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Fire Ground Radio Communications

I am looking for some input from around the country on your Fire Departments fire ground communications. Specificaly, does everyone in an IDLH atmosphere carry portable radios or just one member per team? Secondly, due you use one radio channel or do you have seperate Dispatch and fire ground channels? Third does your dispatch center monitor all of your fire ground communications?

I am trying to put together a report on the pros and cons of everyone having portable radios and if someone does need to call a "MAYDAY" who will here it.

If you could let me know along with the size and type of fire department you are part of it would be a great help.

Be safe out there.

Chris

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schwering on April 9, 2009 at 1:16pm

Chris, my department is career, 2 paramedic/rescue engines out of the same house. We have 25 members. Every firefighter has a portable radio. Our radios are new, thanks to an AFG grant. We have dispatch, fireground, which are monitored by our fire alarm office, we also have 4 primary command channels that we use on a working incident. The command channel are monitored by the IC and his staff. On a large incident we can request a dispatcher from fire alarm to the scene to monitor radio traffic, this has worked great in the past, hope this helps.

Stay Safe

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Permalink Reply by Douglas DuBree on April 10, 2009 at 2:05pm

Chris,
My department has 63 career personnel with 19 per shift. All of our personnel carry a radio and we have a dispatch freq. and a Fireground freq. Our dispatchers can monitor both frequencies. Our portables have the idenitfier on them of who is transmitting.

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Permalink Reply by Brenda Tenney on April 11, 2009 at 11:12pm

Chris,on our FD each of our fire fighters has their own radio. On our Fd we had nearly 30 members for the small town we live in. We are adding on new additions,to make our buildings larger.We have and good dispatch center that communicates with our fire fighters well. In The FD we have and mobile unit,in our own personal vehical's ,we have radio's ,etc.
We work with about (9 ) other fire departments.,when and structure fire is large ,we are toned out to go to a certain zone area.We have not had and bad year ,like we did last year.
Our department certainly needs new radio's. The radio i have now,i can receive ,but not send out message's .Will be getting a better one,soon.
A fire dept was destroyed last night when and tornado went though Aiken county,near August Ga,
Our prayers go out to those who lost their life's and homes and the FD.

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