The sun., 1902-04-27
A FIRE ALARM ANNIVERSARY.
FIRST ELECTRIC SIGNAL RUNG
JUST FIFTY YEARS AGO.
IL Was In Boston and the City Is 10 Celebrate
the Fact Next Tuesdny-Story OF the
Electric Fire Alarm s,stem-New
York Backward In Adopting IL.

! -''N' iutsudy, ApTl ~, Will DE lne III
ueth anniversary Of the giving Of the first
/ alarm Of fire by electricity. On Thurs
day, April 20, 1852, at s:25 p. NJ, from signal
oox OF district /. located on the old Cooper
street Church in Boston, the first alarm
py an electrical fire alarm system was rung
by j. II. Goodale and received at head
quarters by Charles Carlton Coffin, after
ward famous as a war correspondent and
author OF war stories and histories. who
sent 1t out on the tower bells throughout
the city
There is not now city that does not
possess such system, and many small
villages and boroughs are thus equipped.
The system originated with DR.. William
+. Claiming of Boston. a son OF william
Ellery Claiming, the Unitarian preacher.
He conceived the idea Of an electric fire
alarm in 1889 when the success of Prof.
| s. F. B. Morse's invention in teegraphy
became established. Associated with him
was Prof. Moses G.. Farmer OF Salem. Mass,
the inventor of most of the machines and
appliances used, and the electrician who
| put II into operation and made it successful.
Prof. Farmer in Is47 devised a machine
for striking fire alarms on tower bells,
| by applying electrical attachments to a
the first machine ever devised for striking
fire alarms by electricity.
Mayor Josiah Quincy Of Boston, in his
inaugural address, JAN 3, ls4s. recon-
mended the consideration of an electric
fire alarm system to the City Council and
money was appropriated for the purchase
of two bell-striking machines which were
constructed by Prof. Farmer. When COM
pleted one was attached to the Court House
bell and the other placed in telegraph
Office in the same building. and by wire
the experiment of striking both stimuli
taneously from New York city was a most
| gratifying success. No further Use was
made of these machines at that time.
| In 1851 DR. Claiming got the Boston City
Council to appropriate $4,000 TO construct
n fire alarm signal system such as he de-
scribod. Prof. Farmer was associated
with him at his request.
At this time, with the exception Of the
two machines constructed by Prof Farmer
in 1s4S and stored away in an old lumber
| room, there was not "A piece of machinery
in existence for the system, which existed
on paper only. An entirely new set of ma
chinery had to be- devised and constructed
| nearly all of which was invented by Prof
Farmer and constructed under his super
vision by Howard 4 Davis. now the Howard
| Clock Company, who were also builders
| at that time of wel-known hand fire en-
gines.
1t required a year TO construct the sys-
tenn, owing to the scarcity of skilled cleo
| tricans and the experiments that had to
| be made with much Of the machinery used
| The signal boxes had to be rebuilt before
| they could be- used at all. Its entire cost
was about sl5OOO Its original estimate
was 81 $1,000. Prof. Morse inventor of
the telegraph, received $500 for license
| 10 use his patents
| The system was completed and went into
| service AT noon April 2s 1852. and its first
| alarm was on the following evening The
| city was divided into seven districts and
| each district had the same numbered signal
boxes, from l to 10. The district number
was struck on tower bells and the station
number on small bells inside Of signal boxes
When there was an alarm the district
| number would be struck three times fol-
! lowed by thirty or forty rapid blows and
| then the district number thre. times Fire
| men and policemen would rush 10 signal
| boxes TO get the box number ard at night
| the police would spring their rattles and
| cry out the box number through the streets
| The machinery of this first system was
| constantly being improved and il took a
year or two 10 get the system into "A good
| working condition, but II was success
from its start and the city was we'll sat
| isfied with its expenditure. Some of the
| original machinery of this system il now
| on exhibition in the Smithsonian Insti-
| tuition a. Washington
The old district system 81 Boston was
| changed tO III" present system. April 2s
| 1864 In 1854 Claiming and Farmer applied
| for patents on their inventions which were
| granted MAY ~, 1857
| Philadelphia wac the second city 10 nos
soss an ,l.Ctrical fire alarm system, CON
| HtrIc'"d lN Phillips a Robinson which con
4 sisted ~ signal lDNgr only Tower hssllg
! Wor' -tIu, d ~ hand IL war similar "a the
| Boston system, except that h"rr were no
| districts and iDNp- were numbered nE now
and were automatic. II Wa- fret used
| May I. 1874. fuT a fire IN Market street
| H. harh, 1855. Dr. Claiming deliyrr-d
| a lDotur at th' Smithsonian Institution
ou th" fir alarm telegraph which received
| l,'tur, John y Gnm.w,ll. PH-lIuartrr aud
Telegraph ,I"rat.r ut Camden. = e..
| learned &C d." uINuutiuu, vllUh ~ Interested
| him uIst lr IHuru'y,d 90 Is rtuu and
! Iulrily win Jau's Dunlap. q wealthy nr-i-
! dur' - 'Hiuu.I. uuUiHH-d "t Claiming
| a iHuuri 1 lrlturai ughtr tDr flT ouh-
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lu hr latter f-.H 90 lslf Lr .auimrt.d
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