BWI Airport Fire...New Frequency? Maybe, Maybe Not.

[wadeless28]

Okay here is a question that I think will be hard to answer.

The other night I was listening to a box that was struck for smoke in the building on the 3rd and 4th floor of the control tower of BWI airport. BWI along with mutual aid units from Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties responded. When BWI went on location they asked for all units to switch to "FRD 1". I myself have never heard of this, along with the Captain on Engine 211 and Engine 321. They switched over to 4B and 4C to attempt to contact someone or to find this "FRD 1” but was told by BWI dispatch to return to 4A. Apparently Command was monitoring 4A which tells me that this "FRD 1" is not on the TRS. I also noticed that it sounded like dispatch was not able to monitor this channel either when they were talking to the Deputy Chief of BWI Fire and he said to have Command speak to him through the BWI dispatch channel.

I know that TinEar and I had this discussion before and I have never heard of this FRD channel. I opened up the radio and never found any unusual TG's on the TRS at the time. So maybe, BWI has some sort of radios that are used for areas of the building where the County radios won't work. Maybe FRS radios. Or maybe, the county radios make weird things happen in the tower so they are not allowed to use them. Kind of like cell phones on airplanes. :wink:

Anyone have some thoughts on this?

Mike

 

[Dispatcher308]

I have figured it out, I talked to a friend of mine who advises me that it is a Direct Channel in the Portable kinda like simplex, because the radio system will not work in the area. And not all of the AA County Radio have it in the Portables.

 

[troymail]

Sounds like the old AA County "talkaround" channels
that are radio to radio and don't hit the repeater.

I see things on the Internet refering to the "BWI FRD"
which appears to mean "fire rescue department"...

So, I think I agree with Nathan ... direct radio to
radio channel....

 

[wadeless28]

I'm not sure the dispatchers are even that familiar with it. Not that they are that familiar with anything on the fire side in the dispatch center. The dispatcher wasn't even pronouncing it correctly. She was saying something like "they are up on FDR 1". So I'm not sure if its a common use thing at BWI.

I dont know.

Mike

 

[troymail]

Another possible option is BWI fire dispatch
is known as "BWI DISP". It is 4-A on the AA County
radio system. AA County 4-B is also known as
"BWI TAC 1".... maybe she was trying to say
TAC 1 but she was refering to it as "FRD 1"...

Hard to say...

 

[Admin0140434]

I have figured it out, I talked to a friend of mine who advises me that it is a Direct Channel in the Portable kinda like simplex, because the radio system will not work in the area. And not all of the AA County Radio have it in the Portables.

correct... im sure this channel is a simplex (VRS?). not all of AACo has this channel (or one like it) in their radios

 

[Dispatcher308]

The Friend I talked to works for BWI Fire and he advise me it is a Direct Channel in the 800mhz Portables and they use it on a regular basis at BWI when the Trunked system coverage is poor.

What I have observed of BWI Dispatchers is that they really don't know the layout of the radio system at all they just push the PTT button it keys up and they talk. Also most of the Dispatchers @ BWI are all hired by the Transportation Authority. Most of them are Police Only oriented.

 

[wadeless28]

Another possible option is BWI fire dispatch
is known as "BWI DISP". It is 4-A on the AA County
radio system. AA County 4-B is also known as
"BWI TAC 1".... maybe she was trying to say
TAC 1 but she was refering to it as "FRD 1"...

Hard to say...

Wasn't TAC 1 or TAC 2. When they went up on them, the fire dispatcher told the county units to return to the BWI dispatch channel.

It could be a Talk/Around channel on the radios. My gut feeling tells me something different.

I'll have to ear to the ground....err ahhh....radio, or talk to my BWI contacts to see if I can find anything. I think what ever it is, it doesnt have a repeater so I'll have to listen when I'm line-of-sight to the airport and they are on a call using them. (I hope there will be no cops around while I getting up that way.)

Mike

 

[Llwellyn]

I think as long as you clearly identify your intent if stopped and don't do anything suspicious (i.e. the other thread on the topic), that you'll have no troubles. I'd be more worried about MSP out around the airport loop than I would MdTA cops or TSA. Last time I went to pick up my brother, I took my Pro-92 along since the flights were massively delayed and we wanted a clear idea of when we could actually expect them. I was playing it in the clear out loud since I don't have a decent pair of headphones, and my parents were sort of interested in hearing the chatter too. I had no hassles at all, and was passed or walked by numerous MdTA and TSA agents inside and none of them so much as blinked.

 

[mlevin]

If you go to the observation park you won't be the only one there with a scanner :wink:

 

[TinEar]

854.5875
Try programming that one.

I hate to rag on someone but you're correct about the BWI Fire dispatchers. And at least one of them has trouble speaking English, let alone using correct terminology. I wish a lot of these departments would test people for their radio voice and whether they can speak clearly and in sentences that can be understood by the people trying to do the job. So many of them are not suited for that type work, simply because they can't or don't enunciate words clearly enough to be easily understood. The main AA Fire Alarm freq has a newer female dispatcher that also has this problem. She knows the terminology but doesn't know how to make her words flow.

I think the department that does the very best job of all is Baltimore City Fire and their dispatchers that work 154.415/TG1648. That 154.415 freq has also got to be the best and clearest transmitter signal and voice quality I've ever heard on the public service bands. Every last one of their dispatchers (well, almost every one) has a professional speaking voice which has got to make receiving much easier for the guys in the boots.

 

[Dispatcher308]

It could be a Talk/Around channel on the radios. My gut feeling tells me something different

.

Wadeless maybe you missed my post. I specificly stated. My friend advise me it is a Direct Channel in the Radio. He works for BWI and as a matter of fact he used his portable that night and had to go to that channel in his portable to talk to Command.(the portable is a XTS 5000 with full keypad that works on 800mhz). If you feel that it is something else then you will be chasing your tail looking for nothing, when it has been stated by a source that works there. Also why is BWI going to make it's firefighter carry 2 portables around to just weigh them down more and confuse them as to which one is talking, makes no sense to me as why they would do that. I think they are trying to become simplistic nowadays.

I am off of my soapbox now.

** Tin Ear I am gonna have to say Frederick Co. has some good Dispatchers as well. I should also mention shift 3(3-11) at Baltimore Co. best damn Dispatchers in the Center(well not all of them)**

 

[wadeless28]

Thanks 308. I was assuming your friend might have meant the "Talk-around" channels that AACo has on the Trunk System. If it isn't the Talk-Around channels then, does anyone have the frequencies of the direct channels? :wink:

Mike