FDNY and "K"

[mglax13]

I have heard over some FDNY radio transmissions people saying K or Kay, I'm not sure if it's the letter or a word, but I've also heard some FDNY guys in my volly FD say K after a transmission, but I never got around to asking them. Anyone know why they say it?


"It is now reported to be a car fire in your box location, Ladder 33 is responding. K."

[RspctFrmCalgary]

I've seen this brought up on here somewhere before, and I believe the explanation given was that it mean "ok", received, acknowledged etc.

[Bones42]

K at the end of the transmission means they are awaiting a response.

[DrParasite]

RspctFrmCalgary is right, it's sort of slang for OK, or as a question "is it ok that we do this?" I believe it originated in Da Bronx, and has spread to the rest of the city and the surrounding areas.

[Firescueguy]

The use of therm "K" is meant to indicate the end of a message...apparently it goes back to the days of the telegraph, the letter K was used to indicate the message was complete (assuming it was similar to "ok")...

All public safety agencies in NYC (FDNY, NYPD, etc.) use the term "K" when communicating via radio...people often think it's said to "sound cool" but it is a commonly used, recognized (and accepted) radio term in NYC...

Hope that clears things up...Stay Safe... :)

[Dalmatian90]

It's a prosign, dating back to the days of telegraph.

http://www.campusprogram.com/reference/en/wikipedia/m/mo/morse_code.html

If you've ever heard in an old movie some reading a telegram you hear at the end of the message, "Stop" -- the morse code short hand is:
._._. (an AR)

When a telegraph operator expected an answer right away, he'd add in a "please respond" as a "K":
_._

It's not used so much as a "permission" (May I do this?) but is rather to ensure someone acknowledges the transmission. Basically messages without a K don't require a response; messages with a K should be responded to.

This may be a poor example (the FDNY guys would know much better!) but a "routine" message like, "We've forced entry in the rear" is different from "Chief, we're on the roof and see victims on the fourth floor, rear of the building, K?" One is nice to know...one is critical to know.

[NJFFSA16]

Gosh...and I thought the dispatcher's name was Kaye!

40 Engine to Manhattan, Kaye?:p