Detroit Fire Department Has Alert System Made of Pop Cans, Doorbells
September 7th, 2014Via: Detroit Free Press:
Detroit is so broke that firefighters get emergency alerts through pop cans, coins, door hinges, pipes and doorbells.
And they make these gizmos themselves — one involving a pop can that gets tipped over by an incoming fax. The clink of the can means there’s an emergency. Then there’s the chain-reaction gadget: a fax hits a door hinge, which then tugs on a wire, which then sets off a doorbell.
“It sounds unbelievable, but it’s truly what the guys have been doing and dealing with for a long, long time,” said Detroit Deputy Fire Commissioner John Berlin, adding that technological upgrades are long overdue. “We’re in desperate need. We’re probably 30 years behind.”
Research Credit: CP
