Posted by Chris on August 12, 2001 at 10:07:46:
In Reply to: Seattle fire medic comm posted by Sean H on August 11, 2001 at 14:47:29:
Here is the deal with the issue(s) you all are talking abut.
When an Aid Unit requests a Medic Unit from the scene, the dispatcher tones out the closest Medic Unit( also called upgrading or balancing). Meaning the initial "Aid Response", with either a Aid Unit, Engine, or Ladder Co. dispatched, now requires an ALS resource (Medic Unit).
The dispatcher tones out the Medic Unit. The unit says their "Responding" by voice or AVL/MDT. The dispatcher comes on the radio and says: " Medic-10, 1535 E. Pine St."
The Medic Unit Replys: " Medic-10 responding to 1535 E. Pine St."
Dispatcher(to Medic Unit): "This is with Aid-25, original call was for sick-unknown, Aid-25 on scene reporting male with chest pain."
Dispatcher(to Aid Unit): "Aid-25, you have Medic-10 responding."----"Aid-25 speak/talk to Medic-10."
When the dispatcher says for the Aid Unit to "talk" or "speak" to the responding medic unit, she/he is prompting the on-scene unit to give a "short report" to that responding Medic Unit over the radio.
When you don't hear any conversation between the on scene units and the responding Medic Unit, it is because the on scene unit either isn't ready to give a short report, the medic is on scene quickly, or the on scene crew is too busy to talk on the radio. (or they forget)
They don't switch to a special simplex channel or anything like that. If you listen the on scene units will give a "short report" on the EMS Response channel, which is SFD Channel-5 (TG 1776). The KC 800MHz system is huge, and has the ability to accomodate alot of radio traffic.
Hopefully that explains that lack of radio traffic between Medic Units and Aid, Engine, and Ladder Co.'s.