Fire Trivia

It all started on October 9, 1911, when Fire Prevention Day was inaugurated. The date of October 9 was chosen because it marks the anniversary of the "Great Chicago Fire of 1871" -- the disaster that killed 250 people and destroyed 17,430 buildings at a cost of $168 million, and the fire that started people thinking in terms of fire prevention rather than only firefighting.

Fire Prevention Day was begun by the Fire Marshals Association of North America, now part of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The day was first proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson on the 40th anniversary of the Chicago blaze.

In 1992, on recommendation of a member of NFPA and unanimous vote of the membership at the association's annual meeting that year, the fire safety observance was extended to cover the entire week that includes the October 9 anniversary date. President Warren Harding was the first to officially proclaim National Fire Prevention Week.

NFPA continues to be the international sponsor of Fire Prevention Week, which is always the Sunday-through-Saturday period during which the October 9 anniversary date falls.

"If you pick up the telephone receiver in this town you may, or may not, get a dial tone. If you get on a subway you may, or may not, get stuck in a tunnel for an hour. The wall socket in your apartment may, or may not, contain electricity. The city's air may, or may not, be killing you. The only real sure thing in this town is that the firemen come when you pull down the handle on that red box." - Dennis Smith speaking of New York City in the 60's and 70's

What's so interesting about Fire Alarm Telegraph systems? Well, a couple of things. First, box alarms are probably the only 19th century technology that is still in everyday use. It's in use because, simply, it works. No VLSI chips, no routers, no ISO 7 layer model. Just a clockwork wheel that breaks a circuit.

Here's what happens when you pull the box to report a fire. All the boxes in a neighborhood or even a town are on the same circuit. When you pull the hook, the switch trips a clockwork motor. The motor turns a notched wheel. The notches break the circuit. The notches on the wheel are arranged to send a pattern of signals to the Fire Alarm Office. For instance, Box 5111's code wheel has 5 notches, a space, another notch, space, notch, space, notch. Each time the circuit is broken, a relay that had been held open by the box circuit closes causing a bell to ring and a paper hole punch register to start.

An operating tape register can be seen at the fire station on Young Lane.
For more info on box alarm systems go here

Oxygen, heat, and fuel are frequently referred to as the "fire triangle." Add in the fourth element, the chemical reaction, and you actually have a fire "tetrahedron." The important thing to remember is: take any of these four things away, and you will not have a fire or the fire will be extinguished.

Essentially, fire extinguishers (and Firefighters) put out fire by taking away one or more elements of the fire triangle/tetrahedron.
Go here to see more info on fire extinguishers.

Fire safety, at its most basic, is based upon the principle of keeping fuel sources and ignition sources separate.