Maggie's Farm

Antarctica? I worked in Antarctica for three austral summers in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

The phones are connected to the local fire department.

Yes, there is a fire department. The station was McMurdo, on Ross Island. In the summer about 1000 people are based out of there to work either on McMurdo or the outlying research and field camps. McMurdo has dorms, fire department, gyms, dining facilities, heliport, clubs, hospital, airport (on the 4 foot thick sea ice) , chapel, bowling alley, maintenance depot, carpenter, electrical, sheet metal, plumbing shops, etc. recycling facility, etc.

You can read about my adventures here:

http://www.antzinpantz.com/antarctica_stories_intro.htm

The ones in the picture have since been modified/upgraded since I left but, no, I did not use those phones. However, all our rooms had phones, the offices had phones, etc. so I never really felt a need to use them. People would use them to call friends who might still be in their rooms and try to awaken them from their drunken slumbers so all could all meet for some chow or something (like more drinking.)

I did use an emergency phone, though, when I went on a hike. Anytime we went anywhere we needed to sign out with the Fire Department and say where we were going and when we'd be back. We also needed to report in upon our arrival. If we didn't, they'd send out a Search and Rescue team to try and find our stupid asses in case we'd fallen into a crevasse and could not get up. So I am out there, fat, dumb, and happy having a wonderful hike, completely forgetting about the time because I was escorting this nice Kiwi gal back to her base on the other side of the hills. I head back, look at my watch and think "Oh crap, I have a mile to go to get back and only 5 minutes to do so! They'll send a SAR for me and it will be embarrassing and I will get my ass chewed out and lose most of my performance bonus." (remember, no cell phones down there.) So I start running like hell, hoping they'll wait at least 15 minutes before sending out the St Bernards. I crest the hill, still 1/2 mile away and there's an emergency phone located in the "Travel Lodge" building (some comm center, equipment bldg named "travel lodge" as a joke because someone shipped down one of their signs.)

I was tugging at that door for all it was worth (hadn't been used in months) and getting inside, hoping the phone still worked and that the sign for the phone wasn't a joke. It wasn't so I saved my own bacon.

Pictures here:

http://www.antzinpantz.com/fotos/thumbnails.php?album=5

A trip to Antarctica will give you a lifetime of stories, believe me.