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 Ed on February 19, 2009 at 10:37pm

My vol dept in small town i grew up in have one to two portables per truck with each line officer assigned a radio, so on per crew and one for water supply, how ever the vol dept in the city in which i go to school carries a radio per seat, 6 radios for the company in the city, and about 15 in subrbia, member ship at around 30 and 50 respectively

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Permalink Reply by Jon Lorenston on February 19, 2009 at 10:43pm

I am part of two department one paid the other volunteer. At the paid dept. each position has their own radio and it works great.....the volunteer dept on the other hand each officer has a radio. We only have 5 officers per sta. and 21 firefighters at each....What happens is 9 times out 10. The first 10 min of a scene u might have 1 officer and 10 firefighters. maybe 3 radio in mobile radios and 1 portable....communication not so good

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Permalink Reply by Danny on February 19, 2009 at 10:50pm

Our county 911 system are trying to do as you described above that for every seat we have on all the apparatuses, there will be a digital portable radio for personell... the officers are already issued a portable. and currently we have some old portables to keep in each apparatus, which we have been doing so for about 3 yrs now i believe.. but from what i gather it will be a few yrs before we are complete with radios. But like the others for safety everyone should be able to have a radio.... That is one of most unsafe thing on any scene is no communication for limited communication between others that can either hurt or kill someone.

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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on February 19, 2009 at 10:50pm

All Line,RIT, and Safety Officers have there own portables they carry with them @ all times
We have 6 portables @ the station as soon as you walk in the door.
Engine 2- 4 portables
Engine 3- 1 portable
Rescue- 5 portables

We have a good amount of portables so most of the time everyone has one.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Branham Sr on February 19, 2009 at 10:53pm

While in theory this is a great practice but in reality it doesn't work.. unless strict protocols are put in place and maintained.. Our protocol is that the officer or team leader in for every team has a radio to communicate with operations and command.. No one goes into a fire unless they have an officer or a team leader with them. We do maintain a radio for seat on the truck but they are only able to "get on" the radio if they are in trouble or they are assigned the team leader with a particular job to do..

There have been departments in my county that have adopted the "everyone has a radio" and it's degenerated into a free for all. There is a lot of unneeded radio traffic clogging up the airwaves both on the dispatch channel and the tac channel(s). Like I said it's great in theory but if you go there it's got to be tightly controlled.

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Permalink Reply by Wolfy Lang on February 19, 2009 at 10:58pm

SALISBURY, N.C. --

The North Carolina Department of Labor released a report Wednesday that found serious violations in the Salisbury Fire Department.

The report is the result of an investigation into a blaze that killed two of the department's firefighters. Justin Monroe, 19, and Victor Isler, 40, were killed while fighting a fire at the Salisbury Millwork Company on March 7.

The investigation found major issues with the breathing equipment that firefighters count on to stay alive. It also states the firefighters did not follow proper procedure by having two firefighters together at all times.

The report found some of the firefighters' radios were not working. It cited four different times when a firefighter went off on his own and didn't have radio or visual contact with anyone else. Proper procedure requires at least two firefighters to always be together.

Salisbury was hit with three serious violations and a fine of more than $6,500.

http://www.wsoctv.com/download/2008/0806/17114215.pdf is the report

If you and your team is injured.. pinned... burnt.. dying... ask your Board of Directors what they are going to be saying to your family and loved ones when you are dead..... I PERSONALLY own more than 6 portables that will at least work on our VHF crosspatched dispatched system.. and with the RICK unit installed in our trucks, I can transmit VHF and it be locally crosspatched to the 800 MHZ fireground operations channel... and I have less than $200 in ALL my portables... If I need to be heard... I am.. believe me.. and a fire is NOT the time to try hunting up your cell phone to make a phone call cause noone can hear you because your department is too damn lazy to buy every seat a two way... if you are in an IDLH atmosphere, you NEED a radio... end of discussion

Be good and Stay Safe!!!!

Wolfy

and yes, we have two ways for all our seats

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Permalink Reply by Chad Furr on February 19, 2009 at 11:05pm

Our small vol fd has enough so everyone has a radio and yes MOST of us carry em 24/7

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Permalink Reply by Firefightersteve222 on February 19, 2009 at 11:25pm

I come from a rural vol. department, i have just installed in our main pumper and our pumper/tanker enough portables for everone on each truck, the only issue i have uncovered is if the portable is not turned off and someone uses the truck raido its nothing but feedback. Along with installing the 2way portables i also installed a TMR portable!

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Permalink Reply by Rob on February 19, 2009 at 11:27pm

My department has 2 portables for each first-out engine, 1 portable for each medic, and 1 portable for each second out engine/tanker. Also the chief, ems supervisor, and 3 Bat. Chiefs, and 1 captain have radios assigned to them. We at least have one per crew, but with our budget and Motorola 800 gear always going up in price rather than leveling off we stand no chance of getting enough radios for everyone unless we get a grant.

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Permalink Reply by Mary Ellen Shea on February 19, 2009 at 11:27pm

well you can't blame me for taking a shot.....

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Permalink Reply by Mike Gibson on February 19, 2009 at 11:38pm

Our rural volunteer department only allows officers to have radios. That includes off-duty AND on-duty. That means when we go internal, all we have is our Minitors. I asked what we were supposed to do if we had a mayday, everyone just looked at me! I don't like it but knew that was in the SOP's when I signed up. The rationale is that not everyone can be trusted to conduct themselves as professionals on the radio, therefore only officers should have them. When I was an LEO we had a way of dealing with the "squirrels" - we fired them! Guess the fire service (at least locally) doesn't do that.