Savannah Fire - New Engines 3, 8, and 9

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services has new apparatus for Engines 3 , 8, and 9. See this WTOC article for more info:

http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=10860948


Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Tronox Titanium Tetrachloride Leak

http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=10592265

This is a WTOC story on the HazMat Incident I sent a Twitter update out about late last night. Numerous Savannah Fire units responded and they used Fireground 1 (TG 36976) and Fireground 3 (TG 37040). CEMA units also responded using TG 12496, which was a digital talkgroup.

Apparently, Savannah Fire's boat, MARINE 1, does not monitor Marine VHF while on the river. During the incident, a ship passed through the vapor cloud and was trying to contact the "small boat with red emergency lights" on Marine VHF Ch. 16 and Ch. 13 with no apparent answer. It is surprising that MARINE 1 would not be monitoring at least one of those channels.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Woods Apartments Fire

Last night just before midnight, one of the buildings at the Woods Apartments on Hodgson Memorial Blvd. caught fire:

http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9901073&nav=menu89_2
http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9902442&nav=menu89_2

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services, Southside EMS, MedStar EMS, and the Savannah Chatham Municipal PD responded to the scene. ENGINEs 1, 2, 7, and 11; TRUCKs 1 and 2, RESCUE 2, BATTALION 2, COMMAND AID, and a Safety Officer from Savannah Fire responded. EMS units from Southside EMS and from MedStar responded, with some staging at the BB&T bank on Hodgson Memorial Blvd. SCMPD responded to the scene as well (for awhile there was a stuck mic on one SCMPD TG and you could hear an officer banging on doors looking for residents).

On arrival, there was smoke and flames visible from the second floor. The fire eventually moved to the third floor as well and flames broke through the roof. Residents were rescued from the above ground level floors via ladder.

Talkgroups in use:

36880 - Savannah Fire Dispatch
36976 - Savannah Fire Fireground 1

2352 - Metro EMS Dispatch
4112 - Southside EMS Medic 1
4144 - Southside EMS Medic 2
7920 - MedStar Dispatch

53408 - SCMPD A4
53424 - SCMPD B4

Just before I finally turned in last night, LifeStar was getting a mission on 462.975 for a patient transfer from Memorial to the Augusta Burn Center that may have been related to the fire.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services Engine 16?

On Friday, my father reported hearing Savannah Fire and Emergency Services operating an ENGINE 16. From what he heard it could possibly be operating on the westside of the city limits.

Has anyone else heard ENGINE 16 or does anyone have any information on where it may be operating out of?

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Southside Fire Station 14

I finally have had a chance to find out what Station Number the new Southside Fire Station on Elba Island has; it is Station 14. I was able to catch SSFD's morning radio checks today and hear them do a radio check with Station 14/Engine 14. No doubt this is the new station and Engine that will cover the area that Southside recently took over from Savannah Fire.

I wonder if they have skipped Station 13 for reasons of superstition or if there is another station expansion planned?

In regards to Elba Island, it was recently reported in the Savannah Morning News that El Paso LNG and the City of Savannah have come to an agreement in which Savannah Fire will continue responding to the Elba Island facility. I can't help but think that, from the public safety perspective, they have come to the most common sense decision.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Southside Fire Picks Up Causton Bluff Area, Moves to Pick Up Elba Island LNG Facility

The Causton Bluff, Emerald Pointe, Runaway Point, Blue Heron Bluff, and The Bluff subdivisions will now be covered by Southside Fire Department. According to local news reports, Southside will begin operating from a site on the El Paso Corp. LNG Facility (Elba Island) on 1 May 2008, with construction of a station to take 12-14 months longer.

It was also announced that El Paso Corp. has contracted with Southside to provide fire services to the LNG Facility instead of Savannah Fire, the current provider. This move just does not make sense; although Southside will likely offer service at a lower fee (much as they have with the residential areas above), they do not have a HazMat response capability. If HazMat services are needed (and liquid natural gas certainly qualifies!) then Savannah Fire will have to be called.


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

New Savannah Fire and Emergency Services Station 9

http://savannahnow.com/node/419362

The new Savannah Fire and Emergency Services Station 9 officially opened yesterday. I can't imagine how happy the Engine 9 crews must be to have a new station. The old Station 9 off of Pennsylvania Ave. was tiny compared to every other station in Savannah (unless you count some of the temporary stations and Station 11 off of Middleground!). The old Station 9 was outdated for many reasons, the two main reasons being that new apparatus could not fit into the small bays and that there was not much living or office space for the firefighters.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Stubbs Tower Demolition Comms

I worked the midnight shift on Saturday morning, but stayed up a bit after getting home to watch the demolition of Stubbs Tower. On the way home from work I heard both Savannah Fire and Savannah Chatham Metropolitan PD preparing to support the demolition. Savannah Fire units requested the use of Fireground 3 (TG 37040) for their operations and used it throughout the morning. SCMPD units used BRAVO 10 (TG 54112) for their operations.

Savannah Fire had several Chiefs on scene as well as what seemed to be two engine companies using the callsigns EXTRA DUTY 1 and EXTRA DUTY 2. Other than standing by and directing placement of personnel and equipment, Savannah Fire was fairly quiet. Just prior to the demolition, they passed 5 minute and 2 minute warining calls.

On the other hand, SCMPD was very busy. They had Traffic Units, Officers, and EAGLE 1 (one of the County Helicopters) keeping a perimeter around the blast zone. EAGLE 1 was particularly helpful in spotting spectators leaking through the perimeter, in making sure the zone was clear prior to demolition, and in confirming that traffic was cleared from the Truman Parkway. On the television coverage, there were several times you could see EAGLE 1 swooping down to check on and/or run off those trying to watch from too close.

I was too sleepy to go watch in person, so I wasn't close enough to search for demolition crew frequencies. The only other frequencies I can pass on were 119.100 for Savannah IAP tower for EAGLE 1's departure and arrival and 124.975 for Hunter Tower where EAGLE 1 passed trafffic advisories because they were working in Hunter's airspace.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Thunderstorm Monitoring

I was enjoying a pleasant afternoon of monitoring (one of the few I've had lately) when this afternoon's Thunderstorms brewed up. Military Monitoring came to an end when I disconnected the antennas, so I switched to monitoring local public safety using handhelds.

Savannah Fire has worked several structure fires apparently caused by the weather. The most severe was on Varn Street (TG 37040, Fireground 3) where command asked for a second alarm, but only received an engine company due to the rest of Savannah Fire's units being tasked to other responses. Another was on Colonial Street (TG 36912, Admin). Units also responded to the area of Skidaway and DeRenne for downed power lines.

Savannah Chatham Municipal PD responded to reports of street flooding and loose manhole covers throughout the central and western part of Savannah.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Agency Monitoring Profile: Savannah Fire and Emergency Services

I originally wrote this article for the September issue of Key Klix, the newsletter of the Amateur Radio Club of Savanah. It is not meant to be an in-depth look at monitoring Savannah Fire, but more as a basic overview of the agency and how to monitor them effectively.

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services is among the busiest fire department in this area and certainly the most interesting one to listen to. Savannah Fire makes extensive use of radio communications in their firefighting operations. Listening to them, you learn that there is more to firefighting than just putting water on a fire. Savannah Fire also utilizes the Incident Command System (ICS) that Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) has been putting heavy emphasis on in recent years. Listening to Savannah Fire’s use of ICS can be helpful in learning how the ICS works. Furthermore, Savannah Fire is one of the more entertaining scanning targets in this area.

Savannah Fire uses the Chatham-Effingham TRS for the majority of their communications along with a UHF conventional repeater. Dispatches are multicast on one of the TRS talkgroups and the UHF repeater with dispatch using the callsign “SAVANNAH FIRE.” The dispatches can be easily monitored using a conventional scanner or amateur radio gear with extended receive capability by programming in 453.925 (DCS of 315). In order to keep unit-to-unit traffic off of the dispatch channel and keep it clear for incident dispatches, they utilize an “Admin” talkgroup for administrative traffic. Once units are dispatched to an incident, they are directed to go to one of three “Fireground” channels; units respond to the incident on the fireground channel and conduct all further incident related communications on it unless they are directed to another channel. All fire departments on the TRS have access to the Fire Common talkgroup, which is used for multiple agency and mutual aid type responses. Savannah Fire makes heavy use of radio during their responses. Each fire station is equipped with base station radios. Each apparatus is equipped with a mobile radio; they are manned by three to four firefighters who are each equipped with a portable radio. Of all the fire departments in the Savannah area, you will probably hear the most tactical firefighting traffic from Savannah Fire.

Talkgroup ID Name
36880 - Dispatch
36912 - Admin
36976 - Fireground 1
37008 - Fireground 2
37040 - Fireground 3
37072 - Fire Common

A typical response for a structure fire will be 3 engine companies, a truck (ladder) company, a rescue squad, a battalion chief, and a safety officer. If these units aren’t sufficient, the incident commander will request a task force that can consist of an additional engine, truck, and squad (or a different combination if request by the commander). A typical response to a vehicle accident where extrication may be needed is one engine company, one rescue squad, and a safety officer (the respective Battalion Chief will sometimes send himself on the call). Other responses may vary on exactly what types of units are needed on scene.

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services has used “plain english” dispatch, which Savannah Chatham Metropolitan PD has recently switched to, for several years. You will hear very few codes or signals used on frequency and talkgroups above. Exceptions are response codes; Code 2 is used for a no lights and siren response (typically used by secondary units on alarm responses) and Code 3 is used for lights and siren responses.

Savannah Fire’s unit numbering system, for the most part, is based on what station the unit is based at. ENGINE 1 and TRUCK 1, for instance, are based out of Station 1. Rescue Squads are an exception to this rule. Savannah Fire has two Rescue units; RESCUE 1 is based out of Station 3 and RESCUE 2 is based out of Station 7. There are also three Battalion Chiefs that respond to incidents and usually assume incident command; their callsigns are BATTALION 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Hazardous Materials (Haz Mat) units are based out of Station 6. MARINE 1 (not to be confused with Savannah Chatham Marine Patrol’s MARINE # units) is Savannah Fire’s multi-purpose boat that is tied up at the city dock on River Street; it does not have a permanent crew but it manned by one of the downtown units when activated.

Station Number Location
Station 1 - 535 E 63rd St.
Station 2 - 5 Skyline Dr.
Station 3 - 121 E. Oglethorpe Ave.
Station 4 - 2401 Augusta Ave.
Station 5 - 6 W. Henry St.
Station 6 - 3000 Liberty Pkwy.
Station 7 - 6902 Sallie Mood Dr.
Station 8 - 2824 Bee Rd.
Station 9 - 1943 Capital St.
Station 10 - 13710 Coffee Bluff Rd.
Station 11 - 931 Mohawk St.
Station 13 - McKenna Ave. @ Airways Blvd.
Station 14 - Benton Blvd. area
Station 15 - US 17/Canebrake area

Part of the Georgia Search and Rescue (GSAR) Coastal Task Force is based with Savannah Fire and Emergency Services. Of the two heavy rescue units in the Coastal Task Force, one is stationed at Savannah Fire’s Station 6. Even though the apparatus and equipment are stationed with Savannah Fire, task force personnel come from numerous local departments.

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services has also worked with amateur radio operators in the past. In 1999, Savannah Fire requested and received assistance from ARES to perform backup communications in the event that their radio system was disabled by Y2K problems. Temporary amateur radio stations were set up at each fire station with the ability to operate through the 146.970 repeater or directly by simplex if the need be. Rather than celebrating the New Year as many did, volunteer amateur radio operators spent their new year at the fire stations providing a public service.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Marine Response Thoughts

There is not a post on this incident on this blog, but I did post about it on the Scan Savannah group yesterday. Savannah Fire, SCMPD, and the USCG responded to a jumper on the Talmadge Bridge over the Savannah River.

I've mentioned this issue in posts in the Scan Savannah group before, but I don't think I've posted about it here. I am concerned about Savannah Fire and Emergency Services using a callsign that is a duplicate of a callsign that the Savannah Chatham Municipal PD has been using. Yesterday's Talmadge Bridge jumper incident brought it to my mind again. The callsign in question is MARINE 1, which Savannah Fire is using for their boat. SCMPD's Marine Patrol has used MARINE # for their Marine Patrol units for quite awhile (before Savannah Fire even acquired their boat). In order to prevent confusion in a multiple agency response (and to prevent longer callsigns by having to preface the callsign with an agency name), Savannah Fire should change the callsign of their boat.

Another issue I noted in yesterday's response to the jumper incident was communications between public safety and the US Coast Guard. It sounded like both SCMPD's dispatch (or the Marine Patrol) and Savannah Fire's dispatch were both talking to the USCG. Despite this, it was not communicated to the USCG prior to their helicopter's arrival on scene that the jumper was still on the bridge and not in the water (the USCG was initially told that there was a person in the water) even though the PD and Fire units knew that no one was in the water. This very well could have had tragic consequences because the helicopter came flying under the bridge looking for a person in the water while the jumper was still standing on the side of the bridge. In short, there should have been only one conduit of communications to the USCG and information should have been passed to them in a more timely manner.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net