What was that odd historic building in Downtown Fresno for?

FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE/KSEE) – An odd-shaped building that stands within a Downtown Fresno intersection is a historic link to how the Fresno Fire Department used to communicate emergency calls to each fire station.

Built in 1917, the triangular-shaped building at Fresno Street and Divisadero Street near Community Regional Medical Center was once the central receiving point for the city’s fire alarm pull stations. When a pull station was activated somewhere in the city, it would send an emergency signal to the building, and then the alarm operators inside would identify which fire station(s) were closest to that emergency and dispatch them via a telegraph-type system, according to the Fresno Fire Department.

That pull station system operated for decades until more modern equipment was installed in the 1970s – and then in the 1980s dispatch responsibilities were no longer managed by fire department personnel.

As of now, the Fresno Fire Department’s 911 reporting and dispatching are provided by American Ambulance at their new Communication Center.

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