History of Police and Fire Call Boxes

History of Police and Fire Call Boxes. . , Police call boxes like this one were used in this neighborhood from the 1920s to the 1970s by the Metropolitan Police to call in reports. (In older parts of Washington, police call boxes were used as early as the 1880s.) Each officer had a key to open the call box to check in with his precinct, get assignments or request backup if needed. With the advent of two-way radios and walkie-takies, the use of police call boxes declined and were eliminated by the 1980s., Fire alarm boxes like the one across the street were used from the 1920s to the 1980s to report fires. (In older parts of Washington, fire call boxes were introduced as early as the 1860s.) In case of fire, anyone could activate the alarm by opening the door and pulling the lever. An automatic telegraph system transmitted the box number to a central office that directed the closes fire station to dispatch a fire truck to the vicinity of the call box. The use of fire call boxes was recduced as more people got telephones in their homes and by the 1980s they were shut down, replaced by the 911 emergency system., These call boxes were refurbished in 2019 thanks to the generous contributions of the reisdents and friends of the Foxhall Community Citizens Association.