The City of Raleigh Fire Department operated a telegraph-based alarm system from 1888 until 1973.
For many years, the fastest way to sound an alarm for a fire was to pull the closest fire alarm box on a corner. The fire alarm dispatcher was notified of the box alarm and turned out the appropriate companies. Firefighters never knew the exact address or the type of incident they were responding to; only that a citizen had an emergency.
With the proliferation of telephones in homes and businesses, and with the city growing outward, a decision was made to discontinue the box alarm system in the early 1970s.
Box 25 was originally located at Fayetteville and South, then located one-half block west to South Salisbury and South.
Box 25 is the South Atlantic FIRE RESCUE Expo designation for the location of the lot bounded by Lenoir, South Salisbury, South and South Wilmington Streets.
It is the exterior area for the location of the following SAFRE events:
- BBQ Throwdown
- Corn Hole Tournament
- Firefighter Competitions
- Post Parade Apparatus Parking
