Lynn fire department phasing out alarm boxes

LYNN – Lynn District Fire Chief Bill Murray pulled the lever on Fire Box 6115, which hangs on the Western Avenue department headquarters, and what sounded like an old wind-up timer began buzzing.About a minute and a half later, Murray radioed into the office where the box system is monitored.”Negative, no box signal received,” a voice reported.The pull was just a test. But the result of the experiment, plus the costs to repair Box 6115 and others throughout the city combined with the ubiquity of cellphones and other technology have led the fire department to begin decommissioning the alarm box system that has served the city for generations.”To repair and keep them operating as we always have, it would easily be in the million-dollar range, due in part to having them be let go for so long and having them viewed as a low priority for city funds,” Lynn Fire Chief James McDonald said.But McDonald said the decision to abandon the system – which he said was “not a perfect system and not a bad system either” – was not easy to make.”It’s a system that I’m reluctant to do away with because it’s an added layer of protection,” McDonald said. “My biggest worry is to make sure the public understands those boxes will be no longer in use.”The alarm pull boxes are mounted on public buildings, houses of worship, and utility and freestanding poles throughout the city and are connected via a hardwired system.When the box’s lever is pulled, a gear in the box begins unwinding and buzzing, sending a low-voltage signal via wire to a central office, Murray explained. If pulled during the day, Murray said a ladder and engine truck typically would respond and look for the person who pulled the box. If at night, historically three engines and a ladder truck accompanied by a district chief would report to the alarm.Murray said there are now more than 400 alarm boxes in the city of Lynn spread out among 20 circuits. Firefighters responding to the boxes have to rewind the gear so it is ready for the next pull.The system is old, however. McDonald said the system dates back to the era of the telegraph, and many of the circuits operate on copper wires. Expanding circuits, weather, development and repairs since the system was installed has led to a complicated network of wires underneath city streets. The city electrical department used to maintain the system, Murray said. But department staff cuts over the years have meant that repairs have been delayed or neglected, and major repairs have been sent to a private contractor.”It’s a system that’s been grossly neglected and never been fully repaired,” McDonald. “Now that they’re getting old and hard to take care of, you can’t get the parts, and there’s no expertise to repair them.”Plus, with almost everybody carrying a cellphone, there are several ways now to report a fire or emergency.”Back in the day, it might be the only notification we received of a fire,” Murray said. “In today’s day and age, that would never happen.”McDonald said the system has advantages, however. It is a direct system: you pull and firefighters arrive. A cellphone call to 911 goes to State Police, who transfer the call to a local department where the caller must explain the emergency, McDonald noted. He said this can increase the risk of communication errors made through confusion, language barriers and unfamiliarity with the local area.On the other hand, the system did produce false alarms, particularly on boxes near schools around dismissal times.But the most salient problem with the system is its repair and operating cost.So the fire department is starting to go around the city and take the alarm boxes out of service, covering them with trash bags so that they can no longer be seen or activated by the public. The Inspectional Services department will follow up and dismantle the boxes.Murray said firefighters have decommissioned about 50 percent of the boxes so far. Fire officials said they just hope the public realizes the alarm boxe