Portable Radios- One For Each Crew Member or Do You Have to Share Them?

Several months ago, my F.D. updated our portable radios so that each seating position had it's own portable radio. We were able to do this due to a grant. This ensures that each crew member on that rig has his/her own radio. This has greatly improved safety and communication. I was just wondering what other F.D's, (from big city to small town) are doing.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on August 30, 2008 at 12:21am

I'm guessing, based on the replies that I've received on this discussion that many Fire Departments will be looking for grant money in the near future for portable radios. I had no idea howmany F.D's had so few radios for their people. Good luck and stay safe!

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Permalink Reply by JOHNBOY on August 30, 2008 at 1:01am

Hey Mike my Dept was in the same boat. No money and we needed to replace our entire communication system. I talking from the repeater system all the way down to pagers. I submitted an application in 2006 to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant. I submitted the grant again in 2007 this time we were awarded almost $60,000 to purchase the equipment. If I could be any help just let me know. If your not familair with the AFG grant there are a few requirments.

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Permalink Reply by JOHNBOY on August 30, 2008 at 1:10am

We are a small combo department. Our fulltime and parttime firefighters have radios and pagers. All of our Volunteers have pagers. We have mobile radios in all apparatus and 2 portables in each. This was made posiable through an AFG grant.

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Permalink Reply by Damon Dyer on August 30, 2008 at 7:30pm

We all have them 24/7 . We are a small dept. and we don't want to get smaller by losing a firefighter because of not having a radio .

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Permalink Reply by Marcko Osuna on August 31, 2008 at 2:16am

Here in my department the only people who have a portable it´s that who can afford one .

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Permalink Reply by anne potter on August 31, 2008 at 4:22am

We have some portables in our trucks ,but mainly the Chief,Assit, scene safety , Interior ff carry one. Thats it...

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Permalink Reply by Damon Dyer on September 9, 2008 at 5:11pm

Each firefighter should have their own radio , safety is no option .

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Nelson on September 20, 2008 at 9:47pm

We used to only have radios for the officers only. It took some time to change there minds. They felt that officer was enough, but we had an incident where my officer had the radio and I did not he fell down the stairs to the basement and I was at the top with no radio. Worst case senario he is in a basement fire with the radio and I have to run outside to get help. Definitlly a waste of time when you have a FF hurt! He was okay but he put a SCBA out of service from the fall down the stairs. It IS hard for volunteer depts to afford this for sure. We also applied for a grant. The reallity is that we have to do the best with what we have. (or don't). Stay safe out there.

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Permalink Reply by Jacob Boswell on September 21, 2008 at 4:50pm

Well on my Volunteer Dept unfortunately not everyone has radios. We just don't have the money to budget them and since we went to the 800 system it makes purchasing them even harder due to higher cost. Now at work we issue everyone including all the Volunteers radios. But I work for a Combination paid/volunteer dept. Also at the Volunteer Dept each engine has one portable radio in it and we have a radio mounted at the pump panel on our trucks.

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Permalink Reply by josh slagel on September 21, 2008 at 5:20pm

We have the same sysyem each seat has its own portable and you take the one with whatever number seat you are in.

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Permalink Reply by FETC on September 21, 2008 at 7:08pm

Every firefighter has their own radio personally assigned to them after the Homeland Grant came about post inter-operability. This has been a blessing that needs to have the proper training and policies in place to avoid having more radio problems at an incident.

HERE IS MY POLICY: This is YOUR radio, it is assigned to you, when you push the talk button it displays your ID, (name) and if you press the (EDS) emergency distress signal, it displays your name. It is your responsibility to make sure it is kept CLEAN, CHARGED and in a READY state of use. When at an emergency, if you are not assigned as a division officer, the volume should be kept on the very lowest setting. So when I, your officer key MY mic, we do not have 3, 6, or 10 radios squeeling with feedback. Last rule of thumb, just because I gave you a radio... it does not give you carte blanche to start talking on the fire
ground. We follow the chain of command, therefore the only time I should hear you talking kid, is when you are declaring a MAYDAY or if I assign you as a division leader...