TASK DEFINITION: You will be given a trivia clue, and the category it belongs to. You should answer with the best answer that belongs in the category and is described by the clue. For consistency, answers should be in all lower cased letters.
PROBLEM: Category: FIREFIGHTING 
Clue: Early NYC firemen were alerted with rattles--so you might have a 3-rattle fire where today we'd have this equivalent

SOLUTION: a 3-alarm fire

PROBLEM: Category: A SPOT OF "T" 
Clue: Middle Caicos is the largest island in this British dependency in the West Indies

SOLUTION: the turks and caicos

PROBLEM: Category: ART 
Clue: This gemlike carving material was obtained from walruses as well as elephants

SOLUTION:
ivory