The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-12-20
CENTRAL FIRE ALAR1 OFFICE.

had outgrown the automatic fire alarm
system. and that further delay might re-
su' +. lisastrously. decided to put in a
m central Office equipment com bins
ing all the safeguards and improvements
OF the day. They accordingly closed u
contract with the Gamewell Fire Alarm
Telegraph Company. The plant located
OH the upper floor of the city hall is now
finished and it may safely be said that in
completeness Of uetaiI and perfection Of
Workmanship IL is without an equal in
the world. The equipment of the old
system. now superseded, was one Of the
best of its class that the Gamewell ever
constructed, and the new one is as far in
advance of that as that was in advance of
its predecessor.
To better understand the new method
p slight description of the old one must
he given. In the old. or automatic, as it
Is called to distinguish IL from the new or
central office system, the citizen or police
officer on discovery of fire went to the
nearest box, opened the door, and pulled
n lever. This set in motion oil the alarm
bells and the g0ngs In fire stations
throughout the city, and the box number
was slowly tolled out So far. with the
exception Of it's comparative slowness,
nothing further was left to be desired.
But i'm accomplishing this result IL was
absolutely necessary, in order to avoid
confusion, to have tho devices so arrang-
ed that while the box was giving its
signals 10 should take complete right of
way for the time telng over the entire
system of the city, and a. it required
several minutes OF time In which TO give
the signal from some of the boxes. IL fol-
lowed that If other fires broke out ct or
about tho same time it would be abso-
lutely impossible to send IN alarms for
them until the fire box had accomplished
its work. Here was n condition OF affairs
liable at any time to result in the de-
struction of property OF immense value
and quite likely. and of course infinitely
more deplorable, of life Then, too, as
the system was automatic Ii required fine
adjustments which were constantly liable
10 electrical unbalancing incidental to
long wire.circuits in their perigrinations
through trees aud among hundreds OF
other wires Ia q largo city. And in pass
ing IL may he said that the fact that the
old system has worked so well IL due not
alone TO the excellence of the appliances.
The constant and intelligent care which
IL has always received from Supt Cloud
man and his assistants has BEEN an i'm
portant factor
The new method completely doec away
with ell the disadvantages OF the old.
and Introduces results impossible
of accomplishment with the old.
First of all, the new method gives the
slHndl IN lraCllOD Ol the tlite rtqulreu
In the old ana enables the fire apparatus To
get well on the road 10 the fire where I'm
the old 10 would still be remaining I'm
quarters waiting for the completiou OF the
signal 10 enables alarms from any ono OF
many sections OF the city to come in at
the same moment ir need he, so that
there Il never an instant when signal
cannot be given from any quarter, what
ever l. going on In other parts ~ the sys-
TEN; IL il equipped with deivces which
ronder it perfectly feasible IN receive an
alarm over a wire temporarily 80 far dis
abled that no signal whatever could b.
obtained from that wire aDder the old
method. and ss "a time saver In cases of
emergency when 10 - vitally Important
tn summon men and apparatus with the
utmost certainty aud epetd 10 u so TAR
superior to the old method as TO he To-
yond comparison.