Art to the rescue: Old US police, fire boxes get breath of life Decades after they helped save lives in the US capital, police and fire department call boxes still stand on city corners, relics of a time when firefighters used horse-drawn wagons and cops walked the beat. Now, more than 40 years since they were last used as a fire alert and police communication system, the cast iron curiosities are coming back to life as street art.\\n IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES