The use of "Break" in the fire service

[Kaazi_3]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to start a discussion the proper way to communicate, particularly regarding the use of the word "break."

In our fire department, I’ve noticed that "break" has become a commonly used term on the radio. I believe it may have been passed down from older firefighters to new recruits who hear it and adopt it without fully understanding its necessity (or lack thereof).

From day one, we're trained to take radio communication seriously and the standard practice is to use plain English for clarity, address the intended recipient first ("Hey you, it's me"), ensure acknowledgment before transmitting a message. normally by hearing a "copy", and keep it short so the radio is clear for others to communicate if necessary.

With that being said, I’ve heard this exact transmission multiple times now:

"Dispatch, Engine 1, we’re on scene. Break. Command, what’s our assignment?"

I don't believe the use of Break is wrong but the transmission itself is wrong for the fire service. If I were to say the same thing, my transmission would sound something like this:

1. "Dispatch, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment.) "On scene."

2. "Command, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment) "what’s our assignment?"

My concern is that using "break" in this way could cause confusion. If you start your transmission talking to Dispatch, Command might not be fully tuned in when you switch to them. By making them separate transmissions, you directly engage Command, ensuring they receive and acknowledge the message.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Does your department use "break" in radio traffic? If so, do you think it’s effective, unnecessary, wrong or am I being too picky?

 

[clbsquared]

It’s best to follow the communications protocol set forth by your county or agency. Regardless of personal opinion, everyone is expected to communicate in the same manner. It’s when everyone starts doing it their own personal way that things can get complicated.

 

[hill]

Break is commonly used in voice two radio to separate different parts of the message.

In this case the use is the breaking off from one station and calling another.

All public safety agencies use different radio protocols. When travel for work and monitoring different fire some use 10-4 still with the push to plain language for interoperability.

Just use the current protocols used by your local fire department.

 

[hill]

Also seams your way would add a few extra transmissions to frequency/talkgroup and most likely waste time.

I going to bet all involved in your fire department have been at this a very long time and can monitor radio traffic and know what is going on very well.

 

[Kaazi_3]

It’s best to follow the communications protocol set forth by your county or agency. Regardless of personal opinion, everyone is expected to communicate in the same manner. It’s when everyone starts doing it their own personal way that things can get complicated.

Break is commonly used in voice two radio to separate different parts of the message.

In this case the use is the breaking off from one station and calling another.

All public safety agencies use different radio protocols. When travel for work and monitoring different fire some use 10-4 still with the push to plain language for interoperability.

Just use the current protocols used by your local fire department.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to start a discussion the proper way to communicate, particularly regarding the use of the word "break."

In our fire department, I’ve noticed that "break" has become a commonly used term on the radio. I believe it may have been passed down from older firefighters to new recruits who hear it and adopt it without fully understanding its necessity (or lack thereof).

From day one, we're trained to take radio communication seriously and the standard practice is to use plain English for clarity, address the intended recipient first ("Hey you, it's me"), ensure acknowledgment before transmitting a message. normally by hearing a "copy", and keep it short so the radio is clear for others to communicate if necessary.

With that being said, I’ve heard this exact transmission multiple times now:

"Dispatch, Engine 1, we’re on scene. Break. Command, what’s our assignment?"

I don't believe the use of Break is wrong but the transmission itself is wrong for the fire service. If I were to say the same thing, my transmission would sound something like this:

1. "Dispatch, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment.) "On scene."

2. "Command, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment) "what’s our assignment?"

My concern is that using "break" in this way could cause confusion. If you start your transmission talking to Dispatch, Command might not be fully tuned in when you switch to them. By making them separate transmissions, you directly engage Command, ensuring they receive and acknowledge the message.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Does your department use "break" in radio traffic? If so, do you think it’s effective, unnecessary, wrong or am I being too picky?

I guess I forgot to mention that our department doesn't have a specific "protocol" that addresses this. I just want to teach best practices to our new recruits and break bad habits. These protocols could and should be implemented in the future but I want to get ahead of the curve.

 

[steve9570]

In NY city they still say K at the end of a transmission.

 

[cg]

Some areas use long drawn out conversations for simple notifications, others use short, clear, concise transmissions for these same radio calls. Calling a station, waiting for a reply, giving a message, and then waiting for an acknowledgment is fine for a single company going somewhere. That same way of using the radio can easily complicate the airwaves when you have 20 units going to a call or multiple incidents.

One thing that is nice about Broadcastify is that it allows one to hear how fire departments all over the country operate on the radio. Listen to some and your dislike of the way "break" is used will take a back seat to new, as of yet undiscovered irritations.

 

[nd5y]

The original use of "break" (written as BT and morse code character -...-) is:

16-line message format - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Hit_Factor]

...

1. "Dispatch, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment.) "On scene."

2. "Command, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment) "what’s our assignment?"

This takes too long, say what you have to say, use 3 way communications for acknowledgement

Don't forget, you are not the only unit that might have something to say and the dispatchers probably are monitoring multiple channels/TGs/Freqs.

As instructor, follow the lesson plan, if it's not addressed, then it's not something you should teach.

You won't change traditional phrases or methods, until you are in charge (even then you might not be able to change things).

Sometimes break is used during long transmissions/conversations to allow others to join the conversation or start a new one.

Don't take internet advice on how your department should communicate.

 

[clbsquared]

I guess I forgot to mention that our department doesn't have a specific "protocol" that addresses this. I just want to teach best practices to our new recruits and break bad habits. These protocols could and should be implemented in the future but I want to get ahead of the curve.

I would collaborate with your dispatch before you change what your department is doing. Everyone needs to be on the same page so they know what to expect.

 

[a727469]

In my area “break” is used by FD and EMS dispatch to separate totally different issues and units when there are multiple event happening. Sheriffs dept uses very rarely but they have an unusual way of ending some transmissions by just saying “go ahead”. Simple and to the point!

 

[speedway_navigator]

I seldom if ever hear it in our county in Indiana nor when I monitor Mesa AZ FD.
I noticed over the years for some reason firefighters are treated differently on the radio than cops.
In our county it's like the powers to be assume a FF will only pay attention to radio traffic if it is preceded by beeps.

I've heard there are a number of dispatch calls that require beeps. The most often used is when the first unit arrives, it gives a standard
'unit x on scene, nothing showing from the alpha side, out investigating' message. 90% of the time the dispatcher will beep, sometimes 2 or 3 beeps, one guy sounds like he's sending Morse code, then repeat what was just said.

No beeps nor repeats for the balance of the units going on scene, even with important items like gas or power secured, there is a propane tank 30 feet from the charlie side, etc.

I wonder if the dispatcher repeat was left over from simplex days when some field units might not hear other mobiles. Our folks are inconsistent, I've heard units arrive on scene with smoke and flames showing and evacuation but no beeps. When the IC releases units for whatever reason this will produce a beeped repeat about half the time.

About the only time I hear dispatch repeat PD traffic is during a pursuit which has downfalls. Last year a unit got in a pursuit and dispatch kept repeating his traffic, but the suspect vehicle was making turns about every block so dispatch ended up covering the cop numerous times.

 

[clbsquared]

I seldom if ever hear it in our county in Indiana nor when I monitor Mesa AZ FD.
I noticed over the years for some reason firefighters are treated differently on the radio than cops.
In our county it's like the powers to be assume a FF will only pay attention to radio traffic if it is preceded by beeps.

I've heard there are a number of dispatch calls that require beeps. The most often used is when the first unit arrives, it gives a standard
'unit x on scene, nothing showing from the alpha side, out investigating' message. 90% of the time the dispatcher will beep, sometimes 2 or 3 beeps, one guy sounds like he's sending Morse code, then repeat what was just said.

No beeps nor repeats for the balance of the units going on scene, even with important items like gas or power secured, there is a propane tank 30 feet from the charlie side, etc.

I wonder if the dispatcher repeat was left over from simplex days when some field units might not hear other mobiles. Our folks are inconsistent, I've heard units arrive on scene with smoke and flames showing and evacuation but no beeps. When the IC releases units for whatever reason this will produce a beeped repeat about half the time.

About the only time I hear dispatch repeat PD traffic is during a pursuit which has downfalls. Last year a unit got in a pursuit and dispatch kept repeating his traffic, but the suspect vehicle was making turns about every block so dispatch ended up covering the cop numerous times.

I’ve noticed that our dispatchers speak at a lower volume for LE because all of the deputies use an ear piece. Background noise seldom interferes with them hearing dispatch. When they are mobile their vehicles are much quieter than an engine with a Detroit diesel doing mach.003 and the first officer with both feet on the air horn and the “Q” at the same time. Even with David Clark headsets it’s hard to hear dispatch clearly. On scene, sometimes you have five or six vehicles at high idle and a lot of other background noise.
Dispatch is in a very quiet climate controlled room with little to no distracting background noise. I’m always telling them they are coming in low and need to repeat their traffic. Then they start yelling like I’m deaf.
Maybe hearing a series of loud beeps before dispatch starts talking can clue someone in that they need to listen to incoming traffic.

 

[W3DMV]

The term “Break” has been used for
many years on military radio circuits
and still is to this day. The word “Break” is
utilized when communications is complete
with the first station and the communications after
the “Break” is directed at another station on the
circuit, that tell’s the first station to ignore the
traffic that follows.

 

[speedway_navigator]

We worked at a PSAP (before they went to ECC) where one dispatcher liked to site back in his chair and use the desk mic, but the next shift guy used a headset, so it was max volume for one and normal for the next. The supervisor finally forced them to headsets, was able to convince the leaner it was an officer safety issue.

Our town's cable TV folks broadcast local meetings, about half the school board member had very low audio.
I volunteered to take a look and found the audio mixer had 3 inputs in line and 2 in mic. After I put them in mic it was much better.

 

[cavmedic]

I seldom if ever hear it in our county in Indiana nor when I monitor Mesa AZ FD.
I noticed over the years for some reason firefighters are treated differently on the radio than cops.
In our county it's like the powers to be assume a FF will only pay attention to radio traffic if it is preceded by beeps.

I've heard there are a number of dispatch calls that require beeps. The most often used is when the first unit arrives, it gives a standard
'unit x on scene, nothing showing from the alpha side, out investigating' message. 90% of the time the dispatcher will beep, sometimes 2 or 3 beeps, one guy sounds like he's sending Morse code, then repeat what was just said.

No beeps nor repeats for the balance of the units going on scene, even with important items like gas or power secured, there is a propane tank 30 feet from the charlie side, etc.

I wonder if the dispatcher repeat was left over from simplex days when some field units might not hear other mobiles. Our folks are inconsistent, I've heard units arrive on scene with smoke and flames showing and evacuation but no beeps. When the IC releases units for whatever reason this will produce a beeped repeat about half the time.

About the only time I hear dispatch repeat PD traffic is during a pursuit which has downfalls. Last year a unit got in a pursuit and dispatch kept repeating his traffic, but the suspect vehicle was making turns about every block so dispatch ended up covering the cop numerous times.

Notification tones are very common around here. It grabs the attention of field units who might be multitasking in one way or another for some sort of important message or priority traffic like a BOLO, assignment upgrade, recall, escalated call type etc. It also serves as a reminder to turn your radio back up as well.

 

[merlin]

Fire comms have their specific protocol. Maybe a dispatcher with an EAM, like military "BREAK-BREAK emergency action message follows"
Never heard it though.

 

[bill4long]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to start a discussion the proper way to communicate, particularly regarding the use of the word "break."

In our fire department, I’ve noticed that "break" has become a commonly used term on the radio. I believe it may have been passed down from older firefighters to new recruits who hear it and adopt it without fully understanding its necessity (or lack thereof).

From day one, we're trained to take radio communication seriously and the standard practice is to use plain English for clarity, address the intended recipient first ("Hey you, it's me"), ensure acknowledgment before transmitting a message. normally by hearing a "copy", and keep it short so the radio is clear for others to communicate if necessary.

With that being said, I’ve heard this exact transmission multiple times now:

"Dispatch, Engine 1, we’re on scene. Break. Command, what’s our assignment?"

I don't believe the use of Break is wrong but the transmission itself is wrong for the fire service. If I were to say the same thing, my transmission would sound something like this:

1. "Dispatch, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment.) "On scene."

2. "Command, Engine 1." (wait for acknowledgment) "what’s our assignment?"

My concern is that using "break" in this way could cause confusion. If you start your transmission talking to Dispatch, Command might not be fully tuned in when you switch to them. By making them separate transmissions, you directly engage Command, ensuring they receive and acknowledge the message.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Does your department use "break" in radio traffic? If so, do you think it’s effective, unnecessary, wrong or am I being too picky?

I've been listening to EMS since the 70s. "Break" merely indicates a new transmission - either new topic and/or new target audience - without actually unkeying the microphone.

 

[mikewazowski]

The term “Break” has been used for
many years on military radio circuits
and still is to this day.

That's where I first heard it used and all the local fire departments have adopted it's use. Very similar to sending BK on CW. Separates out instructions for different crews/apparatus. Clear and concise.

 

[TGuelker]

The street crows here say ‘10-4?’ as a question.

For example “go pick up that load of rock. 10-4?”

Should be ‘copy’