We are a paid on call department. Several of our members carry radios when they are running around town, shopping, at dinner, etc. Some carry pagers and some carry both. For me, I will carry either one. Which do you prefer? Do you like to carry a pager or do you like to carry a radio, or maybe both?
In our department, everyone carries pagers. Although, we are starting to look at multi-channel radios with the pager frequency one it - best of both worlds.
Up until a few months ago we carried pagers. They were replaced by radios with the built in pagers. So far they are working out well, and we feel they make operations safer, because everyone has communication available.
We issue pagers. (Apollo) We issue Bendix King radios to all our Officers. Some of the small rural agencies around us have changed to issued their people small radios with pager capabilities. The small Kenwood radios were basically the same price as the overpriced Motorola Minitor 5 pagers.
Hmm..never heard a radio called a prep, that's a new one for me.
At our dept., which is all volunteer, we have minitor pagers. Our officers have radios, so they can put an officer on the air, respond direct, and do command.
For my own knowledge, how exactly does a paid on-call dept. work? Does that mean there's never staffing, but you are paid to be available to respond? Is that a part time thing? Are there full timers? Is the training different? Etc, etc.....
I know volunteer, I know paid, I understand then combintation dept.s, is just have never seen in my area a paid on-call dept. so I'm a little unsure.
Well like so many others here... my dept. issues all ff's pagers and all officers radios. Pretty much for the same reasons as everyone else has listed. It works well this way for us.
I'm not sure if it works like this everywhere but there is a paid on call dept. a ways up the road from us and their system works like this...
Their firehouse is staffed by four guys/gals all the time. When they are on a call/offical training, they get paid a certain amount every hour (just an example, lets say $10 an hour). When they aren't on a call or training and just sitting around the station, they get paid an hour for every six hours that they do nothing. I know that sounds kinda confusing but yeah....