Countless times I have been asked, "What is a 'Box Number?'" or "What does 'Box 4141' mean?" or "What
does it mean when all those bells start ringing in Newark's firehouses?"

Back in the days of yore, men used to sit in tall towers with telescopes, peering out over the city... looking
for any telltale sign of fire. Should they spot smoke or flames, they would figure out the general area and
hammer out a signal over a large bell to alert firefighters what area of the city the fire was in. As one can
imagine, it was not exactly foolproof, and it wouldn't be until the fire was quite visible before being spott-
ed. The Chicago Fire was one such instance where firefighters were sent to the wrong area of the city.

So, a better way of notifying the fire department of a fire was needed. Necessity being the mother of inven-
tion brought about the birth of the fire alarm telegraph system.

 Fire boxes were placed on street corners and hooked to wires that went directly to a fire alarm office. Just
as the utility companies had their own wires to supply power and telephone service, a municipality would
have its own wires to provide fire alarm service. A fire box would be placed on a corner and a number wo-
uld be assigned to the box. When that box was activated, it would send that coded number to the fire alarm
office, telling them that someone had activated the fire alarm box at that location. They would then go to
their assignment book, or running assignment card, to see where that box number was located. In addition
to the location, the book or card would also list the nearest fire companies due to respond to that alarm. The
Operators would then transmit the same coded number to all the firehouses in the city. Every fire company
had the same exact book, or running cards, that the Fire Alarm Operators had, and the men assigned to the
housewatch in the firehouses would look up the box number to see if their company was due to respond.

When Newark's fire alarm system was first installed, box numbers were composed of  one, two, and three
digits. For example, Box 21 was located at Broad and Market Streets, and Box 233 was located at Clinton
Avenue and Bergen Street.

 As the city was expanding rapidly, the department was running out of numbers to assign to the newly ins-
talled boxes. Also, many chief officers were complaining that the high-numbered, three-digit boxes were
taking too long to count as they came in over the alarm circuits, and the constant ringing of the gongs was
very unnerving. You see, in those days, four rounds of the box number were transmitted to the firehouses,
rather than the two rounds as is done today. (a round is one cycle of the complete box number). For exam-
ple, Box 689 would send 92 blows over the firehouse gongs before it finished transmitting! In addition, the
gongs were of the huge, brass variety, which usually let the entire neighborhood know an alarm was com-
ing in. As you can imagine, it could get a bit noisy.

It was then decided to change over to a four-digit numbering system as we have today, and on August 12,
1913, the first four-digit box was placed in service - Box 2124 at Dayton and Foster Streets. However, the
first alarm from the newly numbered boxes was not received until January 4, 1914, when Box 6126 was
pulled at 21:53 hours, from South Orange and Stuyvesant Avenues. There was a boil over of a grease ket-
tle at 989 South Orange Avenue, and the lads made short work of the ensuing blaze, with little damage
done to the building or contents.

August 1, 1931 saw the last three-digit box fall into the annals of history, and from that time to the present,
all Newark's boxes have been four-digit.

 It was also during that time that the present numbering system went into effect. The first number of a box
indicates the battalion that it's located in. The second number specifies a certain geographical sector wi-
thin that battalion. The last two digits signify the street corner location with that sector. For example, let's
take a look at Box 4141. The first number indicates the box is located in the Fourth Battalion. The second
number, one (1), indicates that it sits in an area bounded by High Street, Clinton Avenue, and Elizabeth
Avenue to the east, Hawthorne  Avenue to the south, Belmont Avenue to the west, and Springfield Avenue
to the north. The last two digits indicate the corner of Spruce and Charlton Streets within that geographic-
al area. Also, certain areas of the city, such as the Vailsburg and Weequahic areas, have sets of numbers
indicating that area alone. All boxes beginning with "15" or "16" are in Vailsburg; all boxes beginning with
"45" or "46" are in Weequahic. Knowing this system, all you need are the first two digits of the box to know
the general area to respond to. First Deputy Chief James Donlon, for example, knew the secret of the box
layout system and would be out the door before the first round of the box finished. All he needed to hear
was the first two digits and he knew exactly what direction to head in.

If the second digit is a seven, eight, or nine, then it is a private building box within that battalion. For exa-
mple; Box 5811 is assigned to Saint James Hospital, which is located in the Fifth Battalion; Box 5792 is ass-
igned to the Assembly Point at Newark Airport for Plane Crash Only, which is located in the Fifth Battalion;
Box 4711 is assigned to Malcolm X. Shabazz High School (formerly South Side High School) in the Fourth
Battalion.

 Prior to this numbering system the boxes were installed indiscriminately around the city, with little or no
real system to speak of.

Occasionally, you may see mention of box numbers beginning with a "six" or "seven" in some of the hist-
orical reports, i.e. 6154, 7121 etc. These were numbers that were assigned to the private alarm agencies
who serviced the Newark area, such as ADT, NDT, EPC, and several others. These numbers are no longer
used. The alarm agency calls Fire Alarm by phone now and gives them the address, and the dispatcher
then uses the nearest street box.

So, there you have it... the secret to Newark's fire box numbers, and the answers to the opening questions.