Scanner Tales: Fire Funnies

[mws72]

I was working security at an unnamed nuclear power plant. After a few years I was allowed to work the security control console in primary. (We had two) A radio tech showed us how to page the state police tones that normally would open their Rx they had and we would be able talk cross system. They came back to us on their statewide low band. Anyway one of the guys figured if we pushed a certain button the tones wouldn't go over the air and we could still listen to their traffic. Some nights we could hear mobiles from across most of the state. Then there was e-skip from the East Coast. Fun times.

 

[Eng74]

In the station I worked at most, the public office area had a counter chest high but by the window and the door where you would come in was the captains desk that was connected to a counter that was the same height as the desk and was two file drawers high. It had a slot for the base station radio and a mic that sat on the counter. The problem was only one chair at the desk. So where do you think everyone sat when someone was in the chair at the desk? Of course, on the counter right by where the mic also sat. One night I was at home and had the scanner on and it is about 6:30pm so the station radios have not been muted yet so everyone in the county can hear the dispatch channel. It was quiet and then I hear one of my friends talking, but he is on duty and not at my house. He is talking to the captain but no names are being used. I know him well so I know where this conversation is going so grab my phone and call the station, hear the phone ring over the air, luckily he always kept it short on the phone and just said county fire and did not say the station number. All I had to say was keyed mic, then the radio was silent again. Got a couple of dinners for that save.

 

[mws72]

There was an open mike incident in the county near me when I was growing up. A county deputy was talking with an acquittance one night. Unknown to them the microphone was open and their conversation was going out over the air. I don't remember all the details but the deputy lost his job. The local paper some how got a transcript of it.

 

[kc8jwt]

I just rememberd a story from a few years ago. My son was in scouts and the scoutmaster is a member of the fire department here in town. One Christmas he took the boys down to the fire station to look at the fire trucks. When we were done talking about the different things on the trucks. he let them get in the trucks and look around and sit inside the cabs. Most of the boys were attracted to "Tower 1" and were loving being able to sit most of them in the cab. One of the firefighters didn't think about it and turn the master swtich on and the boys started playing with the headphones in the truck. All of the adults were at the back of the bay and within 15 minutes the fire cheif showed up and told us that someone had been making noise on the radio and someone farted.

There was a recording at the Police department since that is the 911 PSAP for town. The cheif thought it was another fireman's kid doing it and then remembered that we were at the station. The boys were yelled at, master switches were turned off, and there was much laughing among the adults.

 

[trentbob]

I can remember a dispatcher story, It happened in the late '80s.

I was working my shift as a news photographer for a large 7 day a week daily in a heavy crime ridden Inner City. We had another 7-Day week daily also. They were the broad sheet, snobby stuffy paper, we were the tabloid format flashy paper with the catchy headline that could be found in every bathroom and Diner counter. Twice the readership as the other paper.

The dispatcher for that sector, that night was not having a good day and definitely was very attitudinal and grumpy. She was definitely giving everybody a hard time.

There was a bolo for a couple of days, an 18 year old girl was missing.. it was suspected that she was pregnant and the boyfriend was the main subject of Interest, but she couldn't be found.

Miss Congeniality, the dispatcher put out a call to a sector car, there was something large floating in the D+R canal, it might be a body.

I was literally at the intersection half a block from the canal with a small bridge that went over it.

I knew right away upon looking it was the missing girl. Her body was all bloated but I recognized her. When the cop showed up, we were friends and I said well we found the girl and he said we sure did.

Anybody could hear the police on a scanner. He got on the radio and called into the dispatcher and said the call at the D+R Canal is founded as dispatched. He said it low with the least words he could use. He wasn't worried about the Press I was standing right next to him but he was being discreet.

The dispatcher came back and said car XXXX would you please repeat yourself I didn't get any of that.

He repeated.. the call at the D+R canal is founded as originally dispatched, notify the appropriate parties.

She was totally inappropriate and nasty and said you're going to have to repeat yourself, speak up, what is your message car XXXX.

He had had enough, I knew the guy, he was pretty polite and calm mannered but he returned with with his voice loud and angry.. there's a dead female body floating in the D+R canal. Notify supervision and detectives! Did you receive that?

And in a low voice she said yes sir, I received, notifications are being made. She dispatched several other cars as a crowd was gathering

This was a city that saw violent crime every day, bodies being found everywhere, gang shootings, drive by's. A high murder rate. This was just another day.