Running Cards show the which fire companies will respond to a particular firebox. Every address in the city is built into a database
which in cross-referenced to the nearest firebox in the area. With the assignments to each firebox already pre-determined, the response to any address
can be easily determined.
Running Cards have existed since the development of the Fire Alarm System. Every fire company cannot respond to every fire box. By
predetermining a response pattern, the most efficient use of resources is accomplished in a timely fashion. By using street patterns, one-way
streets, firehouse locations, bridges, highways, railroad tracks, and other physical barriers, the fire companies with the quickest possible
response are pre-selected. For multiple alarms above the first alarm, the process includes determining a response to the fire location, and also
to cover firehouses near the scene of the fire.
NOTE: The Fire Alarm Office (FAO) and all firehouses currently use a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, which is based on the
Running Cards but is not dependent on them exclusively. Paper copies of the Running Cards are kept up to date at the FAO and all firehouses in the
event the CAD system fails.
Every firehouse maintains a card file containing all the Running Cards. When an alarm is received in the firehouse, the firefighter
on watch pulls the card for that Box and determines if the fire company or any other fire company in the firehouse is required to respond. Sometimes
just the engine company or the ladder company may respond, while the other company does not, based on the Running Card.
Refer to the example Running Card below. This a 1929 edition of the Running Card for Box 1362 at Pinckney and Anderson Streets on
Beacon Hill in downtown Boston. This Running Card came from a set which was kept in a firehouse, which accounts for the worn and somewhat soiled
patina. Note the changes which were made to this Card over the years. The changes are made for many different reasons. For example, a fire company
may have been taken out of service, or a street pattern change may have been made by the city. The reference to the Sharp School means the fire alarm
system in the school is connected (auxilary) to this Box.
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This is a 5 Alarm Running Card, with five rows of assignments.
The 1st Alarm response to this Box is shown on the first row. Engines 10, 4, 6 and 35 respond, with Engine 10 being regarded as
'First Due' as they are the closest fire company to the Box location. Ladders 24 and 17, Rescue 3, District 4 (or 5) chief also respond.
Based on the severity of the fire, a 2nd Alarm may be ordered by the Fire Officer in command at the scene. The 2nd Alarm response
is on the second row. Engines 8, 7, 50, 3, and 15 respond, along with Ladders 1 and 3, Division 1 chief and District 7 chief.
3rd, 4th and 5th alarms follow the same pattern.
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Assuming a Second Alarm, with nine engine companies and four ladder companies at the scene or responding, many firehouses are thus uncovered
in the Beacon Hill, Back Bay and Downtown areas. Thus firehouse 'Covering' must take place, and the right side of the second row identifies
the covering response. Nine engine companies move to cover, while three ladder companies move as well.
It was noted earlier that Engine 10 was 'First Due' to the fire, as it was the nearest firehouse to the fire location. In the Engine
Covering column, second row, note the 33-10 item. This means the Engine 33, from 941 Boylston St., Back Bay, covers Engine 10, by driving to Engine
10's firehouse, parking inside, and assuming any calls that Engine 10 would normally respond to. The same hold true for the 3rd alarm. Engine 33
responds to the fire on the 3rd alarm and Engine 37 from 560 Huntington Av. in Roxbury covers Engine 10. On a 4th alarm, Engine 37 responds to the
fire, but Engine 10's house is not covered for this alarm or a 5th alarm. Other firehouses in the general area are covered, however.
The 5 Alarm Running Card system stayed in effect until 1980. All the cities and towns in the
Massachusetts Fire District 13 (Metrofire) except Boston adopted the 10 Alarm Running Card system. Boston adopted a 9 Alarm Running Card system at
that time. The 10(9) Alarm Running Card system helped to develop a consistency to alarm levels within
big cities and small towns, and to help coordinate mutual aid response within the Metrofire area. The first official 9th Alarm fire in Boston took
place on June 17, 1980, at 70 Western Av., Allston, in a large railroad shed, involving railway boxcars and tractor trailer trucks.
To view the different editions of the Boston Running Cards, and the Metrofire Running Cards, refer to the table below.
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