HRM fire dispatches now on Twitter

[hfxChris]

Not sure if this is known, but HRFE has opened their CAD system up and is automagically tweeting out their calls: https://twitter.com/HRFE_Incidents

They're somewhat sanitized, it only gives street names, not an actual civic address, and the incident type is fairly generic, but it does give the list of units paged. Medical calls seem to be captured under the more generic "mutual aid/assist other agency" type.

The delay between page out and the tweet seems to be typically less than a minute.

 

[_DeS_]

I find it really interesting when agencies share this info.
I was reading a story the other day about communication encryption and the fine line between safety, security, privacy and the right to know. It's a mixed bag of feelings for me around it being on all sides of that radio at one point or another.

I think it was Toronto PD at one time had a map of all incidents which was very interesting. Not sure if it was real time or not, but cool none the less. Kudos to HRM for sharing this info!
I can't help but wonder if it is an attempt to draw away from the third party accounts that post incidents in some way, as the info from HRM would be considered accurate without speculation.

 

[west5alpha]

They changed it , now it gives details of the calls and not just generic information

 

[wadenbc]

Toronto Police Service tweets out as much as possible on a daily basis. Everything from car crashes, to lost people, serious incidents including stabbings and shootings and traffic hazards. Transparency is a good thing for accountability and public safety, up to a certain point such as officer safety in undercover operations, etcetera. Hope to see it catch on more, since this is not North Korea.

 

[mciupa]

Please do not stray from the Halifax focus.

Thanks!

 

[wadenbc]

Please do not stray from the Halifax focus.

Thanks!

Just making the comparison with focus on Halifax.

 

[hfxChris]

They changed it , now it gives details of the calls and not just generic information

I've looked back over the tweets since Friday, and I don't see any change here. It still just shows generic details like "alarms" or "investigation"

I find it really interesting when agencies share this info.

Yeah, I'm looking at this as a positive thing. The provincial ambulance provider here went encrypted this summer, and it's always been my worry that HRM fire may follow suit as well, but they seem to be interested in letting people know what they're doing.

Either that, or they're dangling this out there with plans to go encrypted and shut down other sources of info. Guess that's pessimistic me now talking.

 

[wadenbc]

I have been getting the tweets regularly from HRFE since they started. However, I am not hearing HRFD on the online scanner it seems, even though it shows online. Has HRFD gone encrypted like EHS??

 

[ve1sef]

No. There's been plenty of calls last few days, all in the clear.

 

[wadenbc]

Listening here online and watching the Twitter feed as well. HRFE Twitter feed shows an alarm a few minutes ago in Halifax on Universtiy Ave. This was not heard on the online feed. Can't figure out why? Come to the conclusion the online feed is not broadcasting HRFD. I am hearing Shubie radio and other agencies on the NS Fire and EMS - Central feed, but not HRFD.

 

[ve1sef]

Are you sure the feed is monitoring the talkgroups and not just the paging frequencies?

 

[wadenbc]

I have no idea what it's monitoring to be honest, as I am listening via Broadcastify online. It says Nova Scotia Fire and EMS - Central with 27 listeners currently listening. I always heard HRFD on this online feed in the past with no issues, but cannot hear them at all now.

Update!

Now able to hear HRFD once again. That was weird! Still unsure why as I haven't touched anything here in the bunker. Gremlins perhaps?

 

[hfxChris]

Update!
Now able to hear HRFD once again. That was weird! Still unsure why as I haven't touched anything here in the bunker. Gremlins perhaps?

If you were hearing other audio on the stream, then it couldn't possibly have been an issue on your end, but on the feed provider's end.

 

[wadenbc]

If you were hearing other audio on the stream, then it couldn't possibly have been an issue on your end, but on the feed provider's end.

Sent the provider a message and the issue seems to be resolved now.