ERS & Pullbox in service

T

tperez102

Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
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Hello All not sure if this thread was started elsewhere. My issue is in My area we have lots of construction going on. At least 5 pull boxes have been knocked over. Are these still sending a signal to dispatch? Should they be replaced or repaired? Reported them All but still laying there destroyed. Any suggestions either than 311?
 
A shame to say but this has been going on for yrs in NYC ....Alarm Box upkeep in NYC is dismal at best......a great system allowed to fall into a sad state....they always cop out with the old "everybody has a cell phone " total BS. your local FH cannot do anything....try calling the City Council "CHAIR OF FIRE & LIFE SAFETY".....who may also today be another pair of deaf ears but give it a try .....when some of the previous Chairs were presented with the problem the administration did a smoke & mirrors play with ridiculous cell phone catch all & they bought into it......many reasons why cells don't replace the Box system.
 
The Washington DC fire alarm telegraph system was deactivated years ago but the decorative alarm boxes remain in place for the most part. They are considered part of the history of DC and are revered by the local populace. Too bad NYC didn't have the foresight to preserve theirs.
 
We had a Young man in the City restoring them removing stickers graffiti and repainting them. Paints the Box numbers over if it's there. Hope He's not arrested for defacing the Box. Sounds stupid but this city is nuts.
 
Maybe a dispatcher from the Communications Office can chime in, but what percentage of alarms are transmitted from an ERS / Pull Box these days. I would believe with everybody in possession of a cellphone, the ERS / Pull Box system is not used to often.
 
The last job of an ERS box that I can remember was probably the one in the Bronx like 3 years ago, the box was literally like 5ft from the house, it went to a 2nd Alarm

From the hours of 23:00-07:30 the Bronx religiously gets 10-92 ERS boxes all over the borough, the rest of the boroughs, not so much, Manhattan & Queens might get a few, but Brooklyn and SI rarely do

It was one of the “calls”, the brothers don’t instantly show up the second someone pushes one lol, and during the day it wouldn’t get sent out unless someone said fire like that guy did

Between the hours of 07:30-23:00 unless someone reports a legit emergency into one, they automatically don’t get sent out, from 23:00-07:30 they automatically get sent out by the DD as the ARD is taking the call
 
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I look at the ERS/Pull Box as an insurance policy. I know cell phones are all over the place but I have experienced poor reception or dead spots and have been unable to use the phone. It’s expensive to maintain but I think it’s worth it. I still look for the Boxes and the orange ish red light mounted high up on the pole.

Then again the high pressure hydrant system in NYC was at onetime worth maintaining also.
 
Areas that don't get many ERS Runs during the scheduled Response hours do not necesarily mean that miscreants are not hitting them......it's that a lot of both Mechanical & or ERS Boxes are NO LONGER connected.....when i was a LT in 332 we hardly ever got to see the 11 PM News ....at 2300 it was ERS time.
 
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