This community was among the last in Massachusetts to retain its original Gamewell fire alarm signaling system (although there still are a several others here in MA where they remain active). New Bedford's Fire Alarm central office utilized its antique but fully functional 1910s or 1920s call-box-reading "ticker-tape" glass-enclosed print-out box with small indicator lights in it through the 1990s or possibly later. The New Bedford system was almost exclusively open-wire along city streets. Those who managed it did not favor paired or combined cable because circuits breaks were much more difficult within them. This was particularly true of the red-sheathed "rural" paired cable that would stretch if there was any reason for it to stretch (falling tree limb, pole hit, etc.) The wire would still visibly look intact and still up in the air. However the breaks within it from stretching could only be detected by checking for circuit continuity at the terminal board inside from call box to call box. This problem was prevalent for other communities who used the newer paired cable. Wise ones kept their old-school openwire without regrets. The New Bedford system has been gradually decomissioned and mostly replaced with wireless call boxes at schools, hospitals and other busy public locations.