NEAFC 32nd Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEw ENGLAND flxSSOCIATION O1 ¯ FIRE CHIEFS
When the apparatus reaches, the scene, and there is no fire, the o~cer in
charge would test the telephone from the box. If he cannot talk to the at)
tendant, he might reach the latter over the mobile-radio on the fire truck and
report the telep.hone out-of-order, and place an out-of-order sign on the box
door. The attendant will notify the telephone company of the situation. ’
The switchboard will be equipped with two audible signals, a buzzer as~
sociated with the line lamps which indicates a call from a telephone alarm box
and a bell associated with the trouble lamps. The buzzer will sound, whenever
a line lamp lights, to attract the attendant’s attention to the call. It
stops when he inserts, a cord to answer the call, extinguishing the light. The
key provided on an ordinary switchboard which allows, the attendant to turn
of~ the audible signal will be omitted from this board. However, since the
audible signal sounding on ia. second call might interfere with hearing on a
prior connection on which the attendant is still talking, a foot switch would
be provided, which will silence the buzzer for as. long as the attendant keeps
~oot pressure on the switch. A bell will sound when a trouble lamp lights.
It can be silenced only by the attendant inserting a cord into the associated
line jack, and*leaving it there. "
The bell is not prevented from sounding if another trouble lamp lights,
while a cord is in the first one. The presence of th~ cord in the jack is a continual
reminder to the attendant of a trouble on that line. When it has
been cleared, the telephone company advises: him, the trouble lamp is extinguished
by the clearance, and the cord may be removed, without the bell
ringing again.
Emergency reporting lines on the switchboard are arranged in groups,
each of which has. a pilot light which comes on when a call is. made from any
line in the .group. Protective measures against disruption of the system by
burned-out lamps are provided by periodic tests; by the design of the major
signals in the telephone o~ice, which function independently of lamp operation;
by the sounding of the audible signals on the switchboard, even if a lamp does
not work; and, by providing .a method by which the switchboard attendant
can quickly ascertain which line is causing an audible signal without a light
appearance. To do s 0, the attendant tests successively with one of his cords
each of the thirty lines in the group whose pilot light is on. This operation
would require only a few seconds, and the audible signal would cease as. soon
as he plugs into the line on which the lamp is burned out.
Arrangements wouKi be made by the telephone company in the interest
of public safety, for emergency handling, day or night, of’ any troubles detected
or reported on the system. Restoration after service failures, caused by
a major disaster, would take precedence over all other services with the possible
exception of operational military and civil defense installations, which
would be given equal priority.
One other aspect of fire reporting arrangements has. to do with customer
owned automatic fire detection systems. At the present time, the telephone,
company provides leased channels which-terminate in .equipment furnished
by others than the telephone company for this. purpose. The question has been
raised as to the possibility of ~connecting sprinkler and private alarm circuits
directly to the emergency telephone reporting switchboards. The problems
involved are now being studied. Currently, fire detection devices of this kind
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