A scanner is an effective way to tune in many of the commonly used frequencies in your local area. A scanner constantly seeks active signals and lets you listen to breaking news as it happens.

If you are interested in listening to your fire department in action, you can do so by programming your scanner with our primary frequency: 158.895 MHz.  There is a daily radio and tone check every day at 1800 (6:00 pm).

Things you are likely to hear on a typical call

• Tones followed by the dispatcher ("Dispatch") describing the emergency

• Firefighters and Emergency Responders will then check in with "Dispatch" using their helmet number ("401", "451", "499", etc.)

• When the Firefighters and Emergency Responders are leaving the station they will check in with "Dispatch" reporting which apparatus they're in, how many people are in the apparatus, and that they're "En Route". For example:  "Kemah Dispatch, Engine-1, En Route with a crew of 5."

• When the apparatus arrives on scene they will say so ("Kemah Dispatch, Engine-1 on Scene")

• Once on scene, you're likely to hear a brief Situation Report ("Kemah Dispatch, this is command. We have a 2-story house, smoke showing").

• Then you hear the play-by-play of the emergency.

• When the emergency is over, the Incident Commander will notify "Dispatch" that the incident is "tapped out", meaning that everything is under control and no further resources are expected to be needed.

• When the emergency is over you will hear when the Firefighters and Emergency Responders leave the scene and when they arrive back at the station.  For example:  "Kemah Dispatch, Engine-1 returning to station" and "Kemah Dispatch, show Engine-1 back at the station and In Service".

Words you may hear

"Command"	-	Incident Commander - The fire officer in charge at the scene
"Command 1"	-	Chief’s Suburban
"Dispatch"	-	911 Operator/ Emergency Radio Dispatcher
"Engine 1"	-	Rescue Pumper
"Engine 41"	-	Pumper
"Marine 1"	-	Fire & Rescue Boat
"Rescue 1"	-	Rescue Truck
"Squad 1"	-	Duty Officer’s Truck
"Unit 400"	-	Chief
"Unit 401"	-	Assistant Chief
"Unit 403"	-	Station Caption
"Unit 410"	-	Lieutenant Engine 1
"Unit 411"	-	Lieutenant Engine 41
"Unit 412"	-	Lieutenant Rescue 1
"Unit 413"	-	Lieutenant Marine 1
"CLEMC"	-	Clear Lake Emergency Medical Corps - our ambulance service

IMPORTANT

• Though it is not illegal to sell or own a scanner, please observe the Privacy Act which prohibits anyone from relaying information obtained from any private transmission to another person. 

• It is a violation of Federal law to transmit on a radio frequency for which you are not licensed.  It is also a Federal offense to cause malicious radio interference on any frequency.

• It is a violation of State law to interfere with emergency communications of any kind.

Tune In And Listen To All The Action!