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Historical Summer 2019 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The St. Louis Fire Department has been blessed with excellent Fire Alarm Dispatchers over the years. That was no exception in my day. Dispatchers like Gary Sedovic, Barb Pikesley, Mary Cunningham, Denny McGuire, and Donna Karcher come to mind.
These and many other dispatcher worked at what we called Fire Alarm located in Forest Park on Oakland Avenue just west of Kingshighway. Dispatchers were on duty 24/7 answering the phones and dispatching fire trucks to fires and other emergencies. Something else they did was monitor the “Big Board.” This large electrical panel stretched across the office and was the receiver for the corner pull boxes.
During the seventies, St. Louis utilized thousands of these red boxes mounted on yellow poles.
The system was well maintained by a cadre of technicians led by Ed Bradley and the Costello brothers.
The pull boxes were a unique way for people to get help. Just pull the hook and within three minutes the fire department would be there answering your emergency. Emergencies ran the gamut; person with a flat tire, a stabbing victim, someone who just got robbed, of course fires, but quite often a false alarm. Years ago when a person pulled the hook three pumpers, a hook and ladder or two, and a battalion chief were dispatched.
This was reduced to one pumper, one hook and ladder, and the battalion chief as the frequency of false alarms went up. By the time I got on the job, only one pumper was dispatched. Eventually a fire engine dispatched to a pull box would respond “on the quiet.” That is to say, the fire truck would respond without using their emergency lights or siren.
The theory was; no lights, no siren, no excitement for the one pulling the hook. Hence, fewer false alarms.
This was good in theory only and about 1976 the decision was made to remove the pull boxes.
The Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood had its share of these boxes as did the rest of Engine #30’s fire district.
The area we protected basically included Union on the east, Maple on the north, East Gate on the west, and the upper parking lot of the Muny Opera on the south. One of our more notorious boxes was Box 5135 – DeBalievere and McPherson.
The false alarm rate from this box got so bad, we stopped responding to it.
We simple walked out front of the firehouse and looked down the street.
We could see the kids hiding in the bushes.
This was one of the first boxes removed from our neighborhood. Before they were all removed, pull boxes stood at Pershing and DeBaliviere, Waterman and Rosedale, McPherson and DeBaliviere, and Westminster Place at Skinker. And there were other.
I have a few stories about these fire alarm boxes that I will share with you next time. Until then, stay safe.
Original photograph caption
Historic corner fire alarm pull box.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Summer 2019.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2019_06.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
