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Communications is a critical factor in every aspect of emergency services.
GOAL: Improve radio communications during emergency scene operations.
No one could say that good communications is important for firefighting, but not law enforcement, EMS or disaster response. Likewise, as complex as emergency commutation networks get (analog / digital / repeaters / encrypted / trunked systems / tin-cans w/strings) there are a few best practices ( if you don’t like that catch phrase then call them fundamentals, core concepts, or just the stuff everyone should do ) that every emergency responder should follow.
Do you use a portable radio?
Do you use that radio to communicate with other portable radios? If so, then you’ll want to share the video below. This is an IAFC video produced with Motorola but what they show applies to every branch of emergency service and every brand of radio.
Don’t go BACK, go FORWARDS.
If you’re reading RescueDigest, you’ve probably been an emergency responder for a while and you’re probably pretty familiar with the radio system that you use. But are you able to communicate as well as you want, every time? Don’t think of the this as “Back” to Basics, it’s moving “Forward” to Fundamentals. Radio communication skills are inherently fundamental to operations at any emergency scene, no matter what your role. These Best Practices won’t make a poor radian system work like magic, but if you can take 15 minutes and zero dollars to improve how you are heard on the radio the way they show in this video, isn’t that a sound investment in this economy?
APPLICATION: Review, implement and share the radio Best Practices described the IAFC video.
