1st alarm, 2nd alarm, going 3rd

[FFFRED]

FWDbuff

Don't forget that a "pull box or BARS alarm"...is the dispatcher refering to the old electro-mechanical boxes still found in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

R&R the Box!

FTM-PTB

[FWDbuff]

FWDbuff

Don't forget that a "pull box or BARS alarm"...is the dispatcher refering to the old electro-mechanical boxes still found in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

R&R the Box!

FTM-PTB

Is everybody up?

[SteveDude]

Not entirely relevant because it isn't the US...but over here in the UK, with the exception of West Yorkshire Fire Service who use the US 'Alarm' system, we simply ask for what we want...

The initial call will between 2 Pumps and 3 Pumps and an aerial depending on where in the UK you are.

Generally the first assistance message for a working job will be 'Make Pumps three' or 'Make Pumps Four'... in larger Metropolitain brigades it will usually go to four because we have 100's of Fire Trucks..the counties will usually go to three. A 4 Pump Fire (16-20Ff's) will be a good working job in a house etc...

A large House, good Residential High Rise a small factory etc will usally go to 6 Pumps....

A large High Rise fire, a major warehouse blaze will usually go to around 20 to 30 Pumps... Aerials are requested seperately i.e 'Make Pumps 10 Aerials 2" So, if the job had 6 Pumps and one aerial, that call would get another 4 Pumps and another aerial making 10 & 2 in total.

Things like Command units, Rescue, BA supoort, Hose layers will come on at set stages unless more are required...i.e an 8 Pump Major Special Service for a train Crash may attratc 3 Rescues, USAR & USAR support pumps on top of the standard 8 Pumps...but then the IC may want 2 more rescue Co's so he will "Make Fire Rescue Units 5"

Chiefs of increasingly higher ranks will respond depending on the size of job... So, in London...
4 Pumps... Stn O (Capt) as IC ADO (Batt Chief) as Monitoring Officer
6 Pumps...ADO as IC DO (Dep Chief) as Monitoring Officer
and so on up until over 15 Pumps where an Assistant Commissioner will be the IC and either the Third Officer (senior AC/Chief of Ops) Dep Commissioner or Commissioner will Monitor the job and take over if they feel neccesary but I haven't often known this to happen. Obviously the title 'Commissioner' in London is a reflection of the uniformed Chief of Department and not the type of Commissioner as seen in FDNY

In the UK we have far fewer resources on the fireground (lack of truck Co's I guess) but have a very formalised system of command and control.

[hwoods]

Here's More............

Thanks Hwoods. I would like to learn more about PG County. I was not aware until recently that they are the second busiest Dept.

Go to www.PGCVFRA.org and all the Station sites are linked from there. Some of the individual Station's Sites have a link for listening in on PGFD radio channels.

[firetruckred]

Go to www.PGCVFRA.org and all the Station sites are linked from there. Some of the individual Station's Sites have a link for listening in on PGFD radio channels.

Thank you H.

[firetruckred]

Thank you all for contributing to this thread with such in deepth answers. This is definetly going into the My Favorites file for future reference and reflection.