The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-03-14
VILLAGE FIRE ALARM NEEDS

In reading the Village Warning to be acted upon
by the voters of this Village March 18TH notice that
of the articles refers the purchase of modern Circuit
Storage Battery equipment for the Central Fire Station,
and we understand that it proposed to be located at the
Fire Headquarters Stafford Street Being somewhat in
terested in the matter the writer has taken the liberty of
investigating and for the information of the public would
cite his findings.
The present fire alarm system was installed as near
ascertain % 80 years ago. then consisted of few
boxes and about six miles of wire all circuit AS time
has gone by the circuit line construction has been
tended in and about the town accommodate for the add
ton of fire alarm boxes that the present single circuit is
about eighteen miles in length and has located thereon in
the negborhood of % boxes besides the necessary record
ing apparatus in the different Fire Stations We in
formed that this single circuit containing % boxes is
carrying boxes than recommended by the insurance
people, and in fact the circuit is overloaded We much
surprised to learn that should this single circuit
be broken every fire alarm box in the Village out of
mission AS matter of fact have learned that such
dtons have existed sometime in the past whereby it has
been impossible to find the break readily and the whole fire
alarm system out of commission These conditions Of
not warranted and should not be tolerated
essary divisions be made such troubles
The energy for the present system is obtained by the
of the anquated gravity battery which unreliable
and unsatisfactory of producing the cleo
trio current for the system To say nothing of its unre
stalled this mode of energy the only known to be
satisfactory that time but it that Bennington has
kept up with the times and discarded their old gravity
battery many years ago.
In talking the matter over with the Fire Department
Officials informed that their intention is to divide
the Village up into three circuits instead of that if
break should any circuit the whole system will
not be out of commission.
The apparatus intended to be installed at the Central
Fire Station arranged that breaks and grounds and
other troubles be easily determined from Head
quarters, and should break the automatic re-
peater cuts the broken circuit and automatically puts
the two remaining circuits into working condition.
Our attention is called to one important feature in the
Warrant calling for manual transmitter We understand
this be located in the Telephone Office and provided
with a of wheels discs cut to correspond with the
numbers of the boxes throughout the Village. In many
cases residents distance from the fire alarm box
We can cite several where it all of half mile In
case fire the citizen has to to the nearest box before
the alarm can be turned in BY the installation of the pro-
posed ransmtter at the Telephone Office all that would be
necessary do of fire would be to call the Telephone
Office from your telephone asking the operator to place
wheel SO or g. the may be- referring to the nearest
fire alarm box your home on the transmitter the lever