Does anyone have any information on HFDs pager tones? RR has them listed as EMS TONE TONE A 1500.0 TONE B 800.0 FIRE TONE TONE A 1000.0 TONE B 1000.0. What frequency are they transmitted on? What exactly do they use these tones to dispatch? Any insight would be appreciated.
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I'm not familiar with the area, but based on the RRDB have you tried the "Houston Fire Department Paging" channel? Or Dispatch? Those seem most likelyh.
redhelmet13
Member
HFD does not use pager tones for dispatch. They use a computer based dispatch system.
HFD Pager tones
You are correct. They do not use them for dispatch but they do use them for something. I saw one of the HFD EMS Medical Directors carrying two Motorola Minitor 5 pagers. I am trying to figure out what frequency they are on, what the tones are, and what they are used for.
You are correct. They do not use them for dispatch but they do use them for something. I saw one of the HFD EMS Medical Directors carrying two Motorola Minitor 5 pagers. I am trying to figure out what frequency they are on, what the tones are, and what they are used for.
There you go... Sounds like someone needs to update the Wiki.
N5AMS
Member
they have pager tones but its done by microwave the frequency the tones are sent out on is 453.425 to alert the on the air units monitoring that frequency that's why i listed the is because they do use the tones but if you put them in the scanner it will always be going off because its the same tones for every station
The medical directors do not just work for HFD. Indeed, they are, IFAIK, doctors/NPs with other responsibilities to hospitals, their individual practices, etc.
That is generally correct, though I'm sure some anomalies may exist. Med Dir.s are licensed practitioners of medicine who usually sign off on the protocols (ie: are liable) of the particular agency they "medically direct." This involves trauma practices and drug administration mostly. Usually Med Dir.s are very involved with the happenings of the agency for whom they direct though.
If it was the Med Dir. could it have possibly been a hospital pager (or multiple ones)? Those are still used extensively.
Lou, do you know this for sure for Houston? I know that there are some departments that have their own OMD's who work directly for the fire department. I believe that Austin's is a department employee. I know that one of our neighboring departments here in VA employs their own OMD.
For Houston I guess we should differentiate, as there is one medical director who has the responsibility for overseeing the entire program. He is not the guy you see on the street, those are called medical supervisors and those are the ones to which I refer above and here; I am under the impression that at this time all of those are actually doctors.
I know for a fact that they are doctors authorized to function with the EMS service, I also know for a fact that at least some of them work other jobs and HFD is a part time thing. There may be full time HFD practitioners (IOW they don't work elsewhere) but that brings up a problem for license retention for them as this would provide very little clinical practice.
I wondered if that's what someone was talking about, an FD emplyee responsible for medical calls (a medical supervisor).
In EMS parlance, the term Medical Director is a doctor who the department has entered in to an agreement with, to oversee/evaluate the medical protocols of the department, signing off on the techniques and protocols. Usually these are DOs and MDs. Usually they are active in medicine at the local hospital also (and usually in Emergency Medicine).
For private ambulance services the doctors can be from a wide array of fields.
I'm looking for some specific statutes but coming up empty handed at Texas DSHS.
jrpitcock
Member
Houston has 5 physicians employeed to oversee medical operations. The 'Medical Director' has the authority to approve the level of prehospital care which may be rendered by each of the departments members, establish and monitor compliance with field performance guidelines and establish and monitor training standards. A staff of four physicians provides on-line and/or on-scene medical direction for all critical patients 24 hours per day.
The docs and the EMS Supervisors (Paramedics) have a pager which monitored 154.160 and alerted for major medical events ("710 Page") such as cardiac arrest, entrapments, multiple patients, and other specific medical events.
The docs and the EMS Supervisors (Paramedics) have a pager which monitored 154.160 and alerted for major medical events ("710 Page") such as cardiac arrest, entrapments, multiple patients, and other specific medical events.
N5AMS
Member
I was wondering if that frequency was still in use
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Back in the day (I haven't monitored it since the dispatch changeover in 2003) they used Golay data and voice paging on 154.16. Guess I'll plug it in to something and see what's up.
153.89 (127.3) is a confirmed point-point backup voice dispatching system. The only radios on this frequency are at the stations and you can occasionally hear OEC doing station alerting tests. No paging tones are used here.
The 900 MHz microwave system was shut down after the 2003 dispatch changeover. Station alerting, with its own robot voice separate from the robot on A1, along with the rip 'n run printer data is carried over another medium, possibly IP. Whenever a call is dispatched, it hits the MDTs on all assigned apparatus, the station personnel's alpha pagers (using a commercial service), the rip 'n run printer, and the voice is broadcast over the station speakers. Each station also has a UHF radio parked on A1; back when the "new" dispatch system first went live they used to assign a firefighter to monitor it.
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Update: after listening from the time of post yesterday until 5:00 PM, and again today from 8:30 until now I haven't heard a peep on 154.16. It may still be up for something but it is not used for paging like it was. My guess about the guys with Minitors is that they're rocked or programmed for UHF A1.
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