Author Topic: Vermont - Virginia - Washington Gamewell Alarms (Read 6304 times)

Box 2565 · « **on:** January 22, 2002, 09:03:56 PM »

Information Copied From A Represenative List of Gamewell Installations in the United States as of 1941.

If you can answer any of the following questions, please post a reply! Which towns still use their street box system? How many boxes are in the system and are gongs still used in the fire houses?

If the system has been removed, when was the system discontinued? What became of the fire alarm boxes, registers, and gongs? Are any of these items still owned by the town where they could potentially be sold to collectors? Have any of the items been kept for display in a museum or station?

Vermont

Barre
Barton
Bellows Falls
Bennington
Brandon
Brattleboro
Bristol
Burlington
Derby
Essex Junction
Fair Haven
Hardwick
Ludlow
Middlebury
Montpelier
Morrisville
Newport
Orleans
Poultney
Proctor
Rutland
St Albans
St Johnsbury
Springfield
West Derby
White River Junction
Winooski
Woodstock

Virginia

Alexandria
Charlottesville See Information Below
Clifton Forge
Covington
Danville
Fredericksburg
Hopewell
Lynchburg
Newport News
Norfolk
Petersburg
Portsmouth
Richmond
Roanoke
Schoolfield
South Boston
Staunton See Information Below
Suffolk
Wytheville

Washington

Aberdeen
Bellingham
Bremerton
Centralia
Chehalis
Ellensburg
Everett
Hoquiam
Olympia
Pasco
Port Townsend
Raymond
Seattle
Spokane
Tacoma
Walla-Walla
Wenatchee
Yakima

Box 2565 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2002, 10:55:31 PM »

Not all alarm systems were large in size. The card below shows the alarm signals and box location in Woodstock, Vermont. Only 14 boxes were on the system.

Box 2565 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2003, 07:09:06 PM »

This Gamewell indicator gong, manual transmitter, and street box are on display at the Staunton fire department.

Box 2565 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 22, 2003, 07:23:08 PM »

I received the following reply from Chief Julian Taliaferro of the Charlottesville, Virginia F.D. regarding their alarm system.

"We removed the Gamewell system I think around 1973. We retained all the registers, gongs, etc. The fire alarm boxes were sold with local fire fighters purchasing most of them. None of the items we kept are for sale. We essentially removed the system because it needed a lot of work, generated about 99.9 per cent false alarms, and because the Grading Schedule no longer gave credit for the system."

Box 2565 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 04, 2004, 02:51:19 AM »

Staunton had 2 fire stations years back. Both gongs survive and are on display. Here is the indicator gong from Station #2. Steve Hagy photo.

Box 2565 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 31, 2005, 01:39:53 PM »

Roanoke, Virginia has removed their alarm system except for the boxes that are located at fire stations. This photo shows Box 314 which is at Station 11 - 1502 Riverland Road SE. Steve Hagy photo.

Box 2565 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 05, 2009, 12:44:49 AM »

This photo dates to 1962 and shows a street box with the pole mounted, globe style red light. This box was located at St. Paul and Cherry Streets in Burlington, Vermont.