Found on street corners and in public buildings all across the country, these fire alarm boxes represent a massive improvement in the ability to alert the public to the existence of a fire. These alarm boxes utilized the telegraph system to call fire departments to a specified location whenever the alarm was pulled. They were made of cast iron, and they all were marked with a unique number that was assigned based on the box's location.

When an alarm box was activated, a signal would be sent to the city's central alarm station. The dispatch operator at the station would cross reference the number on the box with the corresponding street address, and they would activate the city bell towers and send the signal to the closest fire department with the address they were to respond to. This system revolutionized firefighters' ability to respond to emergencies and would eventually lead to the operating system we have in place today.