Fire Department Communications Manual

With support of the DHS SAFECOM Program Office, USFA is working with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to study what important areas of safety and technology discussed in the USFA manual Fire Department Communications Manual - A Basic Guide to System Concepts and Equipment (FA-160) need to be updated or revised, as well as what topics and technology related to fire department communications not discussed in the manual need to be added since its development in 1996. These updates and revisions will be included in a revised manual.

In addition to any updates or revisions of the material in the current document, there is a need for the most up to date relevant firefighter health and safety standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and others to be incorporated into the revision. It will also cover the latest in communications technology as well as critical Homeland Security issues and concepts, such as SAFECOM, that did not exist when this manual was first published.

The intent of the original manual was to provide a wide fire service audience with a minimum level of familiarity with basic communications issues such as hardware, policy and procedures, and human resources. It provided some background on all major aspects of communications for the fire service, with the exception of call receiving systems, e.g. 9-1-1, municipal street boxes, etc.

Firefighters are unique and not any other radio users. The life safety of both firefighters and citizens depends on the function and usage of these communication tools in the harshest and most hostile of environments. The need for an understanding of today's modern communications concepts and technology for firefighter and citizen life safety and operational effectiveness remains as valid, if not more so today, that it did when this USFA document was produced in 1996.

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