Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-11-08
ELECTRIC FIRE ALARM.
Chief Hale Devises n Combination of
the Telephone and GraphOphOne
That Does Wonders.

1t would seem beyond belief that a fire
could start in some back room in n big
warehouse away out on the West bottoms
and that, without a human being to see it
or within blocks of the building, the bell
at the Central telephone office should be
rung and voice should repeat in stem
torian tones: Fire on the fourth floor Of
Blanks warehouse, No. blank West Thr-
teenth street, and keep repeating the
alarm until the fire department reached
the scene. Yet Chief Hale, of the Kansas
City fire department, has invented an at
tomato alarm system which will do this
very thing. Equipped with his apparatus.
building would have perfect fire watch,
man though no man ever went near 1t, and
should a fire break out its exact location,
IN Just what room, and upon just what
floor. would be announced as above before
any headway at ali had been gained.
Much of the heavy losses arising from
fires which occur ut night comes from the
fact that the fire has gained great head
way and Is frequently beyond control be-
turned in. Wholesale houses. warehouses.
factories are often located III localities
where there Is but an occasional passei-
by at night, and where night watchInen
are not employed. or they are lax in the
discharge of their duties, IL is only an
accident If a fire is seen and an alarm
made while it is Yet in its incpiency, when
the hTemen can DO effective work.
RedliZing the need of something which
would obviatc these difficulties, Chief Hale
mas studied the problem more or less for d
period OF six years. Yesterday he made u
test Of an invention which he has evolved
to meet the difficulty and those who were
fortunate enough to see the apparatus and
experiments feel certain that ne mas struck
an Invention which Will take like wildiirc
and which acts with an intelligence which
seems almost human.
The apparatus is a combination of the
leiephonc ana the graphophone. so arrang-
ed as to work automatically. The idea is
16pr!nDSfdtS a treuJent
about he various rooms of a building ana
connecting them by wires to Il graphic
telephone of the house The wires from
all the thermostats on any one floor run TO
a reproducer which is poised above Il wax
cylinder in which record has been made.
The thermostats on the next floor are
connected with a reproducer poised over
another line.
And so on for all the floors of the build
Ing. The thermostats are so sensitive that
a very little increase in the heat in the
room, such as would be made by fire in
any portion of it. breaks the electric cir
cult. This let's the reproducer for that
particular floor drop upon its proper wax
cylinder. and the eraphophone begins re-
peatirg It's alarm into telephone trans
mtter. The breaking of the circuit also,
by an ingenious device contrived by Chief
Hale. closes another circuit, which rings
the bell, or throws the drop at the central
office and the operator. upon listening.
hears the clear tones of the grapnophone
shouting its alarm concerning the fire and
fes the fire department.. and the firemel
get to the confagration without a person
being in its actual vicinity to give the
alarm.
Tire experimental apparatus set us yes
tcTday by the chief in the fire department
headquarters worked like a charm and
astorished the few who saw ii very greatly.
| one beauty about it is that IL can be in
stalled very cheaply as it needs Only the
| special wiring and preparation of the build
| ing. the ordinary telephone service doing
| the rest. a number of prominent telephone
men and electrical experts nave looked
| over Chief Hale's invention and believe II
| to be a wonderfully good thing. The talk
| ing apparatus and the connection with the
regular telephone does not interfere in the
| least with the ordinary use Of that instru.
| ment while the fact that ii can be sc
| attached greatly lessons the cost over what
| IL would be Were it necessary to put in
| special wires to the fire department head
| quarters.
There have been automatic fire alarm
systems which operated drop or ring signals
upon bells, but their cost was great anC
| they were uncertain and unsatisfactory In
MANY ways. Chief Hale's invention gives