BOURNE
SIGNAL HILL CACHE
Town:
Bourne
Mountain or Hill: Signal Hill
Height above sea level: 221 FT
Tower Structure Height: 68 FT
First date of operation: Mar 12, 1914
Type: Steel Tower
This is currently an active
state tower
* The original 48 FT tower sat on town land.
* A half mile of phone line was built to this tower
* Two-way radios were installed were installed in 1938
* In 1947, a new 68 FT tower was built and it's cab was replaced
in 1968.
The Massachusetts Bureau of Forest
Fire Control is responsible for the protection of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts 3.5 million acres of state, public, and private
forested land.
FIRE DETECTION
The early detection of forest fires is a key part of the
Bureau's overall fire related activity. The sooner a suspicious
smoke is located and units dispatched for investigation, the
greater the decrease in needless damage to forests and
property.
The majority of fires in populated areas are reported by the
General Public. The Bureau of Forest Fire Control provides
fixed-point fire detection from 43 active fire tower locations.
From their high vantage points (typically, the highest point in an
area), skilled tower personnel utilize alidade tables, binoculars,
and topographic maps to triangulate the precise location of a fire.
This information is then dispatched to the local community fire
department for first response or the Bureau District Fire Warden
when the fire is on State Forest or State Park land. Tower
personnel also initiate dispatch requests to the District Fire
Warden for state assistance to fires when resources are requested
by a town fire department. Inter-Regional dispatch of State
resources should be initiated through the Regional Supervisor in
the Region where the fire is located.
*Cache
container is 1/2 gallon screw top drink
container.
Please
close tightly!