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45-471: The Mount Adams Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Mount Adams at Newcomb in Essex County, New York . The station and contributing resources include a 56-foot-tall (17 m), steel frame lookout tower erected in 1917, a foot trail leading up the 3,250 foot summit, and the 1922 observers cabin with shed and privy . The tower is a prefabricated structure built by

90-445: A "Flash Message" which contained the organized data from the observation. In California these messages were a succinct series of brief phrases describing the number of planes, estimated altitude, heading direction, and number of engines: e.g., "one, high, south east, four" <personal observation>. One can imagine that aircraft approaching the coast would be spotted by multiple posts, resulting in multiple Flash Messages and, therefore,

135-413: A denuded tree and sat on a 2 ft × 2 ft (0.61 m × 0.61 m) platform chair atop that tree. An old fishing boat was once dragged to the top of a high hill and used as a fire lookout tower. Very little is known about the horse-mounted fire lookout, but they, too, rode the ridges patrolling the forest for smoke. Aircraft Warning Service The Aircraft Warning Service ( AWS )

180-542: A few of the Maritime Provinces . Nova Scotia decommissioned the last of its 32 fire towers in 2015 and had them torn down by a contractor. The first fire lookout tower was built to the plans of Forstmeister Walter Seitz between 1890 and 1900, located in the "Muskauer Forst" near Weißwasser . Warnings were transmitted by light signal. For transmission of location, Seitz divided the forest area into so-called "Jagen", numbered areas, with that number to be transmitted to

225-470: A lethal load of high explosives. It soon became clear that a warning system was needed to protect against this new threat. Technology at the outset of World War II consisted of mechanical sound detectors that were found to be inadequate to the job. It was also argued that while soldier lookouts would be valuable, their use would detract from other needed military operations. The answer was found in calling on civilian volunteers to act as airplane spotters. With

270-409: A major social phenomenon of the day. Of significant note to the training effort was the use of black, hard rubber, spotter models for various aircraft. Today, often mistaken for poor quality toys, these models can be worth hundreds of dollars and need to be preserved as part of AWS history. As the war escalated, thousands of observation posts were established on the east coast from the top of Maine to

315-517: A reasonably accurate triangulation of position, speed, direction, altitude, etc. The training and intense watching bore dramatic fruit in the autumn of 1943 when observers at a post in West Palm Beach, Florida , saw and reported instantly the passage of a German aircraft bearing American markings over their post. The fact that the plane was one that had been captured in Europe and was being flown back to

360-420: A sentinel in the forest attracting lost or injured hikers, that make their way to the tower knowing they can get help. In some locations around the country, fire lookout towers can be rented by public visitors that obtain a permit. These locations provide a unique experience for the camper, and in some rental locations, the check out time is enforced when the fire lookout operator returns for duty, and takes over

405-411: A small room, known as a cab, atop a large steel or wooden tower. Historically, the tops of tall trees have also been used to mount permanent platforms. Sometimes natural rock may be used to create a lower platform. In cases where the terrain makes a tower unnecessary, the structure is known as a ground cab . Ground cabs are called towers , even if they don't sit on a tower. Towers gained popularity in

450-615: A terrestrial version for forest fire smoke detection was developed by DLR and IQ Wireless . Currently, about 200 of these sensors are installed around Germany, while similar systems have been deployed in other European countries, Mexico, Kazakhstan and the USA. Several Canadian provinces have fire lookout towers. Dorset, Ontario 's Scenic Tower was built on site of former fire lookout tower (1922-1962). Many fire lookout towers are simply cabs that have been fitted to large railroad water tank towers that are 30 to 60 feet (9 to 20 m) high. One of

495-729: The Adirondack Forest Preserve and Catskill Park , have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places . During the Edo period in Japan fire lookout towers ( 火の見櫓 , Hinomi-yagura ) housed the fire fighting team of town ( 町火消 , Machi-bi-keshi ) . Usually the fire lookout tower was built near a fire station ( 番屋 , Ban-ya ) , and was equipped with a ladder, lookout platform, and an alarm bell ( 半鐘 , Hanshō ) ( ja ). From these towers watchmen could observe

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540-529: The Gloucester tree in Australia, added a permanent platform to the tree by building a wooden or, later, metal structure at the top of the tree, with metal spikes hammered into the trunk to form a spiral ladder. These 'platform trees' were often equipped with telephones, fire finder tables, seats and guy-wires . There are many different types of lookouts. In the early days, the fire lookout operator simply climbed

585-595: The United States Forest Service , founded in 1905. Many townships, private lumber companies, and State Forestry organizations operated fire lookout towers on their own accord. The Great Fire of 1910 , also known as the Big Blowup, burned 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km ) through the states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The smoke from this fire drifted across the entire country to Washington D.C. — both physically and politically — and it challenged

630-460: The fire lookout operator often receives hundreds of forest visitors during a weekend and provides a needed “pre-fire suppression” message, supported by handouts from the " Smokey Bear ", or " Woodsy Owl " education campaigns. This educational information is often distributed to young hikers that make their way up to the fire lookout tower. In this aspect, the towers are remote way stations and interpretive centers. The fire lookout tower also acts as

675-518: The 4th Interceptor Command (later Fourth Fighter Command or IV Fighter Command ) based in Riverside, California . On both coasts, observation posts, information centers and filter centers were established. The United States entered World War II on Dec 7, 1941. Many of those who could not join the military for whatever reason were recruited to the AWS. Statistically, this led to a preponderance of women, apparent in

720-598: The Aermotor Corporation to provide a front line of defense in preserving the Adirondack Park from the hazards of forest fires. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. This article about a historic property or district in Essex County , New York , that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fire lookout tower A typical fire lookout tower consists of

765-826: The Army, including the Army Air Force, and Navy watched the flights moving across the boards. To plot these flights, to staff the battery of telephones and to transmit information from filter rooms to operation rooms and from one filter center to another volunteers worked 24 hours a day. In the summer of 1943, a system of awards for services performed and outstanding accomplishments was established. There were elaborate awards ceremonies for those who "earned their wings" and Merit Awards for those who contributed thousands of hours. In addition to wings and merit awards, there were numerous printed certificates of award and appreciation. Normal insignia included arm bands for Observers and Chief Observers and

810-731: The East Coast it was able to save the lives of many young pilots by bringing speedy aid to those whose planes had crashed. A detailed account of life in an east coast observation post is offered by author Meade Minnigerode in his book, Essex Post , of which only 175 copies were published in 1944 by the Yale University Press. To process the data from the observation posts, Information and Filter Centers were established in strategic, but secret, locations on both coasts. The Army called on Mrs. Adelaide Rickenbacker, wife of Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker of World War I fame, to assist in recruiting for

855-798: The Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt formed the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), consisting of young men and veterans of World War I. It was during this time that the CCC set about building fire lookout towers, and access roads to those towers. The U.S. Forest Service took great advantage of the CCC workforce and initiated a massive program of construction projects, including fire lookout towers. In California alone, some 250 lookout towers and cabs were built by CCC workers between 1933 and 1942. The heyday of fire lookout towers

900-640: The New Hampshire Timberlands Owners Association, a fire protection group, was formed and soon after, similar organizations were set up in Maine and Vermont. A leader of these efforts, W.R. Brown , an officer of the Brown Company which owned over 400,000 acres of timberland, set up a series of effective forest-fire lookout towers, possibly the first in the nation, and by 1917 helped establish a forest-fire insurance company. In 1933, during

945-583: The U.S. Midwest and South, but a few are in the mountainous West. In the northeast, all of the towers in the Adirondack Mountains and most in the Catskills were Aermotor towers erected between 1916 and 1921. The typical cab of an Aermoter had a 7 by 7 feet (2.1 by 2.1 m) cab with a fire locating device mounted in the center. Access was by way of a trap door in the floor. Ground cabs are still known as "towers" even though there may be no such tower under

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990-669: The United States for examination detracted not one bit from the effectiveness of the recognition instruction. At the peak of operation, the Aircraft Warning Service of the First Fighter Command numbered some 750,000 individuals, of whom about 12,000 were in information and filter centers. Practice interceptions, run almost daily provided significant experience to ground officers and pilots working under simulated combat conditions. Because of its huge scope of operations on

1035-468: The cab for the day shift. Fire lookout towers are an important part of American history and several organizations have been founded to save, rebuild, restore, and operate fire lookout towers. Starting in 2002, traditional fire watch was replaced by "FireWatch", optical sensors located on old lookout towers or mobile phone masts. Based on a system developed by the DLR for analyzing gases and particles in space,

1080-436: The cab. These towers can be one, two or three stories tall with foundations made of natural stone or concrete. These towers vary greatly in size, but many are simple wooden or steel tower cabs that were constructed using the same plans, sans the tower. The simplest kind consist of a ladder to a suitable height. Such trees could have platforms on the ground next to them for maps and a fire finder. A more elaborate version, such as

1125-478: The calculated risk we are assuming in reducing our air defense measures is justified by the offensive power we will thereby release." With no fighters to scramble, no observers were necessary so inactivation was announced on May 29, 1944. On June 6, 1944 , the allies invaded Europe. On May 27, 1944, Col. Stewart W. Towle Jr. Commander of the Air Corps, wrote, "I want to express my personal appreciation and that of all

1170-455: The centers. The bulk of the center personnel were women drawn from the ranks of housewives, office workers, actresses, entertainers, and executives. In the summer of 1943, the center volunteers were given a name – Aircraft Warning Corps (AWC). Center personnel represented the information from the flash messages designations on markers placed on large regional plotting maps in windowless rooms. From balconies overlooking these maps, officers of

1215-730: The city. He received a patent for this system in 1902. Seitz traveled to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition for a presentation of his idea in the USA. As wood had been a key building material in Russia for centuries, urban fires were a constant threat to the towns and cities. To address that issue, in the early 19th century a program was launched to construct fire stations equipped with lookout towers called kalancha , overlooking mostly low-rise quarters. Watchmen standing vigil there could signal other stations as well as their own using simple signals. Surviving towers are often local landmarks. Fire towers are still in use in Australia, particularly in

1260-458: The cost of contracting fire suppression services, because at the time there was not the large Forest Service Fire Department that exists today. As a result of the above rules, early fire detection and suppression became a priority. Towers began to be built across the country. While earlier lookouts used tall trees and high peaks with tents for shelters, by 1911 permanent cabins and cupolas were being constructed on mountaintops. Beginning in 1910,

1305-439: The early 1900s, and fires were reported using telephones, carrier pigeons and heliographs . Although many fire lookout towers have fallen into disrepair from neglect, abandonment and declining budgets, some fire service personnel have made efforts to preserve older fire towers, arguing that a person watching the forest for wildfire can be an effective and cheap fire control measure. The history of fire lookout towers predates

1350-467: The entire town, and in the event of a fire they would ring the alarm bell, calling up firemen and warning town residents. In some towns the bells were also used to mark the time. While the fire lookout towers remained fully equipped into the Shōwa period , they were later replaced by telephone and radio broadcasting systems in many cities. Like the United States, fire towers were built across Canada to protect

1395-514: The fire is to be managed. The more modern policy is to "manage fire", not simply to suppress it. Fire lookout towers provide a reduction in time of fire detection to time of fire management assessment. Idaho had the most known lookout sites (966); 196 of them still exist, with roughly 60 staffed each summer. Kansas is the only U.S. state that has never had a lookout. A number of fire lookout tower stations, including many in New York State near

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1440-424: The five-year-old Forest Service to address new policies regarding fire suppression, and the fire did much to create the modern system of fire rules, organizations, and policies. One of the rules as a result of the 1910 fire stated "all fires must be extinguished by 10 a.m. the following morning." To prevent and suppress fires, the U.S. Forest Service made another rule that townships, corporations and States would bear

1485-506: The help of the American Legion , volunteers were organized in May 1941 into the Aircraft Warning Service, the civilian arm of the Army's Ground Observer Corps . On the east coast, the AWS was under the auspices of the Army Air Force's 1st Interceptor Command (later First Fighter Command or I Fighter Command ) based at Mitchel Field , New York. On the west coast, the AWS was under the auspices of

1530-749: The last wooden fire lookout towers in Southern California was the South Mount Hawkins Fire Lookout, in the Angeles National Forest. A civilian effort is underway to rebuild the tower after its loss in the Curve Fire of September 2002. The typical cab of a wooden tower can be from 10 ft × 10 ft (3.0 m × 3.0 m) to 14 ft × 14 ft (4.3 m × 4.3 m) Steel towers can vary in size and height. They are very sturdy, but tend to sway in

1575-541: The mountainous regions of the south-eastern states. Victoria 's Forest Fire Management operates 72 towers across the state during the fire season with towers being constructed as recently as 2016. Jimna Fire Tower in Southeastern Queensland is the tallest fire tower in the country, at 47 meters above the ground, and is included on the state heritage register. Today hundreds of towers are still in service with paid-staff and/or volunteer citizens. In some areas,

1620-598: The rare AWC patch for filter center workers. On the east coast, to coordinate the interest of the volunteers and to provide a medium for important news and training information, the "Observation Post," a semi-monthly publication of the Ground Observer Corps, was started in March 1942. This four page black and white newsletter gave way to a full-fledged monthly magazine, "Aircraft Warning Volunteer" in June 1943. The original editor

1665-429: The remaining fire lookout towers, but in several environments, the technology failed. Fires detected from space are already too large to make accurate assessments for control. Cell phones in wilderness areas still suffer from lack of signal. Today, some fire lookout towers remain in service, because having human eyes being able to detect smoke and call in the fire report allows fire management officials to decide early how

1710-499: The surviving material, but seemingly little recognized. All observers received extensive training in aircraft recognition. This training was so successful that it spilled over into the non-AWS population. Aircraft recognition became a significant hobby providing many with thousands of hours of entertainment and spawning many books and publications, including flashcards , on the subject. Many participated in contests and recognition "Bees". Recognition clubs and meeting flourished becoming

1755-471: The tip of Florida , and roughly inland as far as the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains . On the west coast, posts ranged from upper Washington to lower California . Each post had its own code name and number. When aircraft were spotted, the volunteers would record their observations on forms or in log books and then quickly place a call to a regional Army Filter Center and verbally deliver

1800-477: The valuable trees for the forestry industry. Most towers were built in the early 1920s to 1950s and were a mix of wood and steel structures. A total of 325 towers dotted the landscape of Ontario in the 1960s, and today approx. 156 towers span the province, but only a handful of towers remained in use after the 1970s. They are still in use in British Columbia , Alberta , Saskatchewan , Manitoba , Ontario and

1845-474: The wind more than wooden towers. The typical cab of a steel tower can be from 10 ft × 10 ft (3.0 m × 3.0 m) to 14 ft × 14 ft (4.3 m × 4.3 m) The Aermotor Company , originally of Chicago, Illinois, was the first and lead manufacturer of steel fire towers from the 1910s to the mid-1920s. These towers have very small cabs, as the towers are based on Aermotor windmill towers . These towers are often found in

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1890-465: Was Capt. Frederick W. Pederson. The last publication was a commemorative issue in June 1944. On the west coast, The National Broadcasting Company hosted a famous 30 minute weekly radio broadcast, "Eyes, Aloft!" that provided similar AWS information over the air from August 17, 1942, to November 10, 1943, some 61 episodes. A principal actor was Henry Fonda. On March 31, 1944, the IV Fighter Command

1935-532: Was a civilian service of the United States Army Ground Observer Corps instated during World War II to keep watch for enemy planes entering American airspace . It became inactive on May 29, 1944. During World War I , the airplane was not generally used as a long-range fighting machine. However, during the period from 1919 to the start of World War II , the heavy bomber was created, capable of ranging far from its home base and carrying

1980-502: Was disbanded. On May 16, 1944, Henry L. Stimson , Secretary of War, wrote in a letter announcing the coming inactivation of the GOC, AWC and AWS, "This does not mean that the War Department is of the opinion that all danger of enemy bombing has passed. On the contrary, a small-scale sneak raid is still within the capabilities of our enemies. We must win this war in Europe and Asia, however, and

2025-587: Was from 1930 through 1950. During World War II, the Aircraft Warning Service was established, operating from mid-1941 to mid-1944. Fire lookouts were assigned additional duty as Enemy Aircraft Spotters, especially on the West Coast of the United States. From the 1960s through the 1990s the towers took a back seat to new technology, aircraft, and improvements in radios. The promise of space satellite fire detection and modern cell phones tried to compete with

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