Unit #'s

[Brad Barton]

http://www.inlink.com/~landmb/cofire.html

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KAK6...18
IAFF Local 1889

[Rob]

Numbered apparatus by the station. Ours is 50 station and has 50 pump, 50 engine, 50 tank, 50 bush buggy, 50 emergency (rescue), 50 panel (auxiliary truck), and so on...

[Capt. Skippy]

Currently in the City we use "1000" series numbers.

Police "1200" series
EMS "1400" series
Fire "1600" series

Station 1 - 1601
Station 2 - 1602
Engine 1603
Heavy Rescue 1604
Grass 1605
Engine 1606
Ladder 1607
Engine 1608
Engine 1609
Chief - 1610
Asst. Chief -1611
Capts. - 1612, 1613
Lts. - 1614, 1615, 1616
Then each firefighter has a number starting at 1617.

The county departments use various "100" series numbers or station numbers.

NWFD - 600
Eldorado FD - 500
West Manchester FD - 300
Lewisburg VFD - Station 19
West Alexiandria FD - Station 21
Gratis FD - Station 18
West Elkton FD - 800
Camden FD - 400

We have been trying to set up a renumbering plan where the apparatus would be linked to the station number. For example:

Station 1 would have -
Engine 11
Engine 12
Heavy Rescue 11
Ladder 11
Grass 11

Station 2 would have -
Engine 21
Engine 22

This would work for us having only a total of 9 stations in county and the first number would id the station, the second number the order of normal response for that type of apparatus.

Here in the city we have been trying to use "plain english" because the dispatchers seem to not understand the "codes" anyway.

For example, I went signal 33 (In service), signal 65 (In route) to a CO investigation. While in route we had a MVA with injuries. I called dispatch and said I was signal 37 (Out of service) the first call, signal 33, signal 65 to the second call. The dispatch acted very confused and then replied "1613 you are 37, 33, Inservice, 65 enroute to Code-4 (injury accident) on Washington-Twin Road." Talk about repeating oneself! I really threw her for a loop after estblishing commend, then turning it over to the Asst. Chief and heading back to the first call!

Plain english is the ONLY way to go!



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Remember - Safety is a way of Life!

[Clay116]

In my county in central Texas, the volunteer departments are numbered 1 - 9 with trucks being numbered with 2 digits regardless of their function. Individual people are numbered with three digits. Each dept. varies a little but here is a basic idea.

23- city engine
20- rescue truck
27- brush truck
29- brush truck
28- county engine

234- chief
216- firefighter
and so on. People get their number when they join and keep it no matter what position they hold, until they leave the dept. My dept. changes radio numbers for positions, 101 is Chief, 102 Asst. Chief, firefighter #s start at 110. Also, our trucks are numbered around the only paid dept. in the county's trucks. Our district surrounds theirs so we run a lot of mutual aid calls and we needed to clear up confusion.

[One13Truck]

Thanks everybody for submitting replies to the topic!!! All the pride in the departments can really be seen (and deservedly so)!!! But on a secondary subject as well: Plain language vs. codes, your opinions??? I seem to be outvoted on this one so far. I prefer all codes and #'s. What do you think??? But also, please keep the posts coming on the origional subject as well!!!

[This message has been edited by One13Truck (edited September 12, 2000).]

[Matthias]

In Germany something like this exists too. We use a code for the oranization (FF, EMS, Police), the name of the village or a station number(big cities and ems) and a code number. These code numbers are synonyms for the kind of unit. So in my hometown the first unit which is a small engine is called
"Florian (for FF)Esch (for the town) 42 (for the unit)". The emergency Ambulance of ASB rescue-Station (where i work) is called
"Sama Tanusstein(for ASB)85 (for the station) 83 (for the unit)"
Repeat in plain:
"Florian Esch 42"
"Sama Taunusstein 85/83"

[J Almon]

All dispatch is in plain English. No codes, even for first responder dispatches.

We have 4 stations, so our units first two numbers are either 14, 21, 22 or 23. Second number is the door decal number. 11-19 are rescues, 20-27 are pumper/tankers, 28-30 brush, 31-39 ladders. If second numbers are 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 it is a captain. Lt's have "1's" as the last digit, and on down thru firefighters. Each company has a maximum of 10 people, so it works out well.
Sometimes we have a tanker from another station covering for an engine down for repair, so a member can tell quickly if the apparatus is responding from the assigned station.

[ilikefyre]

where im from (nj) we have different town numbers in the county

45- station number (differs per town)
45-66 thru 70 officers from chief down
45-72 thru 76 engines
45-90 thru 93 ladders
45-80 to 90 rescues etc.

also i prefer the codes to plain language that saves usless chatter

[fighting57th]

ours is simple for instance
chief--570
asst.chief--571
pumper--573
pumpertanker--574
aux tanker/brushtruck--576
brushtruck--577
haz-matvan--578
equipmenttruck--579
then other officers are 5701,5702,5703,5704
then the firefighters#5705,5706,5707,an d so on and so on

[sponge]

In Nassau County (Long Island) NY, all units are 3 or 4 digits. The first 2 ID the department, with the first being the battalion. The last digit or two are assigned by the department itself, occasionally making sense. So, you can fairly easily ID who the department is, but you might not know what type of unit it is unless you are familiar with the dept. Suffolk County is similar. Both counties use extensive radio codes.

In the Mat-Su borough of AK, first digit (or two) is the department. Combined with the next number, that's the station. The next number is usually a 1 or 2. The type of unit comes first (ie Engine 7-2-1, from station 72, Tanker 11-1-1, from station 11-1). The radio is mostly plain English. Also, many members have 2-way radios. Their callsigns are the dept name plus a number or two (based on rank/certifications).

[MAN27]

Our dept. only has 4 truck seeing how its a vol. dept. we simply just call ours pump1, pump/tank2, rescue1, rescue2. Our rescue 2 is just a "gofer" van it carries chemicle spill materials to soak up oil,gas spills. It usually does't roll unless its a structure fire or 10-84 in case a firefighter gets injured during duty, so we can transport them to the hospital if an ambulance is not readily available.


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ALWAYS WEAR YOUR FULL GEAR NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF CALL IT IS!

[RDWFIRE]

On your second subject, any department that uses the Incident Command System (ICS) should be using "clear text". There are NUMEROUS sets of "codes" out there, and if your department uses a different code than your mutual aid departments, chaos will be the "code" of the day. With clear text everyone responding to a large incident starts out on the same sheet of music.

[firefly1361]

In response to your second topic on Codes vs Numbers we only use codes for accidents, property damage,or pedestrians struck. When we call responding it's usually Unit _____ responding going to talk group 5 or 6 which is used for all EMS calls. So if we get a call for an accident our dispatch center will dispatch the call as a 10-50 PI(personal injury), 10-50 PD (property damage),or 10-50 PI w/ Pedestrian struck. I can't stand using codes I have to use them with the private ambulance company I work for. Take care and stay safe.

Heather Helm
Gamber and Community Fire Company
Carroll County Co.13
Gamber,Maryland

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"If You go, We go"

[gandalf49]

Our county numbering system is easy to use, there are 23 fire departments in the county and each fire department has a number, 1 through 23. Our department's number is 15 so the numbering system county wide is as follows:

Chief - 1501
***'t Chief - 1502
Captain - 1503
Leutenants - 1504, 1505 & 1506
Pumpers - 1511 & 1512
Tenders - 1521
Brush Trucks - 1531 & 1532
Medical Rescue - 1541 & 1542

Communication team members are identified by Com 1, Com 2, etc. EMS members are EMS 1, EMS 2, etc. Apple team members are identified by Apple 1, Apple 2, etc. Firefighters are identified by Fire 7, Fire 8, etc.

As for codes versus plain english, we went for plain english because of all of the agencies we mutual aid with in our county, Sheriff, State Police, USFS, State Forestry and county fire departments. We found that using plain english also quits confusing people as to what you are saying on the radio even though it takes more words.

Also we have tenders because out here in the West, Tankers have wings and Tenders do not..

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gandalf49

[gandalf49]

Also when using ICS, please know the terms for what you are ordering so you get what you order. A story to get the point across.

In the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire that burned up all of those fancy homes and was the single most costly wildland fire in the US ever. Part of the problem was that when the fire getting out of control, the fire department called the California Department of Forestry and asked for Air Ops thinking they were getting an air force of slurry tankers and buckey carrying helicopters. Instead they got a guy with a briefcase wondering where all the aircraft were he was supposed to be supervising. This error resulted in a couple hour delay in getting the necessary aircraft to the fire.

Make sure that you use the right terms when requesting resources in ICS, Tankers have wings, Tenders drive on the ground, IMT teams manage fires. Each position or resource in ICS has a special name for it..


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gandalf49

[Rail Buff]

Great topic!

Here in Baytown, TX, we have five stations so the units are numberd by their stations with a designation for what kind of apparatus it is.

Ladder 1
Battalion 1
CP (Command Post) 1
Engine 2
Reserve 2
Engine 3
Reserve 3
Booster (Grass Truck) 3, etc.

Administrative numbers are assigned to all personnel on a citywide system. Fire has 300 and 400 series numbers.

301-Fire Chief
302-Asst. Chief (Ops.)
303-Asst. Chief (Fire Marshal)
304 & 305-Clerical personnel
306-308-Shift Battalion Chiefs
309-Haz Mat Battalion Chief
310-Training/Safety Batt. Chief
311, 312, 315-Arson Lieutenants
318 & 319-Mechanics
350-370-Shift Lieutenants
370-400-Equipment Operators
400-500-Firefighters

We've only got 63 people on shift now so we have room for expansion. Of course, an apparatus number takes precedence over an individual number.

Lt. Tim Rogers, 363

[HFDPOST321]

the city of hagerstown has a simple numbering system. our post is based in the first hagerstown hose company, engine 1. so our designation is engine 1. hagerstown has these units. engines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, utility 3 (housed at engine 3) truck 1 (housed at the truck house) and truck 4 (housed with engine 4) then all the batallion and fire marshall units housed at the batallion/fire marshall office. washington county has a different but easy numbering system. each fire company has a number and if that town where the company is located has a rescue company, then te number for the rescue company is the fire company number with a 9 on the end. here are a few examples. sharpsburg, engine company 1, rescue company 19. williamsport, engine company 2, rescue company 29. clear spring engine co. 4 rescue co. 49...... etc. some fire companies has no rescue company such as engine company 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, and 27. each fire company's number is a certain district in the county. example, engine copany 7 is district 7. lastly, each company has different units designated different ways. rescue company 79 units include, ambulances 791 and 792, unit 790, unit 794, unit 797, and utility (rescue squad) 79. the units can be either BLS or ALS with the ALS being paramedic 794 or medic 794, etc. fire company units for engine co. 7 include. unit 7-0, utility 7, rescue engine 71, engine 72, engine tanker 73, engine 74, brush 7, and car 7

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Deputy Chief James Ulrich
Hagerstown Fire Department Explorer Post 321

The opinions expressed here are my own and may not be those of my department.

[Thoe1]

here ay Wright Pat Air Force Base the Vehicles are numbered bt Station.
a vehicles first number is NORMALY the station it is out of


ex
Crash 31 Sta 3
Engine 44 Sta 4
Ladder 10 Sta 1

Pretty simple, even though it took me a few week to recognize the simplicity of it LOL

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Your doing it right if your doing it
FOR HIM !!!

The Ultimate Firehouse

T-hoe's Fire Protection Page

USAF Firedawgs

[This message has been edited by Thoe1 (edited September 04, 2000).]

[Chief 193]

Allegany County Maryland Officer & Apparatus # system. Company #s are 1-47 the company # is stated 1st. then the # for the apparatus or officer. Ex. Barton is Co.#19 so Eng. would be 19-11 or 19-12. Brush 19-60. Chief 19-1 Lieut. 19-6. The number is the only thing that is to be transmitted not eng. or chief.
Officers 1-9
Eng. 11-19
Tanker 20-29
Equip./utility 30-39
Squad/Rescue 40-49
Ladder/Tower 50-59
Brush 60-69
F.D. Ambulance 70-79
Special Unit ?? 80-89 (can be anything that is not covered under the above. Ex. Pick up tk.19-80, Unit for Haz.Mat.19-80, Tac.Rescue unit 19-80 and so on.)
Under this system in olden days it worked when an eng. was just an eng. and a ladder was just a ladder. Now a days it will not work with combo. apparatus. So lets try a new system. Some of the county depts. are working under a trial system. Call the Officer or Apparatus what they are.
Officers Ex. Barton is Co.#19 so the Chief is known as "Chief 19" The Deputy Chief Is "Deputy 19" The Capt. is "Capt. 19" The Lieuts. are "Lieut. 19-A" "Lieut. 19-B" Apparatus would be, Eng.Tanker 191, Eng.Rescue 192, Brush 19. I myself think that this could be made simpler. Call the apparatus what it is and then the co.# Ex. Eng.Tanker 19 and if you have two Eng.Tankers then the second would be Eng.Tanker 191. If Barton had a Tac.Rescue then the unit would be "Tac.Rescue 19". "KEEP IT SIMPLE"...

No Codes "Keep It Simple"

[This message has been edited by Chief 193 (edited September 04, 2000).]

[smokeeater51]

Our department has, by far, the best code number ever...the all American classic...51
All of our apparatus is numbered the same way, 51-E3, 51-E2, 51-E1, 51-F1, 51-U1. Chief officers are 51-C1, C2, C3, and from the Capt. to the Lieut's is 51-O3, O4, O5, & O6. Well, you get the picture. As far as the ten code topic is concerned....Ten codes were origionaly constructed to protect the nature of a call that police were responding to, and it still is. For a majority of fire & EMS related departments, it's plain english. The reason for this lies behind the mutual aid agreements that departments share. One departments ten code system may differ from anothers. Therefore, plain english is the prefered choice. Actually, I don't know of any fire department that uses a ten code system. If anyone does, it would be interesting to hear about.

Lt. Mike Spinney
Rollinsford Fire & Rescue
(full time Public Safety Telecommunicator)
Okay, so I'm a spatcher'. P.S.T. sounds more official.