Cincinnati Fire Alarm Card's

[District5]

This is a  Downtown box at Front ' Race Streets.  This was in the riverfront and is at an intersection that would be at Paul Brown stadium today.  The card dates to about 1958.

[District5]

Box 1971 was for the car barns of the Cincinnati Transit Company in Winton Place.  This facility was demolished several years ago.

[District5]

Box 1242 at Court ' Plum was the 'house box' for Engine 45 at 315 W. Court.  This building now houses the Cincinnati Fire Museum.

[District5]

Box 5922 is unusual in that it provides for a Truck Company response on the 5th alarm.  Most cards only show a truck company through the 3rd or 4th alarm.  Also, all of the cards posted on this thread are courtesy of retired CFD Firefighter Ralph Stelter.

[District5]

Box 1362 at Branch & Stark is located in the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood, just behind the Mad Max Bingo Hall.

Since this card was in use around 40 years ago, the following companies have been disbanded that are listed on the response: Engines 13, 45, 42, 43, 44, 1, 16, 6 and Truck 8.  Every engine company on the 2nd and the 5th alarm at this location is now out of service.

[Box 2565]

Box 6922
This card is for Cincinnati Milling Machine Comapny in Oakley.  Unlike most 4 engine boxes, this card does not have a ladder company assigned on the 4th alarm.  Cincinnati use to operate "night companies" on most boxes.  The company in the brackets would only respond on the first alarm between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

If a 2nd alarm was struck they would respond during the day.  Probably 90% of the CFD running cards listed a night engine.  I saw one card from a 4 engine box that had 2 night engines and another card with Water Tower 2 as a night company.   Those were the only exceptions to the 1 night engine I've ever seen.

[District5]

A typical residential neighborhood card, Box 6157 was located in Hyde Park on the east side of Cincinnati.

[Box 2565]

Box 2548
California & Keen

Most schools in Cincinnati did not have a separate box on or near the building.  This box was located on the corner between the 2 schools listed.

[Box 2565]

Box 1151 - 3rd & Central

This card is unusual in that boxes in the Central Business District normally had an assignment of 4 engines, 2 trucks, and both squads.  For some reason this location was only provided with the smaller assignment that was used in residential areas.
 

[District5]

Baldwin Piano Company
625 Eden Park Entrance between Gilbert & Florence
Fire Box No: 5-5-2179 March 4, 1964 20:31hrs

20:31- Box 2179: E42,16,44,3 T1,9 SQ1, Marshal 5

20:33- 2nd & 3rd Alarms: E23,19,5,45,6,32,39,34 T4,7 SQ52 A1 Marshal 1,2 All Asst. Chiefs & staff cars Supt. of Fire Apparatus Maintenance.

20:46- 4th & 5th Alarms: E13,29,21,14,18,9,12,46

20:55- E43,17

20:58- E31,37

21:00- E20

21:42- E25, A2

Totals: 26 Engines, 4 Trucks

A total of 160 on-duty company members, the Chief, 4 Assistant Chiefs, 4 Marshals, 3 Assistant Marshals, Supervisor of Fire Apparatus Maintenance, the Fire Investigation Squad, CFD Surgeon, and Chaplains responded to the fire.

The emergency recall system was put into operation, resulting in 508 off-duty company members reporting with 14 additional Marshals, Fire Prevention Personnel and various other City employees.

[Box 2565]

After Engine 16's quarters in Cincinnati were closed and the interior of the building had a few things removed, this beautiful listing of alarm assignments was found painted on a wall!

This station was built in 1871 at McMillan & Copeland Streets in the Walnut Hills neighborhood. The company was disbanded after a fire occurred in the station. The building is still there, though it is in rough condition.

[Box 2565]

Cards that were the "house box" were normally notated as such.  For some reason a few of the "house boxes" were not notated such as Box 1495 (Engine 34's quarters).

[FAO25]

Box 6922
This card is for Cincinnati Milling Machine Comapny in Oakley.  Unlike most 4 engine boxes, this card does not have a ladder company assigned on the 4th alarm.  Cincinnati use to operate "night companies" on most boxes.  The company in the brackets would only respond on the first alarm between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

If a 2nd alarm was struck they would respond during the day.  Probably 90% of the CFD running cards listed a night engine.  I saw one card from a 4 engine box that had 2 night engines and another card with Water Tower 2 as a night company.   Those were the only exceptions to the 1 night engine I've ever seen.

Question, would I be correct to think that the large, capital "A" on some of the running cards indicated the Box was "Auxiliarized"?

[Box 2565]

Question, would I be correct to think that the large, capital "A" on some of the running cards indicated the Box was "Auxiliarized"?

The big "A" stood for actual box.  Cincinnati had a very large number of phantom boxes so the A's were added to the box number to show that there really was a street box in place.  Somewhere along the line the practice of adding the "A" simply disappeared as new cards were printed.  Unlike many other cities I'm not aware of Cincinnati using any kind of indicator that would show auxilliary boxes in use.   Cincinnati Milling Machine had (very much in past tense) a huge complex of buildings in Oakley but with only two street boxes in the facility.  There had to have been dozens of auxiliary boxes at CMM but you would never know it from looking at the running card.