Springfield Fire Commissioner: the vast majority of false fire alarms are prank calls made anonymously from fire alarm boxes on street corners  Since virtually everyone has access to a private telephone, these alarm boxes have outlived their usefulness  Ttherefore, we propose to remove the boxes
Removing the boxes will reduce the number of prank calls without hampering people' s ability to report a fire
A telephone call can provide the fire department with more information about the nature and size of a fire than can an alarm placed from an alarm box.