pulling the hook frightened the
spring and started the clock work. One
OF the wheels has six teeth or cogs divi-
ded into two groups. Four of the teeth
are close together, and between them and
the next two is half inch on which there
is no teeth.
Imagine a clocks dial with cog at the
one, two, three and four hour marks,
none at the five hour mark, but one at the
six hour and another at the seven
hour mark but no more around
to the one O'Clock mark. Sup
pose the clock work to be set
in motion and the dial to revolve, each
tooth touching platinum point, fssten-
ed so that it will just touch the tips of the
cogs as they turn. The platinum point
is connected with two wires, which con-
duct an electric current from the battery
in the top Of the Exchange. Every space
between the cogs causes the circuit to
break when the wheel reVolves.
II a registering instrument was at
tached to the circuit, the pen would make
a row OF marks like this
One, two, three, four, then apause, then
two more strokes, followed by q longer
pause, before the number AZ is repeated.
The electric current is one OF three that
run out from the Exchange. On these
sloOps" are all of the numbers. On these
are the y boxes, which are scattered over
the city. Five times the number is re-
peated. II it is necessary to send
IN a second alarm, Superintend-
ent Jones, Of the Fire Alarm
Telegraph, goes to box, and with a
kew lust like those the telegraph operators
have on their Instruments sounds the
number once without pulling down the
hook. The last two boxes put up, Nos.
IS and 46, differ from all the others, and
are an improvement on the old style.
Only one Of these new boxes can be
sounded at q time. With the old style it
is possible for two persons at different
boxes to sound an alarm at the same
moment. The result is that two alarms
are so mixed up that it is hard to tell
where to 20. But neither As nor 46 can be
sounded Will any Of the other boxes are
striking.
In the Exchange there are between 100 |
and 200 cells. In some of the large cities
there are 1000 to 1900 cells in the bat
teries. DynamOs cannot be economically
used, because they would have to be kept /
running stead ~ night aud day. The
cells IN the battery room are arranged on
racks, joined in sets Of 80. each set being
called battery. In the bottom Of each |
cell is a strip Of copper, on which is |
placed sulphate Of copper blue yitriol). |
Over this is the porous cup, in which are |
the zinc and acid, together with a little |
mercury TO keep the zinc amalgamated.
BY the chemical action OF the battery
copper from the blue vitriol is deposited |
on the copper plates, and the accu nula-
lions look like fungus growth. Some
times il suggests coral. and 1t is always
sr0tesquey beautiful.
II it is night when the alarm is turned
in the trained ears of the firemen in the
beds have caught the sound OF the first
stroke on the gong, and before an ordinary
man could yawn, their clothes are on and
they are ready to start for the fire. The
doors spring open, and out they GO into the
night. Always prompt, save in the rare
v-l. II. ~ -
occur, the Savannah fire alarm and fire
danarImanta are instiLntiO Of which the