I have to ask because I am mad! I work for a F/T EMS service and I am a retired FF/Medic who has a question. How many Fire/EMS services still use 10 codes. I hate hearing 10-5 when you clear at a call. I think and thought that things were suppose to change follwing 9/11. Am I wrong? I guess what concerns me the most is that I was a carear FF/Medic in S.C and then moved back up north and started to run F/T EMS and the codes are diffrent. Is anyone also running into this problem?

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I believe you are right, i also thought they were supposed to go to "plain english" on the radio after 9-11... I havnt really been on long enough to run into a problem with it, but i can see where you are coming from!! most agencies around here are still using some 10 codes, we dont use a lot of them, for example we say "on scene" instead of 10-23, and enroute instead of 10-76... but we do use 10-50 for accident and 10-79 for contact coroner...mostly to make it a LITTLE harder for people out in "scanner-land" to know what is going on and come running, or start calling people that may know the person whom we've just called the coroner for. but there are a few agencies around that have already went to "plain english" where they use NO 10 codes for ANY reason, and they are finding it a little wierd to change, mostly the members that have been on a while and have been using 10 codes from day 1 or dispathcers that use them 8 hours a day. but back to the point... personally, i like the "half ass" so to speak, way that we do it.
Crawford county Pa. did away with 10 codes about 15 yrs. ago. The 10 codes we used to use were as follows:
10-4 = understood or yes( as is everywhere)
10-76= responding or enroute
10-90= on scene or location
10-19= returning
10-8= in service
10-21= call by landline
10-45= MVA motor vehicle accedent
10-7 = out of service
10-2= unreadable
10-79= coronor to the scene
10-9= repeat last traffic
These were the most used, if I remember properly. The good old days?
Yeah, I agree with you, I hate it too. We don't use 10 codes in our department, We had that changed 2002. Some neighboring departments still use them from time to time. Some of our new guys have no Clue what they mean and we have to explain them. It sucks. The S.O. in both of our county's still use them. "Use plain English" its not that hard. "Were responding" not-- were 10-18. Hope it changes soon. I'm tired of explaining it to the new guys.
Our department (ohio) does not use 10 codes 1 becouse of nims 2 it makes it a lot easyer for the dispatchers and the radio logs are more accurate. 3 if you had to go to court the judge or jury might not understand 10 codes. We belive in keeping it simple.
That is the problem with mutiual aid 10 codes can differ from dept to dept. Plain english makes it soo easy i dont know why evreybody doesent do it.
When Presidential order came down post 9/11 IMS700 was put in motion to erase all 10 codes and use common clear text ..so all units everywhere are on same page ...it was touch and go when first intiated but now here anyway its standard use.
If something goes wrong cause of 10 code use that OIC better have a great lawyer
Most of the fire companies in our state uses plain language now. We do have a couple of companies that still use the 10 code. Our EMS still uses the 10 code more than the fire service.
Yes Frank, keep it simple as possible. We often advise 'returning' individually, because we are often released individually, we are then made available on the CAD.

My fire service has it's own dispatching centres, two of them for the State. The State is divided into 20' Regions' with one dispatch centre handling the busiest four and the other all the rest. All data is held on the one CAD system. It took a while to get there, but it works now!
I suppose it was easy for me to comment on this thread because the '10 codes' have never been used here. We only heard them in movies and TV shows.

What we do use though are words that are supposed to simplify radio traffic. And they do when used correctly.
Affirmative
Roger
Wilco
Correction
Copy

are probably the most common
along with
Wordback, Sitrep and Message.
We stopped using 10-codes in 1994 but every once in awhile we will slip and say 10-4 .
We do not use them. Plain English only. No confusion that way.
clear text is used by the fire department, 10 codes are used by the cops... then again there are NIMS requirements but the bottom line is that we need to just simply talk on the radio using words, not codes...

using 10 codes is akin to talking on the CB, 10-4 good buddy?

ms

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