COMMUNICATIONS SOG (No. 2.4) GUIDELINE 4 PAGE 1 4 RADIO CALLSIGNS 4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 When sending and receiving any form of radio communication it is essential that both the sender and receiver know precisely with whom they are communicating. For this reason NSWFB Communication Centres (ComCens), appliances and specialist officers and Control Points are identified by unique radio callsigns. 4.1.2 s are structured to convey the appliance and officer type and/or identification, usually with an identifying number. 4.2 Application 4.2.1 This SOG applies to all NSWFB personnel, ComCens and appliances using NSWFB radio communication systems. 4.3 ComCen callsigns 4.3.1 The four ComCens located in NSW and their callsigns are listed in Table 4A. ComCen Sydney Katoomba Newcastle Wollongong Radio Sydney Comms Katoomba Comms Newcastle Comms Wollongong Comms Table 4A ComCen callsigns 4.3.2 Appliances or personnel calling a ComCen must start their message with the ComCen callsign, e.g. Sydney Comms, Pumper 3, Blue. 4.3.3 When ComCens call mobile resources they must identify which ComCen is calling, e.g. Wollongong Comms calling Pumper 241 Over. 4.4 Appliance callsigns 4.4.1 The naming protocol for appliance callsigns is <vehicle> <Station> <Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.>. For example the primary pumping appliance from 82 Station Richmond would have the callsign Pumper 82 Alpha, with the second pump attached to the station being Pumper 82 Bravo. 4.4.2 After the ComCen has been identified, messages must identify the appliance and station number, e.g. Newcastle Comms, Rescue two sixty, Yellow.
GUIDELINE 4 PAGE 2 COMMUNICATIONS SOG (No. 2.4) 4.4.3 The callsigns allocated to various types of NSWFB appliances are detailed in Table 4B. Description Of Appliance PUMPERS Pumper Standard NSWFB pumper (types 1, 2, 3 and 4). Super Pumper Aerial Pumper Rescue Pumper High-capacity Type 5 Pumper. Pumper with 15 m elevating hydraulic boom, ladder and monitor. Pumper with primary rescue accreditation. AERIAL APPLIANCES Whenever a specialist appliance, such as an Aerial Pumper, is replaced by a spare standard pumper, the callsign reverts to Pumper. In all cases, the ComCen must be notified immediately. Platform Ladder Platform Ladders Hydraulic platforms. Bronto ladder platforms. Turntable ladder appliances. RESCUE APPLIANCES Rescue Dedicated rescue unit with primary or secondary rescue accreditation, including City of Sydney Salvage and Mercedes rescue vans. 4WD APPLIANCES Tanker 4WD 3000-4000 litre tanker/class 1 Pumper with crew of 2 to 6. Includes appliances formerly designated as Composites, except where a 4WD Isuzu appliance is the primary response appliance (pumper). Rescue Tanker Hazmat Tanker 4WD appliance with pumping capacity may be Hazmat Tanker or Rescue Tanker. HAZMAT & BREATHING APPARATUS APPLIANCES Hazmat Nine Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Hazmat CO2 Nine Lab Nine Hazmat Support SAS Nine Dedicated hazardous materials/ba appliances attached to Hazmat Response Unit Sydney. Dedicated hazardous materials/ba appliances including Mercedes hazmat vans. CO 2 tender attached to Hazmat Response Unit Sydney. Hazmat Mobile Analytical Vehicle. Hazmat Decontamination Support Vehicle (Pantec). Scientific Advisor Support attached to Hazmat Response Unit Sydney. SPECIALIST SUPPORT APPLIANCES ICV Alpha and ICV Bravo ATV Transporter Incident Control Vehicles. All terrain vehicle. Prime mover for modular transport system when not carrying a pod. FILE REF CHO/07179 COPYRIGHT STATE GOVERNMENT OF NSW (NSWFB) 2003
COMMUNICATIONS SOG (No. 2.4) GUIDELINE 4 PAGE 3 Description Of Appliance When in use the transporter will adopt the callsign of the pod that it is carrying. SV Logistics support vehicle (including district trucks and personnel carriers). MODULAR TRANSPORT SYSTEM PODS USAR 1 USAR 2 Alpha USAR 2 Bravo USAR 3 Alpha USAR 3 Bravo USAR 4 Hazmat Support Sydney/State urban search and rescue (USAR/major structural collapse rescue) equipment cache Newcastle s primary USAR cache Newcastle s secondary USAR cache Wollongong s primary USAR cache Wollongong s secondary USAR cache USAR reconnaissance vehicle for Sydney/State deployment Chemical, biological and radiological specialised hazmat equipment cache Table 4B Appliance types 4.5 Identifying appliances and crews 4.5.1 Where a station has more than one appliance of the same type the appliances are designated A, B, C, etc., using the phonetic alphabet, e.g. Pumper 82 Alpha and Pumper 82 Bravo (other examples are given in Table 4C). The sole exception to this is the City of Sydney Pumper with the callsign Flyer 1. Appliance 37 stn Pumper Pumper thirty seven 260 stn Pumper Pumper two sixty 47 stn Aerial Pumper Aerial Pumper forty seven 84 stn Rescue Pumper Rescue Pumper eighty four 445 stn Mercedes Water Tanker Tanker four four five 101 stn Pumper Pumper one zero one 251 stn Isuzu 4WD Tanker two five one City of Sydney Salvage Rescue one 63 stn Rescue Rescue sixty three 36 stn Ladder Platform Ladder Platform thirty six 21 stn Hydraulic Platform Platform twenty one 4 stn Turntable Ladder Ladders four
GUIDELINE 4 PAGE 4 COMMUNICATIONS SOG (No. 2.4) Appliance 216 stn Isuzu 4WD Hazmat Hazmat Tanker two one six Incident Control Vehicles Modular Transporter ICV Alpha and ICV Bravo Transporter Alpha and Transporter Bravo Table 4C Examples of appliance callsigns 4.5.2 Appliances maintain their normal callsign even when moving up to another station or responding out of area. 4.5.3 Aircraft can identify appliances by the number painted on the roof. This is normally the appliance radio callsign, e.g. P46 for Pumper 46. If a Service Exchange Vehicle (SEV) or other appliance, which does not have the station number on the roof, is being used, notify the Control Point so that it can effectively plot appliance locations given by the aircraft. 4.5.4 Where communication is by hand-held transceiver, callsigns are based on the appliance to which the crew is attached and their operational function at the incident. A crew that has yet to be allocated a task (e.g. at a Staging area) will not include an operational function in their callsign. Crew 26 Station crew involved in firefighting Pumper 26 fire attack 472 Station crew involved in search and rescue Pumper 472 search and rescue 503 Station crew performing salvage work Pumper 503 salvage 207 Station crew performing ventilation Tanker 207 ventilation 97 Station crew waiting to be allocated a task Pumper 97 crew Pumper 32 Station Officer Station Officer 32 Table 4D Examples of functional callsigns 4.6 Senior/specialist officer callsigns 4.6.1 The callsign for a senior officer is either the name of the position held (e.g. Zone Commander North 1) or, when involved in operations, the role on an Incident Management Team (e.g. Incident Controller, Operations Officer) as described in SOG 1.4. 4.6.2 Where more than one officer shares the same position title, the officers are described by a number after the callsign, e.g. BFO 4. Examples of senior and specialist officer callsigns are given in Table 4E. Position / Designation Commissioner Director State Operations Director Capability Development Senior / Specialist Officer Commissioner DSO DCD FILE REF CHO/07179 COPYRIGHT STATE GOVERNMENT OF NSW (NSWFB) 2003
COMMUNICATIONS SOG (No. 2.4) GUIDELINE 4 PAGE 5 Position / Designation Regional Commander North Deputy Regional Commander South Zone Commander North 1 Operational Commander West 2 Manager Hazmat Deputy Manager Hazmat Manager Rescue Deputy Manager Rescue Assistant Rescue Officers Manager Bushfire and Natural Hazards Assistant Bushfire Officers Principal Instructor West Region Senior / Specialist Officer Regional Commander North DRC South Zone Commander North one Operational Commander West two Hazmat one Hazmat two SAR one SAR two SAR three, four, etc. BFO one BFO two/three, etc. PI West Table 4E Examples of senior/specialist officer callsigns 4.7 Incident Control System callsigns 4.7.1 Some examples of Incident Control System callsigns are given in Table 4F. Function Incident Controller Operations Officer Logistics Officer Planning Officer Safety Officer Division Commander Sector Commander Fire Attack Group Commander Salvage Group Commander IC Operations Logistics Planning Safety Officer Division 1, 2, etc. Sector Alpha, Bravo, etc. Fire Attack Salvage Table 4F Incident Control System callsigns All messages from an incident to a ComCen should go through the Control Point and/or Incident Controller, except in an emergency requiring immediate action.