montgomery county 800 mhz radio guide

O

0MON

MONTGOMERY

COUNTY

800

MHZ

RADIO

SYSTEM

Why Use The 800 Radio System

• Interoperability– All Fire, EMS, Police, and Public Safety

can communicate on the same system– No More High or Low Band Systems– Units assigned to a call can switch to and use

the same TALK groups

Comparison of Old System to New System

OLD• Total Radio Freq 8 not counting

Disp Freq• Fire Disp Low 33.70• Fire Disp High 154.130• Norristown Disp 154.370• Lower Merion Disp 33.84• Cheltenham Disp 154.445• Pottstown Disp 33.44• Fire Ch 2 Low 33.66• Fire Ch 2 High 154.280• Tac Ch High 1• Tac Ch Low 1 to 4• Fire Police 1

NEW• Total Talkgroups 31 Not

Counting Disp Talk Group• Fire Disp• Fire Region East 1 to 3• Fire Region West 4 to 6• Fire Ground East 1 to 6• Fire Ground West 1 to 6• Event Chan 1 to 10• Fire Police East• Fire Police West• Fire Police Local

Green low, Orange High Band, Red Self Dispatch

R

RR

OLD SYSTEM

How does the 800 Mhz Radio System Work

• There are currently 18 frequencies that can be used in our system

• All frequencies are shared by all users• Users are divided into TAKLGROUPS

– FIRE, EMS, POLICE, PUBLIC SAFETYOthers

How does the 800 Mhz Radio System Work

• All users are given priorities as to how they are recognized on the system

• All Emergency Services have the same priority

• The EMERGENCY BUTTON (orange button)

has the highest priority

800 Mhz Radio System

• The County has been divided into two sections EAST and WEST

– This division was done to utilize the 800 system to it’s fullest potential

– And ad hock Fire Chiefs Committee divided each section into Regions solely based on call

volume

White Stars 7 Original 800 Towers Black Star was removed

Green Stars 13 New 800 Towers Total 800 Towers 20

WEST EAST

800 Mhz Digital Radio Template• All Fire & EMS Radios will be set up with the same

Talkgroups in 3 Banks A B C• A Bank

• Fire & EMS Disp, – Fire Regions 1 to 6

– EMS Hail – Ops

– ER 1 & 2– Public Safety Coordination (Pscord)

– Emergency– Fire Police East & West

– Total of 16 Talkgroups

800 Mhz Digital Radio Template

• All Fire & EMS Radios will be set up with the same Talk Groups in 3 Banks A B C

• B Bank• Event TalkGroups 1 to 10

• 11 to 16 blank– Feature Talk Groups

Total 16 TalkGroups

800 Mhz Digital Radio Template• All Fire & EMS Radios will be set up with the same

Talkgroups in 3 Banks A B C• C Bank

– Fire Ground 1 to 6– Fire Police Local

– National Hail– National Talk Groups 1 to 4– Dynamic (Control Group)

– Tactical repeater (TACRPT)– Public safety Cord 1 & 2 (PSCL)

Total 16 TalkGroups

800 Mhz Digital Radio TemplateA Bank B Bank C Bank

1 Fire Reg 1 1 Event 1 1 FireGrnd 1






7 Fire Pol. W 7 Event 7 7 Fire Pol

8 Fire Pol. E 8 Event 8 8 NTHAIL

9 Pscord 9 Event 9 9 NPSP 1

10 *Fire Disp 10 Event 10 10 NPSP 2

11 Emerg 11 11 NPSP 3

12 Er2 12 12 NPSP 4

13 Er1 13 13 Dynmac

14 EMS Ops 14 14 TACRPT

15 *Emerg Disp 15 15 PSCL 2

16 EMS Hail 16 16 PSCL 1

Recorded Recorded Not Recorded

WEST EAST

Reg 6

Reg 4

Reg 5Reg 3Reg 1

Reg 2

WEST EAST

800 Mhz Digital Radio Dispatch

• Dispatches will be done on their respective (TalkGroups) Fire Disp or EMS Disp– Fire Companies will then move to their respective Fire

Region• Fire Units can then move to an assigned Fire Ground

(talkgroup)

– EMS Units will then move to EMS Operations • EMS Units will be able to use PSCL 1 or 2 (talkgroup)

– Event talkgroups (large events) will be assigned upon request or by the dispatcher

800 Mhz Digital Radio East & West

• Fire and Emergency dispatches will be simultaneously transmitted to both East &

West Talk Sections

West Section

made up of

Region 1, 2, 3

East Section

made up of

Regions 4, 5, 6

800 Mhz Digital Radio

• Your 800 Mhz radio is capable of scanning 10 Talkgroups

• You can only scan talkgroups in 1 Section at a time EAST or WEST

– But you can set your radio to either section at any time and still here a Dispatch in your home section and Region

– Units responding from one region or section to another need onlyto switch their radio to the region where the emergency exists

– Responding units will then be in direct communications with the Incident Commander or Officer in Charge


• Each 800 MHZ radio has 2 preset scanned Talkgroups (Dispatch and Emergency)

– If your radio is set on Region 3 and scanning any message over region 3 will over ride the

scanned Talkgroups


• Remember this is a REPATER type system – If you talk before you here the beep some of what you

said will be lost– If you here a bonk tone one of several things may be

happening– No signal

– All channels are busy– Your radio has been damaged

Montgomery CountyEmergency Dispatch

Procedures

IntroductionPurpose & Scope

The purpose of this document is to provide a STANDARD policy and procedure manual so

resources can be deployed in a timely and predictable manor.

Standardized procedures will reduce the time it takes to process and dispatch calls and reduce

errors.

Communications with the Dispatch Center

Under normal conditions it is not necessary for a unit to call and wait for acknowledgement before transmitting a short message.

County Engine 27-1 Responding

For lengthy or important messages you should make a primary call and wait for acknowledgement

When calling the dispatch center the message should start with COUNTY followed by your unit number

COUNTY from CHIEF 27

Communications with the Dispatch Center continued

• In the event that a major element in the dispatch center is in failure or in danger of failing or a

critical security event (internal or external) to the EOC all units will be advised of a

• A SYSTEM ALERT IS IN EFFECT• DO NOT CALL the EDS for details

– Stations should be staffed and units deployed using back-up procedures as necessary

Incident Evacuation Plan

• The IC activates the plain by broadcasting that all personnel to Evacuate Immediately

– Example command• 27 Command to County and all units operating at the

XYZ Street fire Evacuate Immediately

• EDS will simultaneously rebroadcast this command on all frequencies used at the scene of the incident

this will be repeated in 2 minuets

Incident Evacuation Plan continued

• All vehicle operators at the scene should sound their air horns simultaneously and continuously for 15 seconds.

• Upon the command Evacuate Immediatelyall personnel should leave the affected area


• Officers– Immediately perform PAR (personnel accountable report) and report to the IC

• PAR – Indicates that all personnel are accounted for– if personnel are missing report same to the IC

how many and where they are trapped if known


• The Evacuation plan – should only be used for Emergency's not for

changes in strategy– Upon the IC decision to resume operations , it

will be announced via radio and to EDS

Types of Alarms• BOX ALARMS

• BUILDING FIRES

• INDUSTRIAL

• INSTITUTIONAL

• COMMERCIAL TYPE BUILDING

• APARTMENT BUILDINGS

• MEDIUM OR HIGH HAZARD OCCUPANCIES

Types of Alarmscontinued

•TACTICAL ALARMS

• Dwellings (non commercial buildings)

•Residents

• Garages

• Sheds and Out Buildings

•Appliances

• Televisions Toasters (ect)

• Small equipment that can be carried out of the structure


• Local Alarms

•Fire alarms (automatic, water flow ,manual)

•CO alarms carbon monoxide

•Vehicle fires (type of vehicle)

•Trash outside (rubbish)

•Electrical outside (wires, pole, transformer)

•Electrical inside (wires , odor of electrical)

•Accident with injuries


•Local Alarms continued

•Odor of gas outside (any type of gas including propane)

•Odor of gas inside ( any type of gas odor)

•Stand-by

•Accident (called by police hazard control)

•Fires (at your station or move to another station)

•Helicopter (when on is placed on stand-by)


•Local Alarms continued

•Debris (Fluid on roadway)

•HazMat (spill or release of a hazardous material other than small fuel leak)

•Investigation (any type of hazardous condition)

•Brush (grass, woods, fields, mulch, trees)

•Special Service ( assist police , EMS, other agency)

•Rescue (any type)

•Helicopter Landing (direct fly)

•System Failure (critical event or shut down of system)


•Extra Alarms

• Request for assistance by the IC

• Special calls of equipment

• Additional alarms (transmit a 2nd alarm)

BOX ALARM SYSTEM

• Boxes: designates areas or zones in each departments jurisdiction which allows for the easy identification of the geographic location of the incident.– Identifies map area locations– Deployment of the nearest appropriate recourses

• Fire - EMS - Police - Public Works - Others

Box Alarm Systemcontinued

• TYPES OF Boxes

Box (full box) Rescue BoxTactical Box Hazmat BoxLocal Box Special CallsRural Tactical Box

Box Alarm System continued

• Fire Companies or the Municipality will determine the appropriate responses in their

jurisdiction


•Fire Companies or the Municipality will determine the appropriate responses in their jurisdiction

Guide lines based on the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook

High Hazard Occupancies

Box

2 Chiefs

4 Engines

2 Ladders

Specialized units

Medium Hazard Occupancies

Tactical Box

1 Chiefs

3 Engines

1 Ladders

Specialized units

Rural Occupancies

Tactical Box

1 Chiefs

1 Engines 500 gal min.

1 Tanker 1000 gal min.

Specialized units


• The Department of Emergency Dispatch Services a Division of Montgomery County Public Safety will assist any Fire/EMS organization in making changes to their BOX system.

– Contact the Assistant Director for Information & Data at 610-631-6545 for assistance.

Radio Communications and Reports

• The adopted ICS system will be the standard operating procedure for

Montgomery County

– First arriving unit should advise their arrival and provide a brief description of conditions

Radio Communications and Reports continued

– Engine 21 on location (describe structure and conditions observed): Heavy smoke showing, second floor

– Standard terminology includes• nothing showing, light smoke showing, heavy

smoke showings, fire showing, fully involved– Non structural nature and conditions can simply

confirm the dispatch conditions• Eng 53 on location we have a small brush fire we

can handle alone


• On all Working building fires, rescues, hazardous materials, and closures of limited access highways the IC will be given a Twenty (20) minute marks by EDS.– IC will update the EDS with information about

the call• EDS will continue the 20 minuet marks until

– the incident is placed under control – advised by the IC to discontinue the checks


• Benchmarks– When the IC makes an important announcement

such as • Fire: is under control, HazMat: incident is under control,

Extraction: Rescue is complete, Evacuate: Building or Area, All Clear

• EDS will retransmit the information with– Box # or Tactical Box # or HazMat Box # or Rescue Box #

along with the Time

Communications Support Equipment

• Field Com. 1 is available to all Public Safety Agencies in Montgomery County upon request

• Types of incidents – extra alarm fires– major transportation accidents– HazMat – mass evacuations, – natural disasters– multi agency responses– anywhere the IC needs communication coordination

Communications Support Equipment continued

– The IC • will be identified as 27 Command or Any Town Command

– Field Com 1• will be identified as Field Com. 1 unless the IC is

commanding the incident from inside Field Com. 1

– Tech Support 1• This vehicle has extra radios a mobile repeater and ACU

1000 (interoperability equipment) along with the on call radio technician

Montgomery County Incident Command

• Command Designations– Once a Command Post (CP) has been established

• IC of the lead agency shall name the incident– 27 Command– Any town Command– Acme Command

– County will recognize only ONE command per incident

Montgomery County Incident Command continued

Sample ICS Flow Chart

Safiety OfficerSafety - 27

Fast Team(RIT)

Res 53

SupressionEng 27

Eng -27-1Lad 27

EMS308 -1308 - F

HazMat919911

RescueRes - 27

Police301307

IC27 Chief

Montgomery County Incident Command continued

• Additional Recourses

– COMMAND • shall make request for additional recourses • all other requests will have to be cleared through

COMMAND• only exception will be assist companies requesting a

stand-by company

Mayday ProceduresMayday

A nationally accepted term used when Emergency service personnel are in immediate danger.

Mayday should be used when Fire personnel find themselves in any of the following situations.

Low on air

Lost in the Building

Trapped

Overtaken by fire conditions

Mayday Procedurescontinued

MAYDAY

This term is used to gain immediate priority on the fire

ground

Mayday Dispatch Procedures continued

• The following procedures will be followed when ever a MAYDAY is received from

the fire ground.

• A MAYDAY call can come from the IC or any unit operating on the fire ground.


• Once a MAYDAY is received by EDS– EDS will assign another frequency for all

non-MAYDAY traffic– Only MAYDAY related radio transmission will

be allowed to remain on the original frequency– EDS will assign a second dispatcher to the call

with one dispatcher assigned to the MAYDAY


• EDS will make sure two (2) fast teams are assigned to the call

• Two (2) additional ALS ambulances will be assigned too the call

• After EDS has dispatch the MAYDAY FAST TRACK ASSIGNMENT

EDS will inform the IC– The IC may increase, reduce or recall the

TASK FORCE at his discretion


• If the dispatcher is unable to raise a command officer (i.e. may be incapacitated an explosion ect)

• The dispatcher with the approval of the shift supervisor will strike out an additional alarm

Fire Ground Mayday Procedures

• MAYDAY– Any emergency personnel that fells Trapped,

Injured, or Lost shall signal a MAYDAY

– The emergency personnel signaling a MAYDAY should activate their

PASS ALARM

Fire Ground Mayday Procedures continued

• Emergency personnel instituting a MAYDAYshould announce

• MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY– Identify themselves

– Give a location – Brief description of problem if possible

• ENG 27 portable to command we are trapped inside the basement, stairway collapsed

– Message should be repeated until acknowledged by the IC or EDS


• If the IC does not acknowledge the MAYDAY alert EDS will relay the

information to the IC• IC shall deploy the necessary resources

needed to assist with the Rescue


• Upon the MAYDAY call a Personal Accountability Report (PAR) shall be initiated for all other crews

• Fast Team shall notify the IC when the person(s) has been located – What actions are being taken to remove them– If additional assistance is needed– What additional equipment may be needed


A MAYDAY report from any unit on the fire ground will

cause this plan to be activated

montgomery county 800 mhz radio guide

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