The latest in technology in 1967 for Throwback Thursday

By Charlie Hutson

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- It’s 1967, and times they are a changing. This image shows Lafollette Fire Department Chief Chalk Wright and the new high tech communication equipment that the fire department has installed.

Now firemen for the Lafollette Fire Department and the Lafollette Rescue Squad will be alerted of a call not only by the city siren, one blast for city fire department and four for the rescue squad, but also by a telephone dialer system that would call each fireman’s telephone. If the line was busy, a term you don’t hear anymore, the system would break in on the call to announce the alarm call information.

The city had also recently installed, in 1967, two way radios in both the fire trucks and the chief’s car, allowing communications between units and dispatch. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-06/18/2026-6AM)