Boston Resident Pulls Street-Side Box To Report Fire During 911 Outage
BOSTON (CBS) – With widespread 911 outages, a Boston resident was forced to turn to an antiquated piece of equipment to report a building fire.
The Boston Fire Department knocked down a fire on Endicott Street in the North End around 5:15 a.m. Firefighters were met with heavy smoke pouring out of the building.
Because of the 911 outages, a resident ran outside and pulled the fire box on the sidewalk.
"I give credit to the resident for knowing to pull that box," Firefighter Marc Sanders said.
The box system dates back to 1852. Sanders says the boxes are independent from any utility company and run off a low voltage battery system.
"We have a nice redundant system in the city that if we ever lose the 911 system or any technology or any of the cyber-attacks, that system will always run," Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn said.
No one was injured in the fire.