At one time all cities had emergency fire boxes on major streetcorners. Someone in need of help would pull a lever in the box, which would send a coded signal to the dispatcher and fire station indicating the location. (Pulling the lever activated a clockwork in the box which propelled a tape with punchings to give it a code.)
Many cities have removed those boxes because they were expensive to maintain and obsolete in a day with universal home telephone service and cell phones. However, some cities have found them to be still useful and keep them in service. They have the advtg of being very reliable which cell phones are not, the person does not need to speak English, and give the exact location which might not be known.
The link provided seems to have aged off: here's a current one. You may have to register with the NY Times, but it's free.
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***** Moderator's Note *****
Many cities have removed fire alarm boxes for the reasons given in the article, but they face hidden costs: my brother is a firefighter, and he told me that -
Only ten percent of local subscribers can make a 911 call at any one time, which means any disaster will quickly overload the local network, and prevent reporting of other events which aren't part of the disaster.
Many low-income residences will abandon telephone service during recessions, which deprives then of the ability to call 911 during an emergency. Although in some areas the phone company leaves dial tone active even if the service is cut off, that doesn't apply if there's a shortage of facilities. "Lifeline" service, which is offered in some states, must be applied for - and too many low-income households have undocumented workers who are afraid to deal with the process for fear of "la Migra". The result? Landlords in low-income neighborhoods face higher insurance rates, because the underwriters keep track of telephone line use.
Two-way radios have not obviated the need for the telephone access connections, or even the Morse Code keys and sounders (yes, they're still in there), in the boxes -
A. Major fires can place unusual demand on radio links, which prevents them from being available for the "Health and Welfare" traffic that used to be handled via phone or Morse.
B. Field commanders without access to the telephone circuit (or the Morse circuit) have to report injuries or deaths over-the-air, and TV news crews often beat the Fire Department's chaplain to the home of a fallen firefighter, eager to stick a camera into the face of a newly-made widow.
C. Cell phones are useless on a fireground, both because they're an unwanted expense for cash-strapped municipal governments, and because TV reporters "nail up" cell connections at every fire, just so they can coordinate queues and timing with their control rooms. That means there are no cell connections available, even if firefighters choose to use their own cell phones.
My brother, needless to say, has strong opinions on this subject, but he is also quick to point out that the maintenance costs for Gamewell and other brands of McCulloch-loop systems can overshadow the increased safety and usability benefits the call boxes offer. He emphasized, however, that a decision to remove call boxes needs to be publicly debated so that all the risks and rewards are known in advance.
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