Tompkins county

[AuntEnvy]

Does anyone know what the new "alpha-numeric" priority codes are all about on Tompkins county Fire/EMS dispatches? If I'm not mistaken it sounds as if they just started using this new code system. I'm familiar with some others who use "Alpha" priority etc but they attach a multi-number code onto it as well.

 

[yankeesdood16]

I am in western broome county where they just just say everything except for the 10 codes. I was down in tampa a couple weeks ago and took my scanner down there and they use a signal code system(example: signal 50-traffic stop).

 

[nozzlenut83]

EMD Codes?

Perhaps what you are hearing are Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) codes. EMD is the system many 911 centers use to prioritize and dispatch for medical emergencies. It allows the 911 call taker to provide pre-arrival instructions to the caller and ensure that the proper resources are being sent. EMD codes would be a number followed by a letter/number combo such as 29-B-1 - 29 - Traffic collision, B-1 - Minor injuries. There was a list of the other codes floating around the RR Forums a while back that you could search for. Many 911 centers use EMD but do not necessarily give the codes over the radio. Some centers use Priority 1, 2, 3, etc. or Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc. or even Hot or Cold to prioritize the call.

Hope this helps
Nozzlenut83

 

[AuntEnvy]

Perhaps what you are hearing are Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) codes. EMD is the system many 911 centers use to prioritize and dispatch for medical emergencies. It allows the 911 call taker to provide pre-arrival instructions to the caller and ensure that the proper resources are being sent. EMD codes would be a number followed by a letter/number combo such as 29-B-1 - 29 - Traffic collision, B-1 - Minor injuries. There was a list of the other codes floating around the RR Forums a while back that you could search for. Many 911 centers use EMD but do not necessarily give the codes over the radio. Some centers use Priority 1, 2, 3, etc. or Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc. or even Hot or Cold to prioritize the call.

Hope this helps
Nozzlenut83

That does help. You just reminded me that I do remember those codes being "published" a while back. Thanks. I'm not sure how Tompkins is doing it but I think it's something like :

"priority Delta 23-3" I think that's the last one I heard. I'll have to pay more attention to which way they actually "arrange" the code but that's probably what they're doing.

 

[yankeesdood16]

Here in Broome county they use priorities(Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo) like said before. Alpha means that the EMS can pretty much take there time, Bravo means that they'll need to hurry in a little quicker and maybe probably use lights, with Charlie they'll use lights and maybe sirens depending on the call and respond faster, Delta means the person is in trouple(medical wise) and the EMS responds full emergency with lights and sirens. Echo priority means the person is down and not breathing.

 

[6m171]

To expand upon nozzlenut's response:
EMD is kind of like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure" book. When a person calls 911 for a medical emergency and the center utilizes EMD, the calltaker determines the type of medical emergency. That determines the card number they go to in the flip file:

1 Abdominal Pain
2 Allergic Reaction
3 Animal Bite
4 Assault
5 Back Pain
6 Breathing Difficulty
7 Burns
8 CO/HazMat/Inhallation Injury
9 Cardiac Arrest/Respiratory Arrest/DOA
10 Chest Pain
11 Choking
12 Convulsions/Seizure
13 Diabetic
14 Drowning
15 Electrocution/Lightning
16 Eye Injury
17 Falls
18 Headache
19 Heart Problems
20 Heat/Cold Emergency
21 Hemorrhaging
22 Inaccessible/Machine Entrapment/Other Entrapments
23 Overdose/Poisoning
24 OB/Childbirth
25 Psychiatric/Suicidal/Abnormal Behavior
26 Sick Person/General Illness
27 Stabbing/Gunshot/Penetrating Trauma
28 Stroke/CVA
29 Motor-Vehicle Collision
30 Traumatic Injury
31 Unconscious
32 Unknown Situation
33 Transfers

Once they get to the correct card number, there are additional questions to ask that determine the appropriate response. One recommended format is as follows:

Alpha: BLS only, no lights/siren
Bravo: BLS only, lights/siren
Charlie: BLS lights/siren, ALS no lights/siren
Delta: BLS and ALS lights/siren
Echo: Multi-agency response... ambulance with ALS and possibly FD, PD defib run, chopper, etc.
Omega: Referral to another agency

And then other special circumstances or determinants are noted with the numbers 1-5.

So a final determinant code may be 29-B-1 for a minor-injury MVA (as above) indicating a BLS-only emergency response. a 9-E-1 will get an ambulance and ALS, and likely the FD and PD, depending on your area's protocols. Where I am, the sheriff's department has outfitted all of their cars with AEDs. According to their dispatch protocols, an Echo level EMS call takes priority over ALL police jobs except for felony 'in progress' jobs. You may actually be hearing "23-Delta-3" with is an ALS level poisoning or OD call.

Now, every 911 center has the prerogative to tailor the protocols to their own individual area of responsibility. Don't take what I've said here as gospel, but rather a guideline.

 

[AuntEnvy]

To expand upon nozzlenut's response:
EMD is kind of like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure" book. When a person calls 911 for a medical emergency and the center utilizes EMD, the calltaker determines the type of medical emergency. That determines the card number they go to in the flip file:

1 Abdominal Pain
2 Allergic Reaction
3 Animal Bite
4 Assault
5 Back Pain
6 Breathing Difficulty
7 Burns
8 CO/HazMat/Inhallation Injury
9 Cardiac Arrest/Respiratory Arrest/DOA
10 Chest Pain
11 Choking
12 Convulsions/Seizure
13 Diabetic
14 Drowning
15 Electrocution/Lightning
16 Eye Injury
17 Falls
18 Headache
19 Heart Problems
20 Heat/Cold Emergency
21 Hemorrhaging
22 Inaccessible/Machine Entrapment/Other Entrapments
23 Overdose/Poisoning
24 OB/Childbirth
25 Psychiatric/Suicidal/Abnormal Behavior
26 Sick Person/General Illness
27 Stabbing/Gunshot/Penetrating Trauma
28 Stroke/CVA
29 Motor-Vehicle Collision
30 Traumatic Injury
31 Unconscious
32 Unknown Situation
33 Transfers

Once they get to the correct card number, there are additional questions to ask that determine the appropriate response. One recommended format is as follows:

Alpha: BLS only, no lights/siren
Bravo: BLS only, lights/siren
Charlie: BLS lights/siren, ALS no lights/siren
Delta: BLS and ALS lights/siren
Echo: Multi-agency response... ambulance with ALS and possibly FD, PD defib run, chopper, etc.
Omega: Referral to another agency

And then other special circumstances or determinants are noted with the numbers 1-5.

So a final determinant code may be 29-B-1 for a minor-injury MVA (as above) indicating a BLS-only emergency response. a 9-E-1 will get an ambulance and ALS, and likely the FD and PD, depending on your area's protocols. Where I am, the sheriff's department has outfitted all of their cars with AEDs. According to their dispatch protocols, an Echo level EMS call takes priority over ALL police jobs except for felony 'in progress' jobs. You may actually be hearing "23-Delta-3" with is an ALS level poisoning or OD call.

Now, every 911 center has the prerogative to tailor the protocols to their own individual area of responsibility. Don't take what I've said here as gospel, but rather a guideline.

I appreciate the much involved reply. I do recall seeing this info before. It's all comiong back to me now. Like you say, there could be any number of different meanings so I guess "we" have to figure that out. The only thing that's "troubling" is the fact they say in "english" what the call is then give the codes. Just seems a bit redundant but I'm sure it serves it's purpose. Well, I guess that should pretty much conclude this thread...Thanks to all responders!