What communities still use fire call boxes?

[marcshark87]

I'm from Plymouth, Massachusetts.
It does not seem like (what so ever) that there are any plans to do away with the Gamewell Box system. In fact, I see new boxes being added to the Plymouth system ALL THE TIME!!! There is even newer street boxes (same technology) replacing old ones. There are even new masterboxes installed on most new commercial buildings, as well as old ones. It seems the Plymouth, MA Gamewell system is very much alive and thriving! I know it's still old technology, but it proves very relyable. Yes, also, the fire stations in the town still use ticker tapes and house gongs, all of them.
Glad to see these systems are for the most part, not a thing of the past! The particular FD's in Plymouth still, even have their maintenence crews. 
I have my own Shunt Type Gamewell Masterbox and it's alot of fun to hook it up to circuits as a hobby! I won it on eBay.
}-^,>

[Boxcom]

Wow.  Some how I missed that post.  Ed T., yes Hackensack NJ's system is still up and running, and running very well!  Numerous street & master boxes.

Bob

[paulbalentine]

Portsmouth, NH which is about 6 miles south of my town, (York, ME) has a very well maintained system of Gamewell street and master boxes. I don't know for sure how many boxes there are but they are expanding the system to cover the former Pease AFB which has been annexed by the City of Portsmouth.  I don't believe they are adding any more street boxes but new masterboxes are showing up all the time.  The Central Fire station in Downtown Portsmouth has  2 yes, i said 2!!!,  Gamewell tappers on the apparatus floor alone, unknown about the other two stations. There is also a tapper in the fire alarm office located in PPD headquarters, used as a back-up to a digitizer (form 4?)  One of my good friends is a Fire Alarm Operator in there and one of the first things he does when he starts his shift is to wind the tapper, just in case power goes out.....how cool is that?



Newington, NH is a town right next to Portsmouth, NH  it is a very small town (population around 750) Newington has a large commercial base and obviously a much larger day-time population. The NFD maintains a decent size fire alarm inventory of Streetboxes and masterboxes. The boxes are recieved in the NFD fire station by the two firefighters per shift  on the digitizer(unknown who recieves the alarms when they are on a call)  They then respond and notify their dispatch (Rockingham County dispatch)  that they have recieved a box alarm and they are on the air responding (done over the air) from a friend of mine who is a LT down there, he says they have done away with the tapper.

[paulbalentine]

City of Dover, NH  They have done away with their street and master boxes, unkown how long ago, some fire alarm wire can still be seen and a painted telephone pole can also be seen here and there.

Town of Hampton, NH within the last two-three years deactivated all their street and masterboxes, last time I was down there some masterboxes remained on buildings in the Hampton Beach area (painted blue, and the type that has a blank front door, no provisions for a manual pull, farily common in this area, Portsmouth and Newington, NH have many of these style) ....at one time they had numerous streetboxes on very ornate pedestals in the downtown/Hampton village area.  Some masterboxes can be seen wearing trashbags over them to prevent people from pulling them (and not getting a response from the FD)

[paulbalentine]

two more I just remembered

                       Amesbury, MA  Gamewell street and masterboxes,  many streetboxes on pedestals  that are quite fancy and some even complete with a LARGE red globe on the top....look to be very old possibly turn of the century, unkown how the alarms are recieved. (tapper or digitizer)

                      Newburyport, MA  Gamewell street and masterboxes, many streetboxes in the downtown on pedestals, some are very ornate type, once again, unkown how the alarms are recieved.

[Buckeye 53]

I was in Framingham, MA today and noticed Gamewell Boxes at some of the businesses we were shopping at.

Box 718 like most of them was mounted on the brick work out front.  Each business has their own box.  Box 718 at Babies-R-Us.

[Buckeye 53]

Framingham, MA Box 719 located at a restaurant next to the Babies-R-Us. 

I saw some nice Boxes in Newton, MA on pedastals and hope to get some shots tomorrow.

[Buckeye 53]

Newton, MA
Box 318
Waltham & Elliot
August 13, 2010

Even though they are everywhere, I only got one due to a busy schedule.  And, no rig photos

[kb1hwh]

Not to bump an old thread, but here we go:
In Mass, since the last update to this list. Springfield and Chicopee have removed all Gamewell boxes from their list. (They are all radio boxes)
West Springfield's system is still going strong however. Wilbraham used to have a Gamewell box on their city hall for years. (Wilbraham had a small system, long since removed).
Many cities around the Boston area still maintain systems. Weymouth being a notable city who has removed their system.
Nantucket, MA has a very extensive system, still in use.
Cape Cod , the only other system I believe is Falmouth.
Way out west, Berkshire County, North Adams FD is only only system left in the county. Pittsfield still has inter station ties, but no gamewell system anymore. In Great Barrington, we lost the system because I tried to push for an upgrade but the town decided it was more cost effective to remove the system. GB's system was small, with only 4 master boxes. The system was in OK shape. We had about 30 boxes on the system, with two circuits.
In Rhode Island: Burrillville (Pascoag District) Cranston East Greenwich Providence Narragansett South Kingstown Wakefield Westerly West Greenwich Woonsocket  all have systems. East Providence still has a couple of street boxes, but they are few and far between. (I am unsure if they even are interconnected anymore or just "forgotten")
New Hampshire: Keene still has a fairly exstensive system
Vermont: there aren't many, as far as I know, St Albans. Brattleboro, Barre and Rutland are about the only ones left.
Maine: I saw a few systems while there. I seem to recall Scarborough having a system, along with Portland, and South Portland
New York: Canadigua and Geneva still had systems, along with Buffalo. I don't believe Auburn has their system anymore. Newburgh still has an extensive system, however.

There are more, but that is all I can think of...

[paulbalentine]

In reference to the earlier post, in Vermont add St. Johnsbury to the list of towns that still operate a Gamewell municipal fire alarm system.  They have many street and masterboxes and according to their website, no plans to replace it. Check out the "box alarms" tab on their website......


http://www.stjohnsburyfire.com/box%20alarms/Box%20Alarms%2008.htm

[kb1hwh]

You can take Winchendon, MA OFF the list. Unfortunatley this past weekend I drove through and noticed the entire system appears to be gone.

Someone was selling a box from Gardner online, so Gardner may have removed theirs as well.

[Engine33Truck]

I know nothing about call boxes, but I'll bet you that there's a few towns/cities in WV that still at least have them hanging around.

[paulromano]

Lynnfield, MA and Wakefield, MA both have well maintained Gamewell systems with a new Master Box on all new commercial construction.  Lynnfield has a spell in the 70's where some genius on a planning board decided that all wiring in subdivisions should be run underground.  Not a really good move as the method of the time for fire alarm wire was such that most of those boxes are out of service.  New specs. work much better on underground installations.

[spin_the_wheel]

Long Island, Nassau County in particular had them all over.  At the moment only New Hyde Park, Bellerose village and Bellerose Terrace have active Gamewell systems.  Elmont just pulled out the last King-fisher radio boxes last year.  The King-Fisher system replaced a gamewell system in 1986.  Belmont Rcae track still has Gamewell boxes on the barns but is transmitted to the King-Fisher system.

None in Suffolk County.

Westchester County Hartsdale still has them.

Rockland County- Nyack and Havestraw have them.

[FAO25]

It never ceases to amaze me when I see communities pulling out fire alam boxes yet I visit new airports and see them put in. After several assaults in various areas most of the large college and hospital campuses in my area have installed police call boxes. I even know of a large industrial complex that has police call boxes on the grounds of it's plant and parking areas. Even cities have put them in in park areas and along popular jogging routes. So much for "Old Fashioned".