Seattle Fire Department Ladder 11 Aid Response From Station 32

[Coasterrider210]

can you explain what exactly an aid response is?

[ColinFWheeler]

@Coasterrider210 Hi and thanks for the good question. In the Seattle FD, an Aid Response is one in which only Basic Life Support care is anticipated by dispatch, based on the nature of the call. A Medic Response is one in which Advanced Life Support is anticipated. Medic units are dispatched on Medic Responses. Aid Units, Engines, and Ladders are dispatched on Aid Responses. Note that Medic 32 was available in quarters when this dispatch was made, but L11 was sent.

[jojocoombs]

Retired after 30 yrs in the FD, loved it would do it again in a heart beat. Started in a structure dept and retired from a Airport Dept, ARFF AirCraftRescureFireFighting.

[wannabenj]

The firefighters at this station should complain to the DPW to get out there and plow and salt the street. Bad enough they put their lives in danger in a fire but looks like pulling in and out of station is kinda hazardous.

[MrUltimateBoy]

whats up, where did u get the radio from?

[ColinFWheeler]

Hi. It's a scanner (Radio Shack Pro-528 Triple Trunking scanner)

[MrUltimateBoy]

wow, so can anybody listen to radio transmissions from firefighters?

[ColinFWheeler]

Yes, you just need to have a scanner that is programmed to their frequencies. In the case of the Seattle FD, you'll need a trunking scanner.

[h0ktar]

@ColinFWheeler

but is this legal?

Our scanners here in Austria are cryptographically secured and listening to the communication as a "civilian" is illegal.

No offense, I'm just curious!

[ColinFWheeler]

@h0ktar Hi and thanks for the question. Yes, it's legal to monitor fire and police dispatch frequencies in the U.S. You just can't transmit on the channels.

[h0ktar]

@ColinFWheeler i see, thx4info!

[206rydah]

im a fire fighter in training i think these videos are pretty good i think seattle should put cams on there trucks so you can watch them responsed like fdny and other fire departments across the country

[ColinFWheeler]

Hi. No, I work in the airline industry. Have been interested in fire department operations since I was a teenager in the 70s.

[ColinFWheeler]

M32 didn't get any calls during the time that I was at Stn 32. All the calls were BLS ... M32 only goes on ALS and Full Response calls.

[JKSK8ERLIVE]

r they FF/PM or FF/EMT or emt b or ALS or BLS or Als

[ColinFWheeler]

Hi and thanks for the question. Since SFD Engines, Ladders and Aid units all respond to aid calls, I believe all personnel staffing these companies are trained as Basic Life Support EMTs. The Medic units are staffed w/ Advanced Life Support trained EMTs. The Medic units are dispatched, for example, on cardiac calls. I'll defer to SFD employees to correct me, or to provide further info on this.

[ColinFWheeler]

Also, you'll notice that they didn't dispatch Medic 32 on this run since the injuries didn't appear to require ALS care. The Medic units (there are seven ... M1, 10, 16, 18, 28, 31 and 32) are reserved for runs requiring ALS care.

[yjcooke]

Great vids... looking forward to more. I'm in SW Washington near Portland and like to see these home state response vids.

[ColinFWheeler]

Thanks. There are a lot of vids of fire companies leaving the station, but not many where you can first hear the call come in in real time, so I thought I'd make some. Will be adding some vids of SFD Station 2 responses that I took. SFD Station 2 (E2, L4, A2, S2) is the busiest station in the dept. I'll be in PDX next week and hope to film dispatches of some of the busier PF&R stations (e.g., 13, 3, 7, 19, 11). I have the PF&R trunking codes programmed into my trunking scanner.

[yjcooke]

Looking forward to the PDX vids.

[ColinFWheeler]

Could be. Pavement was really icy. Dispatcher tells L11 that the patient is in the restroom though, so I suspect she slipped while there.