Fairfax County Public Safety Performers, Oops -Responders!

[sworden]

Copy of Note Sent to WUSA9

Fairfax County Public Safety Performers, Oops -Responders!

I know you use scanners for news tips! Did yow catch today's performance by Fairfax County's Public Safety Communications Personnel ? Advertised (NOT!) as a "DRILL", was equal to that of the original performance Orson Wells' War of the Worlds!

1.Performed using all the normally used public (safety?) radio station frequencies!

2. Not previously advertised ! (Thousands of Northern VA Scanner Listeners could have caused a mini mass panic! I got caught once a few years ago, so I was on to 'em! )


3.Done without interruption or mention during the morning long broadcast that it was a theatrical performance, err I mean Public Safety Drill! It's hard to see the scrolling disclaimer running across the bottom of my Pro-69 stating that This is not real! This is only a Drill!

But if this was a drill for our First Responders then my chances of survival or slim --- but at least in Fairfax County it will be entertaining!

Steve Worden
sworden@activew.com
Centreville, Va (Sully Station District)

 

[WA4MJF]

Fairfax County has Public Safety, wow, that is so 1960s. I was with
Chesapeake AUx Police and a volunteer at the Western Branch VFD, when we tried Public Safety back in about 1969 or so. We
sent folks to Durham, NC to study how it worked and then did it. Trouble was
those that had been Police hated the 30 days in the fire station and
the paid firefighters did not like being polikce officers. Needless to say
it did not last long! When it ended a few of the PS officers that had
been fireman became police officers and a few who had been police
officers became paid fireman. So some found their true calling.
Good Luck.

When ever there was fire at the former police were on the street they found every
reason not to come. The ones that were faithful in coming were the dicks because
they did not have to work in the fire stations and they were like a kid with a
new toy playing with the John Bean hi pressure rigs.

My parents lived in Vienna back then and they had their own PD and FD. Although
we were right up againstg the Dunn Loring VFD area. In fact, their subdivison
was called Dunn Loring Woods or something like that. I used to vist the FD
when I was up their and they were like us had a few station keepers and
a BUNCH of volunteers.

 

[Samuel]

Keep in mind police and fire radio is not for your listening pleasure or entertainment. If you happen to enjoy listening to it or gain information from it then thats great but its not intended for you. If they know that its a drill thats all that matters. When scanner listeners make a stink about stuff like this it just adds more fuel to the fire for encryption.

As for the second poster...no they dont. He was just using Public Safety as a generic term. Fairfax has seperate police and fire/rescue departments. I have always thought a unified department was an interesting concept though.