KITCHENER FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING PROCEDURE
Subject: COMMAND - RADIO PROCEDURES Page: 1 of 5 Prepared By: S. ZURELL Date Prepared: 23/03/2005 No: SUP - 608 Approved By:
Date Revised: 25/03/2011 Section: SUPPRESSION
1. PURPOSE:
1.1 Establish Radio Procedures to coincide with the incident command system
2. DEFINITION:
2.1 Standard Phraseology: Clear Text – The use of plain English in radio communications. No 10 codes or agency
specific codes are used when using clear text. NFPA 1561 4.3.2
Acknowledge Message received and understood OR let me know that the message has been received
and understood Advise if Do you want Affirmative Yes or permission granted Ascertain Find out Check Call and see Clear Clear of frequency or talk group and returning to dispatch channel Command The radio designation "COMMAND" will be used with a reference description of the incident
location (ie. King Street Command) Confirm Is that correct? Correction An error has been made in this transmission (or the message indicated) the correct version
is Desire Want Emergency Traffic Urgent life safety message of the highest priority Forward Send Go ahead Proceed with your message Mayday Term used to report a lost or trapped firefighter Negative No Obtain Get On Air A term used to inform command and accountability that a crew is breathing by SCBA and in
the hot zone. Off Air A term used to inform command and accountability that a crew is out of the hot zone and no
longer using SCBA. P.A.R. Personnel accountability report involves a roll call of personnel or crews involved at an
emergency incident. This is a confirmation that members assigned to a crew are visually accounted for while operating in a hazardous environment. Roger Message received and understood Say Again Repeat all or the following part of your last transmission Standby Wait Unable Can't Verify Check the message and confirm or correct Wilco Your instructions received, understood and will be complied with
2.2 Standard Abbreviations
M.V.C. Motor vehicle collision R.P. Responsible person or key holder H.B.D. Has been drinking V.S.A. Vital signs absent S.O.B. Short of breath C.V.A. Cerebral Vascular Accident/Stroke R.I.T. Rapid Intervention Team
KITCHENER FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING PROCEDURE
Subject: COMMAND - RADIO PROCEDURES Page: 2 of 5 Prepared By: S. ZURELL Date Prepared: 23/03/2005 No: SUP - 608 Approved By:
Date Revised: 23/03/2011 Section: SUPPRESSION
2.3 Radio Checks
2.3.1 Radio or signal checks are frequently carried out and a numeric value is placed on the quality of the
signal received.
Strength 1 Unreadable Strength 2 Readable intermittently Strength 3 Readable but with difficulty Strength 4 Readable Strength 5 Perfectly readable or loud and clear
2.4 Radio Codes
Universal Precautions Universal Precautions is used to alert crews responding to medical calls to a patient with a
possible infectious or communicable disease.
Wait for Police Wait for police is used to alert crew to a possible violent patient or hazardous situation
where waiting for police may be advisable.
10-45 10-45 is a radio code identifying a fatality at an emergency scene that will not be
resuscitated or transported to a medical facility (obvious death).
10-2000 Officers are to use the radio code 10-2000 to relay to the Communicator that there is an
urgent need for police assistance at an incident. The communicator will in turn notify the police requesting immediate assistance upon receiving the code. This in intended to be used in emergency situations requesting police assistance.
Firecracker For radio communications, the code FIRECRACKER will be used to indicate a bomb threat.
2.5 Radio Identification
Fire Chief 21 Deputy Chief Operations 22 Platoon Chief 23 Assistant Platoon Chief 24 CFPO 25-1 ACFPO 25-2 Training Director 26 Deputy Chief Prevention / Communications 28
3. RESPONSIBILITY:
3.1 It is the responsibility of all personnel to know and practice proper radio procedure
KITCHENER FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING PROCEDURE
Subject: COMMAND - RADIO PROCEDURES Page: 3 of 5 Prepared By: S. ZURELL Date Prepared: 23/03/2005 No: SUP - 608 Approved By:
Date Revised: 23/03/2011 Section: SUPPRESSION
4. PROCEDURE:
4.1 Usage - Clear text shall be used for all radio communications with the exceptions defined in this procedure
4.1.1 User should speak at a normal conversation volume and rate 4.1.2 Avoid clipping transmissions or speaking before the radio is transmitting 4.1.3 Be brief and concise keep transmissions to approximately 30 seconds or less. 4.1.4 Enunciate clearly 4.1.5 Remain impersonal in radio communications. Don’t use names. 4.1.6 Assume gratitude, avoid please and thank you 4.1.7 Be cautious with, or avoid the use of modifying adjectives and adverbs in radio communications 4.1.8 All communication shall follow command structure. Communications shall not circumvent levels of
command structure. 4.1.9 Company Officers should repeat orders over the radio back to command to ensure clarity. 4.1.10 Level 1 command organization – all communications shall go through the incident commander 4.1.11 Level 2 command organization – communications shall go from individual companies to the sector officers
and then to the incident commander if required. 4.1.12 Level 3 command organization - communications shall go from the individual companies to the sector
officers then to the operational officers and then to incident command if required. 4.1.13 With all radio communication identify the type of unit and the station from which it comes. State the unit
you are calling followed by who is calling. ie. Fire Dispatch this is Kitchener Pump 3. 4.1.14 When calling an individual from a unit state the person you are contacting by their role.
ie. Officer Pump 3 this is Driver Aerial 2. 4.1.15 The riders in the units will be identified as with the Portable suffix. ie. Officer Pump 4 this is Pump 4
Portable.
4.2 Terminology
4.2.1 Use the Phonetic Alphabet to spell or identify letters when broadcasting.
A Alpha J Juliet S Sierra B Bravo K kilo T Tango C Charlie L Lima U Uniform D Delta M mike V Victor E Echo N November W Whiskey F Foxtrot O Oscar X X-ray G Golf P Papa Y Yankee H Hotel Q Quebec Z Zulu I India R Romeo
4.2.2 Transmission of numbers can be confusing and as a general rule, each digit should be pronounced
separately. Whole thousands should be transmitted by pronouncing each digit in the numbers of thousands followed by the word thousand. In numbers with a decimal transmit the word decimal.
Eg. 20 two zero
57 five seven 300 three zero zero 619 six one nine 2000 two thousand 2,200 two two zero zero 72,000 seven two thousand 81,473 eight one four seven three 154.070 one five four decimal zero seven zero
KITCHENER FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING PROCEDURE
Subject: COMMAND - RADIO PROCEDURES Page: 4 of 5 Prepared By: S. ZURELL Date Prepared: 23/03/2005 No: SUP - 608 Approved By:
Date Revised: 23/03/2011 Section: SUPPRESSION
4.3 Sector Codes:
4.3.1 To identify interior locations in a structure the following sector codes are to be used.
B C E A
D
4.3.2 To identify interior locations in a large structure the interior location codes are
B-2 B- 3
B -4
A-3
A-1
A-4 C B-1
E A-2
D
KITCHENER FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING PROCEDURE
Subject: COMMAND - RADIO PROCEDURES Page: 5 of 5 Prepared By: S. ZURELL Date Prepared: 23/03/2005 No: SUP - 608 Approved By:
Date Revised: 23/03/2011 Section: SUPPRESSION
4.4 Exposure Codes:
4.4.1 To identify exterior exposures around the outside of the structure the following Exposure codes
are to be used. It is commands responsibility to ensure all personnel know where E-1 is located.
E-3
E-2 E-4
E-1 ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________ Street
5. REFERENCE:
5.1 KFD Communications Division reference manual procedure Section 8 5.2 Section 21 guidelines #2-3 (16) 5.3 800 Radio System Radio LID’S and Alias’ 5.4 NFPA 1561 4.3.1 5.5 Communication Division Bulletin # 96-17 5.6 Communications Division Bulletin # 09-012
6. EXPLANTORY:
None