Well the other 17 pages didnt mean squat ........looky here

[Weruj1]

From Todays News !
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/art...Id=46&id=44881
DHS Secretary: Keep Your 10-Codes



Updated: 09-27-2005 04:54:22 PM
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AP Photo/Alan Diaz
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff gives a thumbs up after speaking at the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005, in Miami Beach, Fla.



LON SLEPICKA
Firehouse.Com News


The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced today that it is no longer necessary for first responders to discontinue using the 10-Code system of verbal communication in order to come into compliance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Speaking at the Annual Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in Miami Beach, Chertoff said there was a strong response from the law enforcement community against this proposal. “We had a discussion about it. As a result, I have decided that NIMS compliance will not include the requirement of the abolition of 10-Codes in everyday law enforcement communications”

That announcement was followed by a warm round of applause from the full house of police chiefs at the Jackie Gleason Theater.

Chertoff went on to warn that when there are multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency events that there must exist a common language that addresses the variations that exist in 10-Code communication. “Everybody needs to be up to the challenge.”

Chertoff also announced an initiative to enhance information sharing capabilities. A pilot program will provide real time incident information, real time alerts that DHS officials receive from the Homeland Security Operations Center. In the pilot areas, Chertoff said these alerts will be made available to key state and local emergency managers who need them also, at the same time as DHS officials get them.

“It is another way of connecting to you and giving you visibility to what we are doing and what we are facing as common challenges,” Chertoff said.

NIMS was developed by Homeland Security to provided a consistent nationwide template to enable federal, state, local, and tribal governments and private-sector and non-governmental organizations to work together effectively and efficiently to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity, including acts of catastrophic terrorism. Abolishing the 10-Code verbal communication was part of the consistency dictated.

Compliance comes in as a condition for federal preparedness assistance (through grants, contracts, and other activities) beginning in FY 2005. Therefore all departments and agencies must adopt the NIMS and use it in their individual domestic incident management and emergency prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation programs and activities.

Chertoff also talked of the actions and results DHS during and after the recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “By any measure the test was extraordinary.”

“Some things worked well but there were shortcomings we have to address,” Chertoff said. “We have to learn the lessons of what happened so we can continue to improve.”

In that effort, although no names were mentioned, a new DHS position will come into existence. A single Director of Preparedness will be named, “with full range of capabilities to ensure our that our preparedness efforts have a focused direction to integrate the department planning, training, exercising and funding.”

Although Chertoff did not say how this position would fit in with FEMA’s mission, he did say that FEMA must be strengthen and continue to work well with state and local authorities.

Chertoff also said clearly that because of the hurricanes, the dismal circumstances created by planning failures has caused the department to undertake a review of the emergency operations plans of every major area in the country. “Their plans must be clear detailed and up to date. This includes specifically a hard realistic look at evacuation plans ranging from earthquakes to subway bombings.

Related Articles:


FEMA Seeks End of Complicated Dispatch 10 Codes

[FFFRED]

Holy sh*t!

Either the Federal Government has come to their senses...or more likely...they have sucumbed to the pressure applied by police and fire professionals who told them to go F*ck themselves and they wouldn't change their system or kowtow to bueracratic incompetance.

Any comments or ignorant diatribes from that village idiot Trojanhorse?

FTM-PTB

[Weruj1]

Fred.....glad I could birghten your day ............whats the horse gonna say now ? Ida know.............

[sconfire]

Any comments or ignorant diatribes from that village idiot Trojanhorse?

ROFLMAO!!!!

[captstanm1]

Well...................to each his own...but I wish they had stuck to their guns. I hat the use of "10 Codes" in fire service. I can say "on scene" as quick as I can say 10-97 and not have to try and remember if it is the right number.

Besides......10 codes are useless....IMO....Anyone with a scanner that listens for more than a week can decipher them. And if the honest people can figure it out....so can the crooks!...

Dont mean to start another war here.....but....just my opinion.

[dmleblanc]

Chertoff went on to warn that when there are multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency events that there must exist a common language that addresses the variations that exist in 10-Code communication. “Everybody needs to be up to the challenge.”

I think that's the essence of what the Feds are trying to accomplish....to make sure that in a large, multi-jurisdictional event, that all players are speaking the same language. So if you can figure out a way to continue using 10-codes in your day-to-day operations, yet transition seamlessly to some kind of "mutual aid" mode of communication, I guess you're really meeting the intention of NIMS. It just seems easier if everyone would use the same radio protocols daily, then there would be no need to transition into your "mutual aid" mode. At least that's what I figure their intentions were.

[arhaney]

Thanks, Josh. You just made my day!

I can say that was the only thread that I started (albeit inadvertently) that was shutdown by the webteam!

Personally speaking, I like 10 codes in that they do shorten up transmit time and free up channels. IMHO

[ptfd19]

I think that's the essence of what the Feds are trying to accomplish....to make sure that in a large, multi-jurisdictional event, that all players are speaking the same language. So if you can figure out a way to continue using 10-codes in your day-to-day operations, yet transition seamlessly to some kind of "mutual aid" mode of communication, I guess you're really meeting the intention of NIMS. It just seems easier if everyone would use the same radio protocols daily, then there would be no need to transition into your "mutual aid" mode. At least that's what I figure their intentions were.

gotta go with the Chief on this one, but did anyone alse notice that Chertoff said "everyday law enforcement communications"? he didn't say they were ok for "everyday fire service communications" also, just law enforcement. does that mean fire service still "needs to change"?

[dmleblanc]

More on the subject from GovExec.com .....

Local emergency teams resist plain-language radio rules

A month before the United States begins tying antiterrorism grants to recipients' observance of a new national emergency system, U.S. officials are cautioning state and local agencies against "continued resistance" to the system.

As of Oct. 1, prospective recipients of federal terrorism grants must show "good-faith efforts" to implement the National Incident Management System, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Don Jacks said Thursday. Full compliance with the system is required after a year.


With the "good-faith" deadline approaching, the federal NIMS Integration Center has issued two cautionary bulletins in the past 10 days to response agencies around the country.


"The point is that all responders at all levels use the same organizational structures, terminology, procedures and systems all the time," the center said Aug. 17 in the first of the two bulletins. "The idea is to achieve interoperability among jurisdictions and disciplines."


Created under a 2003 presidential directive on incident response, the new system is often described as the "playbook" for the related National Response Plan. Together, the two documents govern cooperation among different agencies and levels of government in a terrorist attack or other crisis.


Assigning responsibilities to different agencies and laying out common national practices for emergency operations, they replace a hodgepodge of previous plans that officials feared could make it more difficult for agencies to work together across jurisdictions and governmental levels.


In the second of the two recent bulletins, dated Aug. 23, the center addressed the NIMS requirement that emergency responders use "plain language" - rather than traditional "10-codes," such as "10-4" for "message received" - when communicating by radio.


"They've got to get in the habit of saying, 'We have a bank robbery at First and Main,' instead of, 'We've got a 10-40 at First and Main,'" Jacks said.


In the bulletin, the center warned, "Continued resistance to complying with NIMS requirements and [using] plain language will result in the loss of federal preparedness funding." The fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Department budget includes more than $3 billion in assistance to state and local emergency responders.


Police departments are concerned that officers' security could be compromised by speaking in language that suspects can readily understand, said Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.


"Of all the issues moving forward," Voegtlin said today, "I think this is the one that's going to cause the most consternation."


The integration center acknowledged it "understand[s] that the use of 10-codes is not going to be completely eliminated by October 2006" and that its goal for now is "that good-faith efforts are under way at all levels nationwide to move to plain English for all emergency operations."


Nevertheless, federal officials are making it clear that the eventual goal is the complete elimination of the codes.


"Some reporter asked me just the other day, 'Will the 10-codes just be relegated to movies and Barney Fife?'" Jacks said. "Well, yes."


The police departments say they understand the need to use plain language in interagency operations, but that police should not have to stop using 10-codes in their everyday work.


Washington should consult further with state and local agencies in order to agree on what is required of police, Voegtlin said.


"I think there is confusion about the 10-code issue," Voegtlin said. "If two people look at the same statement, they could see it two different ways."


The codes are addressed in an appendix to the main NIMS document, in a section on how to set up the communications unit of an incident command.


"Codes should not be used for radio communication," the document reads. "A clear spoken message - based on common terminology that avoids misunderstanding in complex and noisy situations - reduces the chances for error."


Although the placement of the requirement appears to support the police departments' contention that common language is required only in interagency crisis operations, the NIMS Integration Center maintains that state and local agencies must implement NIMS requirements in everyday operations in order to be capable of doing so in a catastrophe.


"The first-responder community understands that they have to practice like they play," FEMA spokesman Jacks said, "and, you know, there will be some teaching old dogs new tricks here."


In the first of the two bulletins, which did not specifically address the codes, the integration center warned, "The requirement to adopt and implement NIMS and ICS [the Incident Command System, an aspect of the NIMS approach to managing incidents] means NIMS and ICS for incident management every day." The center said it was responding to "a number of questions recently" about whether the management system could be reserved for use "during major incidents involving federal participation."


"Those who do not train for, exercise and use NIMS and ICS in their day-to-day operations will not be able to integrate their activities into a system they do not know, haven't practiced and don't use," the center said.


Voegtlin said police officers' security in routine situations, though, depends upon using codes. Plain-language radio communications can push suspects within earshot of police radios - those being apprehended by or already in the custody of an officer - to dangerous measures they might not take if they did not understand the radio communication, he said.


"The 10-codes actually serve a purpose. They serve a security purpose," he said.


As for the federal position that agencies must "practice like they play," Voegtlin said officers are already accustomed to using plain language and instructed to do so in interagency operations.


"It's not like they talk in 10-codes when they go home," he said. "They have the ability to switch languages or to switch speaking styles."


Voegtlin expressed confidence that a solution would be reached and that no antiterrorism grants would be denied over the use of the codes.


"I think this confusion is just being identified at the moment," he said. "It's just a matter of getting things clarified."

Break up into small groups and discuss amongst yourselves.....

[captstanm1]

Police departments are concerned that officers' security could be compromised by speaking in language that suspects can readily understand, said Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel for the International Association of Chiefs of Police

I understand this....but as I said before....the crooks know the codes as well or better than we do in most cases.

What would really be interesting is if we could all somehow without a great deal of typing manage to scan in and then post the version of "10 codes" on here that those who use them have. My bet is there is a huge difference.

Our police department still uses the codes but the Chief has authorized us to discontinue using them and use plain text. Out of the 15 folks (3 shifts of 5) and 15 reserves, there are about 4 or 5 that still insist on using them and I truly think they do it just because the chief said we could stop and of course one or more may be "police wanna be" folks.

[Res343cue]

And I could complain to the WEB team about this but I won't lower myself to your style of whining and crying.

Do it.

The rest of us will just start reporting all your crap, and let you get smacked by the WT too.

You're not immune from it all. Just lucky that the WT hasn't stepped in.

[Tillerman17]

Simplicity,brevity,clarity and easy to understand. Say what you want, It was a good call.

[jaybird210]

Big Feds pound on table....
YOU WILL USE NIMS!! YOU WILL BE COMPLIANT!! YOU WILL USE THIS METHOD OR GET NO MONEY!!!!!!!!

Unless, of course, you don't wanna. Then we'll just let you use what you've been using.

BUT YOU WILL USE NIMS!! YOU WILL BE COMPLIANT!! YOU WILL USE THIS METHOD OR GET NO MONEY!!!!!!!!

Stupid.

[EFD840]

Either the Federal Government has come to their senses...or more likely...they have sucumbed to the pressure applied by police and fire professionals who told them to go F*ck themselves

FFFred, I'll take door number 2 please - with one exception. While I have no insight, you can bet it was LE and not fire that put the pressure on and got DHS to change the rules. I haven't met a LE officer that didn't all but go into convulsions when the thought of dropping 10 codes has been broached.

In a twisted sort of way, this is likely another example of how LE is so much better than the fire service at delivering a unified message.

Edited to add: We don't use 10 codes, so neither the first edict nor the backpedal meant anything to us.

[FyredUp]

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,
but there is no joy in Mudville -
mighty TrojanHorse has struck out.

FyredUp

[coldfront]

Please call DHS /FEMA!

[redneckemt]

But if we can come up with a unified set of 10 codes for Fire, Ems, Law Enforcement and everybody else we'll run out of numbers!!! I can't see any way for all agencies to run on the same 10 codes. Maybe one set for fire, and one set for Law Enforcement, ect. But one for everyone

[FyredUp]

Trojan...Trojan...Trojan...

Ya just can't let it go can you? Honestly is the most important thing in your life the continual nit picking of the FDNY? Why does it matter to you?

If everything is perfect in Mudville then maybe you can sit back and Monday morning quarterback other FD's. But since you have strongly stated that isn't so, wouldn't your efforts be better suited trying to fix your own department? But like I tell the whiners in my volly FD, you know the type, they gripe about how horrible something, it is always easier to bitch than it is to actually work to effect change.

Explain to me why I need to understand what the FDNY is saying on the radio? If they are comfortable with the 10 codes why should ANYONE care? I don't recall reading anywhere that the FDNY's radio ops were responsible for any additional deaths or injuries or even confusion after the towers collapsed. I am sure that firefighters from around the country are smart enough to say could you please send your message in plain language we are not familiar with your codes. The only real communication failures that I am aware of from that day were radios inside the towers not getting messages from outside and the FDNY and NYPD not having a common frequency to allow a warning to be passed to the FDNY guys in the building.

What is plain English anyways? Is a tanker an airplane or something on wheels? In my part of the country if you asked for a tender you would get looked at like you grew another head. Is is engine or pumper? Is it a truck, an aerial, a tower or a ladder? Stretch a preconnect...in my department that would be a 200 foot 2 inch line, in a neighboring department that is a 200 foot 2 1/2 inch line. They call the small lines a crosslay. On scene reports, is it a loom up, smoke showing or a working fire? Heck is a firefighter called a firefighter or a jake? Is a newguy a probie or a candidate? Do you get the point? And heck I just scratched the surface of terminology.

FyredUp

[ChiefReason]

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced today that it is no longer necessary for first responders to discontinue using the 10-Code system of verbal communication in order to come into compliance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

10-4!

And be sure to go to the IACOJ website and read my article "The Secret of NIMS".
CR

[CaptainS]

It is amazing that all of you focus on 10 codes. While 10 codes are not used in my area most counties use signals (10,15,20,30 etc) and some cities just use codes (75,95,99).

Unless you get the whole freakin world to join hands none of this means squat!

"Eng 1 to 386 9-5, 9-9"

"7-5 Engine 1 9-9"