For fire ground ops are they on the trunked system I am getting conflicting information also are they encrypted? If they are does any one know why they are encrypted what is the reasoning when police is in the clear. Thanks in advance
"Latest News Update Posted on 2004-07-12 08:15:53For fire ground ops are they on the trunked system I am getting conflicting information also are they encrypted? If they are does any one know why they are encrypted what is the reasoning when police is in the clear. Thanks in advance
It's evident from your response that you didn't fully read my post before commenting. I didn't say that they were encrypted because of HIPA, just that many agencies are woo'd into believing they are HIPA compliant just because they have encryption, a sales technique.The way I understand it, the fire commissioner ordered all fireground comms to be encrypted for privacy when the system was being built. It can't be due to HIPA, because if it was, they wouldn't be broadcasting patient reports over the unencrypted fire channels like they do every day. Some I have spoken to say it's so nobody can hear the guys curse when they're excited, others have said it's to try and keep sensitive conversations (like those about fire victims, etc) from being heard. The problem with that, though, is the IC must still come over the clear channel and tell the dispatcher what they have, so it defeats the purpose, I think. As for the PD side, they don't encrypt the district channels, but there are a slew of unpublished channels for narcotics, etc, that use encryption. The problem with those channels, though, is the encryption can be turned off, and about half the cops turn it off, so you can still hear what they say (cursing and all, lol) half the time, if you happen to know the talkgroups. (No, I won't divulge that info)
Whatever the acronym; it's still more government bullish*t that we didn't need...It's HIPAA. :wink:
excuse me but your not even from philadelphia so who are you to make rude comments about tow truck drivers which im sure is what you meant when you said ambulance chasers cuz when your from philly then you can talk about philly oh and the reason why fire ground is encrypted is a security issue same reason why alot of the pd talk groups are.The main reason you're seeing so much encryption on fire and ems channels is because people truly do not understand the whole HIPA crap the government dropped on us a few years ago. Many higher ups who make the decisions on radio systems are lead into believing they must encrypt their traffic to comply; a sales tactic used by Motorola, M/A-COM (Harris), etc for years...
Stupid, a waste of taxpayer money, and even the Fed's don't know how to use encryption most of the time. The FBI, ICE, DEA are in the clear more often than not, especially around Philadelphia.
Encryption belongs on almost all Federal communications and certain local/state law enforcement channels such as tactical teams and surveillance channels. It generally has no place in fire or ems; unless you're Philadelphia and have tons of ambulance chasers and new media tycoons that like to cause issues for public-safety; thus the reason Philadelphia Fire Department is 100% encrypted and will be forever into the future. Eventually, ALL public-safety talkgroups in Philadelphia and many other major cities will be encrypted...
Err, you put your foot in your mouth. Until the end of last year W2GLD was a long-time resident of Pennsylvania and then Cherry Hill. He knows the business as well as anyone I know in the industry. I wouldn't brag about Philadelphia. Five murders on Jan 1 and counting...excuse me but your not even from philadelphia so who are you to make rude comments about tow truck drivers which im sure is what you meant when you said ambulance chasers cuz when your from philly then you can talk about philly oh and the reason why fire ground is encrypted is a security issue same reason why alot of the pd talk groups are.
Thanks Tom, I had harsher words but they are better left unsaid... Happy New Year, and good to see you one the forums...Err, you put your foot in your mouth. Until the end of last year W2GLD was a long-time resident of Pennsylvania and then Cherry Hill. He knows the business as well as anyone I know in the industry. I wouldn't brag about Philadelphia. Five murders on Jan 1 and counting...
LMAO, sad part is you're right!Then again PPD adopted a bad policy of not responding to accidents. The city is so screwy it isn't even funny
You should put this post on a brass plaque and mount copies on every city or town hall in the country. Encryption to deny the media access is likely to end up causing problems for municipalities as the courts give the media a lot of latitude under the First Amendment.The main reason you're seeing so much encryption on fire and ems channels is because people truly do not understand the whole HIPA crap the government dropped on us a few years ago. Many higher ups who make the decisions on radio systems are lead into believing they must encrypt their traffic to comply; a sales tactic used by Motorola, M/A-COM (Harris), etc for years...
Stupid, a waste of taxpayer money, and even the Fed's don't know how to use encryption most of the time. The FBI, ICE, DEA are in the clear more often than not, especially around Philadelphia.
Encryption belongs on almost all Federal communications and certain local/state law enforcement channels such as tactical teams and surveillance channels. It generally has no place in fire or ems; unless you're Philadelphia and have tons of ambulance chasers and new media tycoons that like to cause issues for public-safety; thus the reason Philadelphia Fire Department is 100% encrypted and will be forever into the future. Eventually, ALL public-safety talkgroups in Philadelphia and many other major cities will be encrypted...
Interestingly, they solved the problem in Los Angeles back in the early 1960s. The city council of Philadelphia should watch the episode of Dragnet where this story was told.As a resident of the city of Philadelphia, I can attest to the fact that tow tuck drivers are a problem in this city. Not all of them, mind you, but a lot of them. There was a recent incident (within the last couple of years) where 1 driver was run over by a rival. I've also seen on TV where they filmed in Philly and the guys acted like they had turf rights, nearly threatening the rivals. In Bucks County they have contracted towing outfits, and they are on a rotating "on call" schedule. Philly would be see a vast improvement in tow operations if they adopted a similar strategy.
This is correct, as long as no identifiable information (like name, SSN, etc.) about the patient is broadcast over the air, it is not a violation of HIPAA. As a former internal auditor of a hospital, I attended many HIPAA classes.There is NO reason to encrypt EMS communications because there are specific HIPAA exemptions in the regulations for emergency communications.