Nowadays, fire alarms are crucial, nearly every building has one – whether it’s someone’s home or in a massive, commercial office.

We rely on these life-saving devices to work when we need them to. Like most inventions, the fire alarm has an interesting history, it was invented and over the years it’s been developed as technology got more advanced. So, where did it all start?

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Before the Fire Alarm – Fire Detection

How would people know there was a fire if there was no alarm back in the olden days? The answer to this is pretty simple, although not entirely safe, it was down to members of the community to monitor the area for fires. They would then wake up the entire neighbourhood with whistles or by ringing bell towers. The people in the neighbourhood would then work together to combat the fire before it caused more destruction.

As you can imagine, this tactic got increasingly more difficult as towns and cities got more crowded.

The Invention of the Fire Alarm

In 1852, the first ever fire alarm was designed. Two men named Dr William Channing and Moses Farmer created two fire alarm boxes, both with a telegraphic key and handle. Channing & Farmer took inspiration from the invention of the telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1837, Morse made long distance communication possible.

So, how did these fire alarm boxes work? One man would crank the handle of the box, it would then release a key which sent out a message to the central alarm station. Each fire alarm box had a number which represented a location. The telegrapher at the central alarm station would receive the message and send the location of the box to the fire response team.

 All Fired Up – Developing the Fire Alarm

Channing & Farmer’s invention worked well for a little while; however, cities were growing in population and more structures were being built. This growth was happening fast, and there was still no development to the fire alarm. A lot of people were beginning to recognise that standing around cranking a handle in a box wasn’t the most time-efficient way of alerting the fire department. The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 further validated these concerns, the Chicago fire killed hundreds of people. It was time for a change to the fire alarm system.

In 1890, Francis Robbins Upton invented the first electrical fire alarm system. Many people weren’t that impressed with Upton’s invention, still set in their old-fashioned ways. However, they soon began to realise the importance of a more advanced system.

Decades later, a more modern fire alarm system was introduced - 1965 saw Duane Pearsall and Stanley Peterson invent the battery powered smoke detector. The development of battery powered carbon monoxide detectors hit the market in the 1990s followed by the combination smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in 1996.

Modern Fire Alarms

Today, fire alarms are a lot more advanced, there are a range of different types and they’re usually fitted in homes as standard.

The Safety Centre stocks a wide range of fire alarm systems equipment as well as domestic smoke & carbon monoxide detectors.

If you have a question about any of our products, please don’t hesitate to contact us.