# How do you communicate ?



## DukeCityEMT6 (Apr 27, 2005)

Just curious on how you communicate to other agencies or employees.


most of our guys and gals have nextel's. When help is needed we activate out home monitor tones or use the nextel.  local fire dept does first responder and the dont mind helping. Some of us come and help when we can.  A few will First Respond POV. Im a fan of nextel and radio its direct and easy. So what does ur service use ?


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## Jon (Apr 27, 2005)

Nextel, county pagers and 800mhz radios

Jon


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## rescuemedic7306 (Apr 27, 2005)

Screaming and shouting......... but really, pagers, handhelds, cellphones and main radios


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## rescuecpt (Apr 27, 2005)

County tones us out at HQ, the dispatcher sends out the inhouse crew and alpha-mates the appropriate people.  If additional personnel are needed, the dispatcher activates the appropriate pagers (everyone for Alpha/Bravo or Echo calls, or ALS providers for Charlie, Delta, and Echo calls).  Then we call in and tell the dispatcher who we are, what our cert is, and where we are and they tell us to go to scene or come to HQ.

Once on scene, almost all communication is by radio to dispatch.  Occasionally we will use the cell phone on the ambulances, or our own, to call the dispatcher if it is a lengthy discussion.


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## KEVD18 (Apr 27, 2005)

open the window and yell!

vhf two way, nextell, cell phone. sometimes i'll need to grab a ff or leo if i dont have one of their radios since we only carry vhf and most of the pd's around here are uhf of 800t


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## TTLWHKR (Apr 27, 2005)

Find their unit on the ambutracker, and pull up next to them and yell over the PA "Answer your dawddarn cell phone"!

We have a private freq other than 155.34 dispatch, cell phones of course, alpha pagers and computers in most ambulances (the old ones don't take kindly to the extra power usage). And mosr ambulances have a Monkeyrola MW520 Data Terminal with Premier MDC. The same system the Penna State Police use; we can send and get email and instant messages from other units and dispatch. It's expensive, but it pretty much makes dispatch via radio obsolete!


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## Phridae (Apr 27, 2005)

Radios. Occastionally a cell phone. But mainly Radios. Oh, and we have beepers for transfers. The hospitals page us, we call them. Nextel? hahaha.


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## Jon (Apr 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by rescuecpt_@Apr 27 2005, 10:02 AM
> * County tones us out at HQ, the dispatcher sends out the inhouse crew and alpha-mates the appropriate people.  If additional personnel are needed, the dispatcher activates the appropriate pagers (everyone for Alpha/Bravo or Echo calls, or ALS providers for Charlie, Delta, and Echo calls).  Then we call in and tell the dispatcher who we are, what our cert is, and where we are and they tell us to go to scene or come to HQ.
> 
> Once on scene, almost all communication is by radio to dispatch.  Occasionally we will use the cell phone on the ambulances, or our own, to call the dispatcher if it is a lengthy discussion. *


 what are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo calls???


Jon


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## rescuecpt (Apr 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by MedicStudentJon_@Apr 27 2005, 06:11 PM
> * what are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo calls??? *


 Our EMD/Priority Dispatch in my County uses Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo to define the type of response.

My Corps responds in this way (increasing priority):

Alpha - BLS response, no lights or sirens, no excessive speed.
Bravo - BLS response, lights, no sirens, no excessive speed.
Charlie - ALS response, lights & sirens, moderate speed.
Delta - ALS response, lights & sirens, necessary speed.
Echo - ALS response, lights & sirens, as fast as you can safely get there, all hands.

In theory, I don't have to show up to an Alpha or Bravo if we have a BLS crew, but the way my crew runs (we are ALS/BLS) I go with just to make sure I'm not needed.

Calls are dispatched with an identifier #, response type, and clarifier, like this:

29-Bravo-1

29 - MVA
Bravo - BLS Response
1 - Call in by person not involved in incident (drive by)

31-Delta-3 Syncople episode
13-Alpha-1 Adult male diabetic episode
etc...

Echo's are usually cardiac & respiratory arrest (witnessed/recent)
DOAs are Bravo's

We have a flip chart system that the dispatcher flips through where you start by finding the complaint, then it tells you what questions to ask, such as "are they breathing", "are they awake", "has this ever happened before", etc which determine the type of response and the 2nd number.  We have a copy of the list showing what everything is in the ambulance, so if I hear one I'm not familiar with, I look it up so that enroute I know it's a little old lady fall down go boom, or an OD, or whatever.

My crew's favorite is a 5-Alpha for STD... LOL - we had better NEVER get that one!


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## emtchicky156 (Apr 27, 2005)

We use our portables if we need mutal aide we call county and they tone out whoever and they contact us on our channel. We have nextels in our ambulances but as far as I know they are just there for decoration for now lol.


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## TTLWHKR (Apr 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by MedicStudentJon+Apr 27 2005, 06:11 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>*QUOTE* (MedicStudentJon @ Apr 27 2005, 06:11 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-rescuecpt_@Apr 27 2005, 10:02 AM
> * County tones us out at HQ, the dispatcher sends out the inhouse crew and alpha-mates the appropriate people.  If additional personnel are needed, the dispatcher activates the appropriate pagers (everyone for Alpha/Bravo or Echo calls, or ALS providers for Charlie, Delta, and Echo calls).  Then we call in and tell the dispatcher who we are, what our cert is, and where we are and they tell us to go to scene or come to HQ.
> 
> Once on scene, almost all communication is by radio to dispatch.  Occasionally we will use the cell phone on the ambulances, or our own, to call the dispatcher if it is a lengthy discussion. *


what are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo calls???


Jon [/b][/quote]
We use those;

Alpha, Bravo - BLS - Minor Injuries, Pain - Class 3 Patients

Charlie - BLS/Medic Fly Car - Fractures, Undetermined Medicals - Class 3 or Class 2 Patients

Delta - ALS - Trauma, Cardiac, Respiratory, Diabetic - Class 1 Patients

Echo - BLS/MICU - Cardiac, Respiratory or All systems Arrest - Class 5 (well, almost)


They are dispatched as "Alpha Priority", Etc.


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## KEVD18 (Apr 30, 2005)

i'm used to a numbered priority system

p3-no lights/sirens. regular transfer

p2- lights, intermittent use of siren, get there but dont kill anyone doing it

p1- lights sirens yelling screaming driving fast enough to blister the paint on the rig
(p1 is usually reserved for witnessed arrests, major trauma, and of course, ped calls)

we'll be dispatched either p2 or p1 and we can transport at our discretion


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## emtbuff (Apr 30, 2005)

I like the screaming at one another thing but normally that don't work so we grab what ever radio we can find and start talken.


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## ECC (May 23, 2005)

Smoke signals.  <_<


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## ffemt8978 (May 23, 2005)

> _Originally posted by ECC_@May 23 2005, 10:06 AM
> * Smoke signals.  <_< *


 Same here.


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## MMiz (May 24, 2005)

Hmm, I thought I replied to this one.

We have portables, mobiles, and MDTs.

Our Portables have "Unit <> Unit" meaning only people in the field will hear, not dispatch.  They also have a dispatch channel.  ALS units have two additional radios, one that has all PD and FF stations in the county on it, and other one for the county's med control.

We use our Mobile Data Terminals for all all non-emergency traffic.  It's a touch-screen laptop.  

That's about it.


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## SafetyPro2 (May 24, 2005)

We're dispatched by the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, which dispatches the fire departments for 10 cities in our area. The 9 paid departments in the system operate an "automatic aid" system where, if one city's units are already committed when a call comes in, units from a neighboring city can be automatically dispatched.

There are also a number of UHF tactical frequencies through Verdugo that we have access too. We generally use our own VHF freq, but if we have units from other departments on-scene, we can all use one of the UHF freqs.

Since we're volunteer, we don't participate in the automatic aid, but we can still request additional units through Verdugo if needed. Also, if we just need additional ambulances (say, for example, an MCI), we can request them from AMR through Verdugo (we call Verdugo, and they'll relay to AMR's dispatch). 

We're also able to communicate directly with our police and with the local SAR team as we have their frequencies programmed into our base and handheld radios. We also have some of the USFS frequencies programmed in for use during wildfires.

There's talk of all fire agencies in the county switching over to new radios programmed with all the avilable frequencies so that any agency can talk to any other agency, but I'll believe that when I see it.


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## ECC (May 24, 2005)

> _Originally posted by SafetyPro_@May 24 2005, 05:07 PM
> * We're dispatched by the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, which dispatches the fire departments for 10 cities in our area. The 9 paid departments in the system operate an "automatic aid" system where, if one city's units are already committed when a call comes in, units from a neighboring city can be automatically dispatched.
> 
> There are also a number of UHF tactical frequencies through Verdugo that we have access too. We generally use our own VHF freq, but if we have units from other departments on-scene, we can all use one of the UHF freqs.
> ...


 We really are pretty much the same. except the direct to PD (Who wants to talk to them anyway    ?)

UFDA 1/2 way down the page

Each department gets automatic aid as needed and the 2 volly departments are helped out as needed (not always personnel to staff the rigs)


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## Jon (May 24, 2005)

> _Originally posted by SafetyPro_@May 24 2005, 06:07 PM
> * We're dispatched by the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, which dispatches the fire departments for 10 cities in our area. The 9 paid departments in the system operate an "automatic aid" system where, if one city's units are already committed when a call comes in, units from a neighboring city can be automatically dispatched.
> 
> There are also a number of UHF tactical frequencies through Verdugo that we have access too. We generally use our own VHF freq, but if we have units from other departments on-scene, we can all use one of the UHF freqs.
> ...


From what I heard, this worked very well with the minor, little, incident with the 2 commuter trains  a few months back.

What about direct communications with LAFD (City) and LACoFD????

Jon


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## CodeSurfer (Jun 1, 2005)

> _Originally posted by ECC_@May 23 2005, 12:06 PM
> * Smoke signals.  <_< *


 Only for fires.


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## SafetyPro2 (Jun 1, 2005)

> _Originally posted by MedicStudentJon_@May 24 2005, 04:22 PM
> * From what I heard, this worked very well with the minor, little, incident with the 2 commuter trains  a few months back.
> 
> What about direct communications with LAFD (City) and LACoFD????
> ...


 Glendale and LAFD do run together a lot due to the close proximity and overlap of their areas. Initially, on the Metrolink incident, there was confusion about which city it was actually in (was initially dispatched as Glendale and turned out to be LA). Those tracks literally run along the border in some areas. 

There's also a couple other areas where Verdugo cities border LAFD or LACoFD jurisdiction, such as Pasadena and South Pasadena with LAFD and San Gabriel and Alhambra with LACoFD. 

I think in those cases, the Verdugo departments' radios may be programmed to talk directly to LAFD or LACoFD, and vice versa. I don't know for sure, but since I occasionally hear Verdugo units dispatched to County incidents with a "Blue" (County frequency) radio assignment, I think its a pretty good guess.

There are two statewide tactical frequencies programmed into our VHF radios, but those are supposed to be limited to very large incidents, such as wildland fires, and the State gets upset if you use them without authorization.


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## emtd29 (Jun 1, 2005)

Morse Code


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## ECC (Jun 1, 2005)

FDNY still transmitts their station identifier via morse code to remain FCC compliant.


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## Jon (Jun 2, 2005)

> _Originally posted by ECC_@Jun 1 2005, 10:49 PM
> * FDNY still transmitts their station identifier via morse code to remain FCC compliant. *


 My county's Paging system (160 Mhz range) Uses multiple transmitters throughout the county, and outside the borders of the county. There is a morse code identifier that plays every 15 minutes when the frequency is used.... IE... if no page since 15 min. ago, it doesn't ID. It then ID's either before or after the next page.

On a related note to Morse Code - any Amateur Radio Operators here besides myself? If so, what part does that hobby have in this field for you?

Jon
N3VZG


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## emtd29 (Jun 5, 2005)

> _Originally posted by MedicStudentJon_@Jun 2 2005, 07:58 PM
> * On a related note to Morse Code - any Amateur Radio Operators here besides myself? If so, what part does that hobby have in this field for you?
> 
> Jon
> N3VZG *


 I'm a Ham. Been in the hobby for a long time, ( as a matter of fact it'll be 10 years exactly this coming Tuesday that I have had my ticket )

I really don't know how the two fields would be connected for me, other than that I know how to use a radio LOL


73 

Steve
KB2UYY


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## Chimpie (Jun 5, 2005)

I've been a HAM for 5 years.  Only use my ticket for emergency comms.  I can't stand the chit-chat that goes on most of the time.

Chimp
KB9WLT


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## Jon (Jun 7, 2005)

I knew we got along for some reason... :lol: 

My county has a VERY active RACES/ARES chapter. A lot of the folks have gone through the CERT training through Red Cross / VOAD, and they just started a program training the group to function as "calltakers" by deploying to area firehouses in the event of a phone failure / disaster. I'm affiilated, but haven't the time to be really active. I do a event communication about once every two months, several times now I've played both sides, being in the ambulance and on the radio at the same time.

It is kind of nice to be able to debug my work's radio system and radios. More than once, I've resucitated radios..... :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: 

Jon

PS - PARescue is a Ham, he just dosen't have a ticket....    (sorry, had too)


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## Stevo (Jun 8, 2005)

some manner of municipal tin can system when i came to town

i never knew where i was going , or what i was going to

but hey, it wasn't _boring _i guess....  

~S~


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## trauma1534 (Nov 22, 2006)

At the county agancy where I work, we use county tones, pagers, hand held radios.  I like the nextels.  We used those in the city agancy I worked at.  They really worked well.  I wish the county I work at now had a tower, and we could convence them to go to those.  

We are getting away from 10codes.  However, we still have some providers who use them.  We try to go with short, direct wording.  It's easer to understand.  Also, everyone in scanner land has a copy of the 10codes anyway, so we don't accomplish anything by useing them anymore.


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