Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-10-11
ONLY FIRE BOX NUMBER
To Be Given by Telephone Operators
III Future-The New Order.

| Beginning Monday the telephone
| operators will not attempt to give any
| informal ion concerning the location of
any fire following the alarm on the
| city's fire alarm signal. excepting the
| mere announcement of the box num-
Der. This action is taken in order
| that the congestion and at times al
| most complete paralysis of service
| following an alarm may be avoided
| and the working force used to handle
the ordinary calls of period. So uni
versal is the habit of running to the
| telephone Immediately the fire alarm
sounds by people of all ages that the
really legitimate use of the telephone
is for a time seriously interfered with.
| Serious complaints of considerable
| frequency from subscribers being de-
layed on urgent calls has made the
change imperative.
| In speaking of the necessity for the
| change Manager Herbert stated that
the public little realizes the tremen
dous pressure on the operating force
Immediately following an alarm. II
| is natural to assume that central"
knows just where the fire is, but not
/ an operator on duty has any better
means of gaining the knowledge of its
location than any other person in any
other calling or business. He con-
tinued:
They hear the alarm blow but
| they are too busy TO stop to count the
box number and this is usually done
| by only one person in the room, the
chief operator or supervisor. The
second round of the ALARM hardly
starts before people rush to the tee
phone in scores and as each receiver
is taken off a tiny electric lamp is
lighted at the central office. Imagine
if you can these lights coming in so
fast that within the brief space of a
half minute the switchboard is a blaze
of light.
AS only one line can be answered
at one time by each operator it fol-
lows that some inquiries have been
answered promptly and others have
waited a seemingly indefinite length
Of time. In the late evening or night
when the force is small this situation
is absolutely unavoida BILE AT such
times the operator naturally answers
those lines terminating Immediately
in front of her 1t is impossible for
| her to answer in any order. Bear in
mind, also, that if the operator
stopped to inquire where the fire was
no calls could be answered as she
would probably have to call several
places herself in order to get the in
1 formation.
THE practice began when tele-
! phones were few, has been continued
as the number of subscribers grew and
as the habit grew among subscribers
until the time has arrived when it
must be discontinued in the interests
of subscribers themselves.
only recently in Portland at fire
in the wholesale district a fire CHER
WANTED the central fire station for the
lgiving of second alarm. 1t was only
Tone of hundreds of lights that flashed
on the board at the time and had not
fortune guided the hand of the chief
operator To answer this particular line
instead of any one of many Others
with it, the fire chief might have
waited "A long time and serious results
followed the delay of getting addi-
tional fire apparatus. This same
thing is likely to happen in Augusta al
any time.
II would suggest that subscribers dc
not bother the fire department at sucf
times by calling the fire station The
chief engineer or his assistants ma,
need to be in instant communication
any moment.
The change will be somewhat dis
APPOINTING to some who have tumblet
out of bed at night and fastened tt
the telephone to inquire about thu
fire but it will result in betterment o.
service and | believe will be fully APP
, preciated by all who may give thu
matter due consideration.
Those who may have property in.
terests which maybe affected by thu
fire we will be glad to help in any way
+ possible by giving address of some,
one in the vicinity of the box from
! which the alarm came.
In some ways it is to be regretted
that such action became necessary bu
1t is felt that the Company is only do
} ing its duty to the public to provide
constant telephone service ever
though it may be necessary to elimi.
nate what has come to be no less thar
q temporary fire information bureau
instead of city intercommunicatinl
service"