Fireground COmmunications

[gacooper]

Could some of you please let me know what the communication guidelines are for your various departments. I am primarily concerned with how many firefighters on the fire ground carry radios? I am trying to determine the proper way to equip my crews without overdoing it. I personally feel that communication is paramount but I also dont want a situation where there are too many people trying to talk at once. Any input?

[blancety]

1 per per member or crew.....emphasize radio is for safety, not talking. Get ahold of someone from Providence, RI. They have a very good radio policy, including who should be talking and when.

[UAFDLTMED]

Every position on all of our apparatus are assigned walkies, and everybody is expected to carry one.As the company officer, it is my responsibility to do most of the basic communications for my crew, but everybody on the fireground has the responsibility to report any problems or deteriorating conditions to command.

[ADSNWFLD]

Every firefighter has a radio. It is a safety device. Teach the guys how to keep the communications short, sweet, and relevant. We haven't had any real problems with communication, quick enough the guys realize what is important and what isn't.

[FFFRED]

Every Fireman has one and every officer has one. There should be NO excuse why you shouldn't have everyone equiped. NONE, NADA, ZIP-O Excuses.

We have 5 men and an officer on every Truck and usually 4 or 5 w officer on Engines. We send 4 Engines, 3 Ladders, 1 Rescue, 1 Squad, 2 Batt Chiefs... etc. on a working fire.. As you can see we have lots of guys and lots of radios at a very simple all hands fire. We have no problem with too many guys talking. Develop policies on what postion does what and what each needs to say. Most talking is between officers and the Chief or Truckies on the outside team (Roof, OVM or Chauffeur) feeding info to thier officer or Chief. Develop Mayday and urgent procedures. Write it down in a simple to understand procedural bulletin.

FTM-PTB

[flipper123]

Gotta follow up the obvious here- there sgould be no excuse why every person on the fireground shouldn't have a radio on them at all times.
It should be as mandatory as a PASS device. While the officer should be doin the talking, the importance of everybody on a team LISTENING to what's going on is incredibly important. Such little tidbits as, "ENG 1 to command, the roof is collapsing", or "TRUCK 2 to command, we're getting hit by that master stream"
Of course command will eventually relay this valuable info to everybody, but it's kinda nice to hear the important stuff quickl.

On a side note, listen to the Audio Files archived in Firehouse.com
There are many recorded fires that show the importance of proper communications and radio discipline. And before you laugh at some of the problems they have on the air, think about how your crews sound inside a fire bldg, talking through an SCBA.