washco fire codes

[saintpaulfirefighter]

Have a question for washington co fire...what is the difference between...alpha,bravo,charlie,delta, and echo codes?

[unclebubba]

Top of the page:
Priority Dispatch Codes

[gadgetguy15]

You drive the ambulance lights/siren to anything charlie/delta/echo and routine to alpha and bravo. There is also an "omega" response code, which is below alpha. It's like "why did you even bother calling 911?" (splinter in finger, stubbed toe, stuffy nose). In reality no one except dispatch knows what the numbers in the response code means (17-charlie-2) since it's based off their EMD cue cards...as a department we would just know whether to respond code3 or not.

[n9upc]

In Washington County we use the EMD Priority dispatch system for all medicals. when a caller calls in requesting an ambulance we will ask them a series of questions based upon the CC that they give to us.

From that point we will establisha response code which has a format of ## - L - ### (i.e. 6-D-1 meaning Breathing problems - not alert)

This you have seen by the website link that was posted.

2nd the response of lights - sirens - no lights/sirens is factored into these response codes. While yes many people do go lights & sirens for the C/D/E (Charlie/Delta/Echo) response codes, some cities will go lights & sirens also for B (bravo) responses also.

Furthermore, the response code also dictates the need for a tiered response. Example # 1 - Stillwater - Is covered by Lakeview Ambulance, with Stillwater Fire as 1st responders ONLY if it is a C/D/E (or requested) it if is an A/B Stillwater Fire/Rescue will not get paged. Example # 2 - Marine on St Croix - Is a BLS ambulance service so if a C/D/E response comes in then we would start either North or Lakeview for ALS depending on the location of the call.

It is a very good system and is managed by the NAEMD. All disaptchers in a system using EMD must take an initial trianing course and keep current on CPR & have some many hours of continuing education!