PURPOSE:
This is to establish the guidelines for the personnel of the New Hackensack Fire Department for the use of portable and mobile radios.  The usage of such devices will comply with the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), New Hackensack Fire District, and the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response (DCDER).

PROCEDURES:
The use of the radio is an important means of communication at an incident.  It allows the user to report findings back to the incident commander (IC), and it allows other members operating at the scene to remain aware of the situation.  Each team operating at an incident should have at least one radio.  Use of the radio should follow these general guidelines:

1) Radio transmissions shall be clear, concise, necessary, and in a manner commensurate with the operation.
2) All messages received should be repeated by the receiving party to ensure accuracy of the transmission.
3) Personnel should listen before transmitting to ensure that the frequency is clear.
4) Personnel should wait 3 seconds for the radio to key up before transmission of a message.
5) Think about what you are going to say prior to using the radio.
6) Don’t shout and keep your voice calm.
7) Make sure all pagers are turned off when transmitting to prevent feedback.
8) When transmitting a message to DCDER, be sure to include incident address and district name (52-11 to Dutchess 911, 52-11 is responding to 217 Myers Corners Road)

FIREGROUND OPERATIONS
For normal emergency activity, NKFD’s channel 52 should be used on the scene.  This will allow for personnel operating at an incident to communicate with the IC.  In some situations, a DCDER Fireground channel may be requested including multiple alarms in the district or if channel 52 is being used at a drill such as a live burn where additional radio traffic would adversely impact the safety of the firefighters.  A fireground channel shall also be requested for any incident where mutual aid resources will or could be summoned to the scene including, but not limited to, structure fires, brush/grass fires and aircraft emergencies.

AIRCRAFT-BAND RADIOS
The aircraft-band portable radios located on Engines 5212 and 5213 are mainly for listening to communications between aircraft and Dutchess Tower (124.000) and Ground Control (121.800) during the time that the control tower is in operation (0700 through 2300, 7 days/week).  Communications with DC Aircraft Crash/Rescue Truck 92-11 shall be done on a fireground channel assigned by DCDER.