It's been a busy week for public safety in the Hills and if you believe things really happen in threes, then my best guess is BHFD is long overdue for a ripping structure fire.
Late Saturday night saw the city's first fatality traffic accident in awhile--we're not counting the fatal vehicle vs. bicyclist at Wilshire and Little Santa Monica a few months back. C/D-list actor Lane Garrison apparently drove his Land Rover directly into a tree in front of the Islands restaurant on South Beverly Drive just north of Olympic Boulevard after he picked up three high school kids at a nearby gas station convenience store.
Lucky for Garrison, the tree emerged seemingly unscathed. Not so lucky was the fate of a 17-year-old passenger who died at Cedars Sinai after a Code 3 BHFD transport. The two 15-year-old girls survived as did Garrison who was taken to Century City Hospital. His attorney has provided nearly a week full of laughable quotes regarding his client's participation in the event; everything from he woke up at the hospital with total amnesia to he only had a sip of one drink to etc. etc. etc.
I was driving home from a party heading south on Beverly and was forced to detour at Gregory around the scene. Couldnt see much from 100 yards away except a ton of flashing lights. After I got home, heard Engine 1 go by on Olympic as second or third-in engine on the call. The scanner traffic was pretty routine so I didn't know it was a fatal until I checked the news the following day.
That was #1. The second event happened last night during a fairly ho-hum Wednesday night of scanning. BHPD was doing their usual slew of late evening traffic stops when a Code 3 call dropped on Tower Road, a posh street in the way north end of the city that usually sees zero crime.
It came across as a possible burglary in progress and was quickly upgraded to a 459 (burglary) suspect fighting with a Bel-Air Patrol (armed private security guard) officer and that the officer had been stabbed. For the first time in memory, every BHPD unit on duty in the city hit their lights and sirens and headed for the scene, as did detectives at SWAT members in unmarked cars from BHPD HQ. An LAPD airship was requested and we were off to the races.
Once on scene, it was clearly chaos as the average BHPD call doesn't produce nearly as much adrenaline. Turns out, the Bel-Air Patrolman stabbed the burglarly suspect as they scuffled. The suspect, however, had been stalking a woman who lived at the home and this info was broadcast over the air. BHPD SWAT cleared the large house and the suspect was taken to Cedars via Rescue 1. Rare to catch a stalker in the act and then stab him, so it was a good call for me and the cops.
Now, it's time for #3...what'll it be????? My bet's on a fire.
***UPDATE (12/09/06)*** It looks like Long Beach Fire (also due for a big structure) caught the Big One last night at a huge apartment complex. Two civilians dead, a bunch of FF injuries and a whole lot of fire, which spread through the ventilation system and burned a lot space.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Close Call in Canyonland!
Hot and humid like never before in L.A. the past two weeks. High temp and high low temp records have shattered in the past week. Lightning has sparked brushers from deep in the California deserts all the way out to Catalina Island, 26 miles offshore, which got a Sunday morning lightning show that resulted in a brush fire on a remote part of the island.
I only got bits and pieces of scanning in all weekend, but heard some pretty good shit. What I didn't hear was the extremely awesome and rare coordination that sent multiple LACoFD crews to Catalina via United States Marine Corps Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) from Camp Pendleton. Apparently, it was too risky to send crews via helicopter because of the lightning over Catalina Channel, so the Marines moved a whole bunch of equipment and crews onto the island to back up the undermanned County firefighters stationed on Catalina. But the city and county managed to escape any major brushers in populated areas until today.
Walking by the office TV tuned to CNN expecting to see the usual Israeli/Hezbollah action, imagine my surprise when I saw a KABC7 live helo shot of a ripping brusher in Benedict Canyon!!!!
That's a stone's throw from where I grew up and assets remain in the family name that we're not quite ready to part with. Got to my scanner to just in time to hear the tail-end of an OCD Channel 9 major brush dispatch sending units to stage at F.S. 71 (Sunset X Beverly Glen Boulevard).
By the time I tuned in, at least 20 units were already on scene and the big Bell 412's were dropping water, so helispots had been set up and good structure protection was in place. Quickly went to Major Emergency Brush, but work commitments kept me from babysitting the scanner and hearing the action. It's a bummer, too, because it's rare you get a major brush in such a densely populated area: I'm sure some of the assignments and moveups were awesome!
I know BHFD and LACoFD pitched in. Fire contained to about 25 acres of brush, one house's exterior got a bit toasty and a few firefighters had to sit because of heat.
Long story wrapped: The brusher basically spared Benedict Canyon, and I basically missed all the good scanning.
I only got bits and pieces of scanning in all weekend, but heard some pretty good shit. What I didn't hear was the extremely awesome and rare coordination that sent multiple LACoFD crews to Catalina via United States Marine Corps Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) from Camp Pendleton. Apparently, it was too risky to send crews via helicopter because of the lightning over Catalina Channel, so the Marines moved a whole bunch of equipment and crews onto the island to back up the undermanned County firefighters stationed on Catalina. But the city and county managed to escape any major brushers in populated areas until today.
Walking by the office TV tuned to CNN expecting to see the usual Israeli/Hezbollah action, imagine my surprise when I saw a KABC7 live helo shot of a ripping brusher in Benedict Canyon!!!!
That's a stone's throw from where I grew up and assets remain in the family name that we're not quite ready to part with. Got to my scanner to just in time to hear the tail-end of an OCD Channel 9 major brush dispatch sending units to stage at F.S. 71 (Sunset X Beverly Glen Boulevard).
By the time I tuned in, at least 20 units were already on scene and the big Bell 412's were dropping water, so helispots had been set up and good structure protection was in place. Quickly went to Major Emergency Brush, but work commitments kept me from babysitting the scanner and hearing the action. It's a bummer, too, because it's rare you get a major brush in such a densely populated area: I'm sure some of the assignments and moveups were awesome!
I know BHFD and LACoFD pitched in. Fire contained to about 25 acres of brush, one house's exterior got a bit toasty and a few firefighters had to sit because of heat.
Long story wrapped: The brusher basically spared Benedict Canyon, and I basically missed all the good scanning.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Fire Service Day Tomorrow
A few quick words about "Fire Service Day":
As a boy, I always loved FSD, the one day of the year when the apparatus bay doors are wide open and the local LAFD engine was pulled halfway out of the station into the driveway. The years of visiting the single-engine house in my parents' neighborhood definitely pushed me towards an eventual stint in public safety.
One year when I was about 18 or so, I embarked on my own "FSD Challenge" and tried to visit as many LAFD stations as possible during the official hours of FSD. Though I knew reaching the 103 stations in one day was impossible, I hoped to hit at least 20 or so--mostly stations I heard so often on my Bearcat Scanner, but never actually visited. I think I did about 10 to 15, or so.
Though it was many years ago and my memory is faded, I distinctly remember getting a later start than I had hoped (I think I hit the road around 10 instead of the 8 a.m. start I had visualized during the week before).
I remember driving by a bunch of stations but not stopping in. They included FS2 on the Eastside; FS17; FS3 and FS9 both Downtown; FS15 next to USC and then I headed west. I'm pretty sure I cruised by FS29 in Mid-Wilshire; FS61 near Miracle Mile; FS92 on Pico Boulevard in Rancho Park--I might have even stopped at Marty's for an "Original Combo."
The most vivid memory is ending the day at FS37 in Westwood and talking to a bunch of LAFD Explorers, where I realized that I had belatedly missed out on the opportunity to participate in the program as I was heading to college the next Fall and would be out of state!
Anyway, enjoy Fire Service Day (Even though I live in the city of Beverly Hills these days and their FSD open house is impressive), I might stop by old FS58 on Robertson Boulevard, which is the closest LAFD house--and likely part of the LAFD mutual aid contingent that gets in on it when my 1936 stucco fourplex eventually burns to the ground!
If anyone embarks on their own FSD Challenge and hits a bunch of stations, let me know!
As a boy, I always loved FSD, the one day of the year when the apparatus bay doors are wide open and the local LAFD engine was pulled halfway out of the station into the driveway. The years of visiting the single-engine house in my parents' neighborhood definitely pushed me towards an eventual stint in public safety.
One year when I was about 18 or so, I embarked on my own "FSD Challenge" and tried to visit as many LAFD stations as possible during the official hours of FSD. Though I knew reaching the 103 stations in one day was impossible, I hoped to hit at least 20 or so--mostly stations I heard so often on my Bearcat Scanner, but never actually visited. I think I did about 10 to 15, or so.
Though it was many years ago and my memory is faded, I distinctly remember getting a later start than I had hoped (I think I hit the road around 10 instead of the 8 a.m. start I had visualized during the week before).
I remember driving by a bunch of stations but not stopping in. They included FS2 on the Eastside; FS17; FS3 and FS9 both Downtown; FS15 next to USC and then I headed west. I'm pretty sure I cruised by FS29 in Mid-Wilshire; FS61 near Miracle Mile; FS92 on Pico Boulevard in Rancho Park--I might have even stopped at Marty's for an "Original Combo."
The most vivid memory is ending the day at FS37 in Westwood and talking to a bunch of LAFD Explorers, where I realized that I had belatedly missed out on the opportunity to participate in the program as I was heading to college the next Fall and would be out of state!
Anyway, enjoy Fire Service Day (Even though I live in the city of Beverly Hills these days and their FSD open house is impressive), I might stop by old FS58 on Robertson Boulevard, which is the closest LAFD house--and likely part of the LAFD mutual aid contingent that gets in on it when my 1936 stucco fourplex eventually burns to the ground!
If anyone embarks on their own FSD Challenge and hits a bunch of stations, let me know!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
BHFD and the Horrors of the Private Ambulance
Just spent about 45 minutes typing a lengthy post....and I deleted it accidentally. What an asshole, I am.
Anyway, listening to BHFD and its two ALS RA's are out on calls, when they drop a GI bleed on Engine 3 and the dreaded "private ambulance." Nothing pisses off the guys at BHFD more than having to respond to a call with a private. The disdain in their voices is unmistakably clear when they announce they're responding.
To wit: Capt. on E3 says "Engine 3 responding, could you make sure the Private is coming code 3?" The dispatcher replies (annoyed): "We are." This is a moronic comment from the Engine for a number of reasons, mostly because he simultaneously blames/questions the hapless dispatcher for the predicament and, of course, sets the entire crew's mood for the poor bastards on whatever ambulance gets the lucky call.
Granted, BHFD is forced to call privates when the two ALS city units are unavailable and often the closest private ambulance has a 10 or 15+ minute ETA. A GI bleed can be a serious call that might require fast transport. So it's always funny to hear the BHFD Rescue units suddenly rush to finish their calls and get available just to keep the dreaded private ambulance off the call.
Like clockwork, Rescue 2 begins transporting Code 2 to UCLA as soon as they hear the word "private." Wouldn't shock me in the least if they get to UCLA, drop the patient off and spin around to respond to the call back on Wilshire Blvd. before the private even arrives. Strike that...looks like Rescue 1 beat Rescue 2 to the punch. Privates are out of luck in BH....again.
Anyway, listening to BHFD and its two ALS RA's are out on calls, when they drop a GI bleed on Engine 3 and the dreaded "private ambulance." Nothing pisses off the guys at BHFD more than having to respond to a call with a private. The disdain in their voices is unmistakably clear when they announce they're responding.
To wit: Capt. on E3 says "Engine 3 responding, could you make sure the Private is coming code 3?" The dispatcher replies (annoyed): "We are." This is a moronic comment from the Engine for a number of reasons, mostly because he simultaneously blames/questions the hapless dispatcher for the predicament and, of course, sets the entire crew's mood for the poor bastards on whatever ambulance gets the lucky call.
Granted, BHFD is forced to call privates when the two ALS city units are unavailable and often the closest private ambulance has a 10 or 15+ minute ETA. A GI bleed can be a serious call that might require fast transport. So it's always funny to hear the BHFD Rescue units suddenly rush to finish their calls and get available just to keep the dreaded private ambulance off the call.
Like clockwork, Rescue 2 begins transporting Code 2 to UCLA as soon as they hear the word "private." Wouldn't shock me in the least if they get to UCLA, drop the patient off and spin around to respond to the call back on Wilshire Blvd. before the private even arrives. Strike that...looks like Rescue 1 beat Rescue 2 to the punch. Privates are out of luck in BH....again.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
The Great Ambulance Debate...
This is a bit outside my purview, but here's my two cents on who gets to provide emergency ambulance service to the LACoFD. For the last few years, American Medical Response has provided a majority of the 911 ambulance service for the County fire department.
Unlike LA City and (a few smaller municipalities) that use their own ALS and BLS ambulances to transport medical patients, the County sends two-man paramedic squads--just like in the 1970s show "Emergency!". Private ambulances respond to 911 calls but they're staffed with two EMTs who assist the fire medics with patient care. The fire-medic then hops onto the private ambulance and transports to the hospital with the EMTs.
This is a particularly stupid system for a variety of reasons. First, the fire department has to separately alert the ambulance dispatchers on any medical call. This causes a delay right from the start of the 911 process.
Second, the delay is compounded by the private companies finding the closest ambulance that's sitting on some street corner and then sending the ambulance to the call. Invariably, the fire station that is sending the engine and squad is closer to the call, often by miles. Once the ambulance has been dispatched from its street corner, then another ambulance is either dispatched to the original street corner, or will sit at its assigned location and wait for the next call, which could be any distance away.
In the ambulance industry, this is known as "system-status mangement." Not only is it a complicated system developed by mostly moronic people that work at big companies like AMR (and even more moronic people who work at smaller companies), but it makes for grumpy EMT's who are stuffed into the front of ambulances driving around aimlessly or sitting in the parking lots of 7-Eleven's.
Even the casual scanner listener will often hear LA County fire captains and medics requesting "AMR's ETA" over the radio. Partly, the Fire guys are pissed that they're on a medical call, but they're also pissed that sick people have to wait for an ambulance while they've been on scene for many minutes providing care.
While AMR and others take response times very seriously because they're financially and contractually obligated to respond to calls in a certain amount of time, individual EMTs have less incentive. Mostly because they're going to get on scene and likely be treated like total shit by both the medics and the firefighters. Also, they're EMT's, so medically, they can't do shit. Often, they're also pissed because 95% of them are trying to/have tried to get hired by a fire department and are either in the middle of the long, long, long process, or have already been rejected.
Then, they're gonna carry the patient around on the stretcher while the (extremely strong and fit) fire guys sit around or scurry back to the engine. Granted, LA City's system isn't flawless. Often, busy periods leave ambulances scrambling across town (especially in South LA and the Valley), but non-ambulance ALS resources can often be paired with a BLS transport unit and that solves the issue. LAFD has done a great job of flooding the districts with FIRE STATION-BASED ambulances and paramedics on engines allowing for great flexibility.
The LA County Board of Supervisors a few weeks ago broke AMR's monopoly on ambulance transport in the county. This is both good and bad:
Good = AMR is shitty company. Period. In LA County where they primarily do non-emergency transport work and BLS 911 operations, they suffer from the complacency as the industry leader. In other parts of the country--and even California--AMR paramedics are the primary 911 responders. There are highly competent and experienced paramedics within those operations that provide first rate care. The company, however at the managerial level, totally sucks. And the last thing I want to hear is a defense of AMR from anyone. They're a unit of a large and poorly performing public company. The bottom line is stock price and return on investment to the shareholder. That is their motivation. They treat their employees like shit, and are lucky to have exclusive 911 contracts in many markets that provide employment for some excellent EMS providers. Paramedics and EMTs in a number of locations are even LUCKIER to have strong unions that deal extremely well with AMR.
In LA County, however, since top-line care is mostly provided by the fire departments, AMR cannot hide behind the good medicine and competence of its paramedics. It's all about the dollars in LA County. As for the smaller companies like Schaefer, Care and Westmed, it's a mixed bag. They now get wider leeway to play with the big boys, but suffer the same evils from barely competent EMTs, greedy executives and the system status issue.
The County should either begin staffing its own transporting ambulances or make their squads truly first assestment and treatment units and allow the private ambulances to use medics for 911 responses and transports. Holding the monopoly on ALS care while depending on the privates for response and transport via BLS units is stupid beyond the pale.
Thank God no one reads the site, or I'd have a hundred idiot EMTs and even more idiot firefighters bitching at me in ungrammatical sentences with dozens of misspellings.
Unlike LA City and (a few smaller municipalities) that use their own ALS and BLS ambulances to transport medical patients, the County sends two-man paramedic squads--just like in the 1970s show "Emergency!". Private ambulances respond to 911 calls but they're staffed with two EMTs who assist the fire medics with patient care. The fire-medic then hops onto the private ambulance and transports to the hospital with the EMTs.
This is a particularly stupid system for a variety of reasons. First, the fire department has to separately alert the ambulance dispatchers on any medical call. This causes a delay right from the start of the 911 process.
Second, the delay is compounded by the private companies finding the closest ambulance that's sitting on some street corner and then sending the ambulance to the call. Invariably, the fire station that is sending the engine and squad is closer to the call, often by miles. Once the ambulance has been dispatched from its street corner, then another ambulance is either dispatched to the original street corner, or will sit at its assigned location and wait for the next call, which could be any distance away.
In the ambulance industry, this is known as "system-status mangement." Not only is it a complicated system developed by mostly moronic people that work at big companies like AMR (and even more moronic people who work at smaller companies), but it makes for grumpy EMT's who are stuffed into the front of ambulances driving around aimlessly or sitting in the parking lots of 7-Eleven's.
Even the casual scanner listener will often hear LA County fire captains and medics requesting "AMR's ETA" over the radio. Partly, the Fire guys are pissed that they're on a medical call, but they're also pissed that sick people have to wait for an ambulance while they've been on scene for many minutes providing care.
While AMR and others take response times very seriously because they're financially and contractually obligated to respond to calls in a certain amount of time, individual EMTs have less incentive. Mostly because they're going to get on scene and likely be treated like total shit by both the medics and the firefighters. Also, they're EMT's, so medically, they can't do shit. Often, they're also pissed because 95% of them are trying to/have tried to get hired by a fire department and are either in the middle of the long, long, long process, or have already been rejected.
Then, they're gonna carry the patient around on the stretcher while the (extremely strong and fit) fire guys sit around or scurry back to the engine. Granted, LA City's system isn't flawless. Often, busy periods leave ambulances scrambling across town (especially in South LA and the Valley), but non-ambulance ALS resources can often be paired with a BLS transport unit and that solves the issue. LAFD has done a great job of flooding the districts with FIRE STATION-BASED ambulances and paramedics on engines allowing for great flexibility.
The LA County Board of Supervisors a few weeks ago broke AMR's monopoly on ambulance transport in the county. This is both good and bad:
Good = AMR is shitty company. Period. In LA County where they primarily do non-emergency transport work and BLS 911 operations, they suffer from the complacency as the industry leader. In other parts of the country--and even California--AMR paramedics are the primary 911 responders. There are highly competent and experienced paramedics within those operations that provide first rate care. The company, however at the managerial level, totally sucks. And the last thing I want to hear is a defense of AMR from anyone. They're a unit of a large and poorly performing public company. The bottom line is stock price and return on investment to the shareholder. That is their motivation. They treat their employees like shit, and are lucky to have exclusive 911 contracts in many markets that provide employment for some excellent EMS providers. Paramedics and EMTs in a number of locations are even LUCKIER to have strong unions that deal extremely well with AMR.
In LA County, however, since top-line care is mostly provided by the fire departments, AMR cannot hide behind the good medicine and competence of its paramedics. It's all about the dollars in LA County. As for the smaller companies like Schaefer, Care and Westmed, it's a mixed bag. They now get wider leeway to play with the big boys, but suffer the same evils from barely competent EMTs, greedy executives and the system status issue.
The County should either begin staffing its own transporting ambulances or make their squads truly first assestment and treatment units and allow the private ambulances to use medics for 911 responses and transports. Holding the monopoly on ALS care while depending on the privates for response and transport via BLS units is stupid beyond the pale.
Thank God no one reads the site, or I'd have a hundred idiot EMTs and even more idiot firefighters bitching at me in ungrammatical sentences with dozens of misspellings.
Living in Beverly Hills....
So after years of rolling in the modified Chevy Tahoe's/Suburban's, the Beverly Hills PD last summer starting phasing in the Crown Vic's for the first time in a long time. I remember the old 1980s Crown Vics and the Chevy Impala's the department used to have (a la Beverly Hills Cop), but for the longest time they've been rolling in the SUVs.
Good things about the SUV = easy to spot the cops when driving through the city.
Bad things about the SUV = light bar scheme sucked--way too low profile and almost impossible to see from the rear. To alleviate the issue, they installed blue and yellow flashers in the upper part of the rear windows. Good idea on the lights. Bad idea on tinting those windows making the lights nearly invisible during the day.
But the new Crown Vics are sweet. Decent paint scheme, nice new LED low-pro light bars, tricked out strobe packages. Awesome flat-screen MDTs and some sort of crazy touch screen MDT or mini computer mounted to the facing the driver. Dont exactly know what it is.
Biggest problem: Cops are now tough to spot in traffic.
No good BHPD calls recently that I've heard.
As for the BHFD, as I've mentioned before, the new frontline engines in the fleet are sweet. And the new USAR is so over the top, it's ridiculous. Now, they just need to replace the aged Freightliner ambulances with the UGLY slanting patient compartments. Culver City has some sweet new Freightliner's that would be good for BH. Also, BH should number the rescues on the exterior like every other FD in the country.
That's what it's like, living in Beverly Hills.
Good things about the SUV = easy to spot the cops when driving through the city.
Bad things about the SUV = light bar scheme sucked--way too low profile and almost impossible to see from the rear. To alleviate the issue, they installed blue and yellow flashers in the upper part of the rear windows. Good idea on the lights. Bad idea on tinting those windows making the lights nearly invisible during the day.
But the new Crown Vics are sweet. Decent paint scheme, nice new LED low-pro light bars, tricked out strobe packages. Awesome flat-screen MDTs and some sort of crazy touch screen MDT or mini computer mounted to the facing the driver. Dont exactly know what it is.
Biggest problem: Cops are now tough to spot in traffic.
No good BHPD calls recently that I've heard.
As for the BHFD, as I've mentioned before, the new frontline engines in the fleet are sweet. And the new USAR is so over the top, it's ridiculous. Now, they just need to replace the aged Freightliner ambulances with the UGLY slanting patient compartments. Culver City has some sweet new Freightliner's that would be good for BH. Also, BH should number the rescues on the exterior like every other FD in the country.
That's what it's like, living in Beverly Hills.
No Excuses
I'm just not going to make any excuses for my extended absences anymore. Life's busy. I'm lazy. Ta-da.
But there's been some decent scanning lately.
--Turned on the Bearcat296D a few weeks ago at the tail-end of the LA Marathon to hear LAFD units going on what turned out to be a retired LAPD detective who had a sudden cardiac arrest at Mile 22 of the marathon. They had a rescue, the golf-cartesque "Gator" and a bunch of other units on scene. I think the LAFD's medical director (a self-important doctor that plays paramedic whenever he can) might have actually been first on scene. Either way, sudden cardiac arrest is never good, especially during a marathon. Patient was transported but was pretty much DRT (dead right there). Kinda crazy to turn on the scanner at the exact moment the call went down!
--Heard bits and pieces of the major LAFD deployment a few weekends ago for the immigration protests downtown. A few hundred thousand folks showed up (which is about a few hundred thousand more than anyone figured) and the LAFD was scrambling all afternoon for a ton of total bullshit calls. But things did get sorta hairy down there at one point and it sounded like the LAPD was going to have a riot on their hands. But a few more men in blue with riot gear seemed to quell the masses.
--Yesterday, LAFD had a good swiftwater call when two teenage girls in the Valley got swept down a flood control channel. The most amazing (and impressive) thing about the LAFD is its ability to swarm incidents with resources. LACoFD has a ton of units but they're so spread out that the density and rapid response of units always takes longer than the City's. Heard the huge Valley dispatch go out, but by the time units got rolling, it sounded like Light Force 89 may have completed the rescue. Didn't hear the details on the scanner, but judging by the congratulations all around, sounds pretty spectacular. LAFD is VERY good at swiftwater stuff.
But there's been some decent scanning lately.
--Turned on the Bearcat296D a few weeks ago at the tail-end of the LA Marathon to hear LAFD units going on what turned out to be a retired LAPD detective who had a sudden cardiac arrest at Mile 22 of the marathon. They had a rescue, the golf-cartesque "Gator" and a bunch of other units on scene. I think the LAFD's medical director (a self-important doctor that plays paramedic whenever he can) might have actually been first on scene. Either way, sudden cardiac arrest is never good, especially during a marathon. Patient was transported but was pretty much DRT (dead right there). Kinda crazy to turn on the scanner at the exact moment the call went down!
--Heard bits and pieces of the major LAFD deployment a few weekends ago for the immigration protests downtown. A few hundred thousand folks showed up (which is about a few hundred thousand more than anyone figured) and the LAFD was scrambling all afternoon for a ton of total bullshit calls. But things did get sorta hairy down there at one point and it sounded like the LAPD was going to have a riot on their hands. But a few more men in blue with riot gear seemed to quell the masses.
--Yesterday, LAFD had a good swiftwater call when two teenage girls in the Valley got swept down a flood control channel. The most amazing (and impressive) thing about the LAFD is its ability to swarm incidents with resources. LACoFD has a ton of units but they're so spread out that the density and rapid response of units always takes longer than the City's. Heard the huge Valley dispatch go out, but by the time units got rolling, it sounded like Light Force 89 may have completed the rescue. Didn't hear the details on the scanner, but judging by the congratulations all around, sounds pretty spectacular. LAFD is VERY good at swiftwater stuff.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Wee Hours
Up late last night.....puttering around. Finally crashed about 3 a.m. (way too late, big mistake, tired today, etc. etc.) but not before I got a good LAPD caper followed by a quick-hit LAFD structure fire and a near-pursuit in Beverly Hills.
--About 2 a.m. a Devonshire Division two-man patrol unit picked up a pursuit. Can't really remember what the dude was wanted for (probably a stolen car: Code 37). He bolted and the primary unit lost sight of him, but luck and circumstance had the Air Unit overhead the whole time; so the helo never lost him.
Suspect takes off south and west towards West Valley Division and then TC's in a residential area. He foot bails and the Air Unit directs officers to a bunch of yards he was running through. The air unit officer starts to lose his cool as one officer starts fighting with the suspect in the yard and the other cops can't seem to find the right yard, even though the helo is lighting the place up like a sports stadium. At one point the dispatcher puts out the dreaded and rare "Help" call, but the dude was eventually cuffed by probably no less than a dozen cops.
Good pursuit and collar.
--A few minutes later over near South Boyle Heights, Engine 25 caught a structure fire. Station 25 is a pretty quiet house, but they caught a good burner with at least one exposure. Units from Battalion 2 got in there on a first alarm assignment and got a pretty quick knockdown--I think. I actually went to sleep in the middle of it. But not before locking into BHPD for a few minutes to hear the routine slew of late night traffic stops that always seem to focus on out-of-state plates.
--Right before I drifted off, however, a BHPD sergeant almost got the rare BHPD pursuit, when he lit up a car on 3rd Street heading out of the city. He called the T-Stop at 3rd & Sweetzer, well into LAPD Wilshire Division territory. Then he advised a "failure to yield" (precusor to full-blown pursuit). Vehicle finally pulled at 3rd & Crescent Heights, which is way deep into LA. A few BHPD backup units blasted over there because the car had at least one warrant (sounded felony), but they never requested LAPD. I'm betting someone went to jail, but I turned it off.
--About 2 a.m. a Devonshire Division two-man patrol unit picked up a pursuit. Can't really remember what the dude was wanted for (probably a stolen car: Code 37). He bolted and the primary unit lost sight of him, but luck and circumstance had the Air Unit overhead the whole time; so the helo never lost him.
Suspect takes off south and west towards West Valley Division and then TC's in a residential area. He foot bails and the Air Unit directs officers to a bunch of yards he was running through. The air unit officer starts to lose his cool as one officer starts fighting with the suspect in the yard and the other cops can't seem to find the right yard, even though the helo is lighting the place up like a sports stadium. At one point the dispatcher puts out the dreaded and rare "Help" call, but the dude was eventually cuffed by probably no less than a dozen cops.
Good pursuit and collar.
--A few minutes later over near South Boyle Heights, Engine 25 caught a structure fire. Station 25 is a pretty quiet house, but they caught a good burner with at least one exposure. Units from Battalion 2 got in there on a first alarm assignment and got a pretty quick knockdown--I think. I actually went to sleep in the middle of it. But not before locking into BHPD for a few minutes to hear the routine slew of late night traffic stops that always seem to focus on out-of-state plates.
--Right before I drifted off, however, a BHPD sergeant almost got the rare BHPD pursuit, when he lit up a car on 3rd Street heading out of the city. He called the T-Stop at 3rd & Sweetzer, well into LAPD Wilshire Division territory. Then he advised a "failure to yield" (precusor to full-blown pursuit). Vehicle finally pulled at 3rd & Crescent Heights, which is way deep into LA. A few BHPD backup units blasted over there because the car had at least one warrant (sounded felony), but they never requested LAPD. I'm betting someone went to jail, but I turned it off.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Been a long time...been a very, very, very long time
So I've been gone for a bit. Causes = New girlfriend and lots of typing at the job, which dampens my enthusiasm for typing when I get home from work. It's kept me away from the scanner for long stretches as well.
But now, I've got the old Sportcat 180 at work (part of our "disaster preparedness"!!!!). Sitting on the 15th floor of a Wilshire Boulevard hi-rise gives the old Sportcat good range and it's always plugged in, so no worries on the tired battery front--at least until we have the "Big One" and the power gets knocked out and my scanner dies after three hours or so.
A couple of fairly recent Scannerland highlights:
--Jet Blue flight 292 was scanned live from work. Weirdly, though we're 15 stories up with a clear wraparound view of 3/4 of the L.A. skyline, including LAX, the Sportcat wouldn't pick up any LAX VHF air traffic.
So, I made do with LAFD Tac and OCD 9 freqs where the ops were ongoing. LAFD gave out some bad info to their units regarding ETA of the crippled jet's landing, but otherwise it was pretty easy to get a good picture of what was going down. The live helo shots from local TV were pretty damn impressive too. LAFD had some crazy unit assignments at LAX for that one. Saw E37 (Westwood), E112 (San Pedro) on the tarmac and a few other units playing way out of their local sandboxes.
--Sitting at dinner at a hotel on Wilshire Boulevard the other night smack in the middle of Beverly Hills. Saw BHFD Engine 1 and Truck 4 hauling ass making right turns (west) from Rodeo Dr. onto Wilshire. Followed shortly by LACoFD Engine and Squad 7 (usually added as Automatic Aid on BHFD structure fire responses). Since they had made it into the center of BH from their station on San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood, it meant that there was a working incident since BHFD hadn't yet canceled them.
A few minutes later saw LAFD E108 (Coldwater Canyon/Mulholland Drive; a bigtime LAFD "retirement house") making the right turn onto Wilshire from Rodeo as well. That's a good 10 minute Code 3 response for old E108 so now I KNEW BHFD had a good fire going, and I was stuck at dinner. BH gets less than 10 decent fires a year, and probably about 3 GOOD rippers annually, and I was missing the Big one. Good dinner though.
BHFD clearly did a crew recall for off-duty personnel, because their Ford utility pickup truck soon cruised by Code 3 with the extremely expensive and amazingly awesome new USAR Rig right behind them cruising down Wilshire, lights ablaze.
Anyway, got home a few minutes later and got out of the car to hear the buzzing sound of news choppers hovering somewhere not too far away. Made it to my apartment in time for the 11 p.m. local news: Indeed an old 3-story center-hall apartment building in the charming Beverly Hills Spanish-style lit up about a mile from my house down Olympic Boulevard at McCarthy Drive. TV footage showed the 3rd floor and attic fully involved venting through much of the roof on initial arrival. No injuries, though a few dogs and cats didn't make it out.
Most amazing fact: LAFD sent a Major Emergency response (16 companies!!!), which in itself is a big fire with good scanning, not to mention the mutual aid component etc. It's my equivalent of good scanner porn: Think porn with video instead of still pics.
There's always next time. I just hope next time isnt my 1930's style Spanish apartment building.
And, as I always say, I'll try to be a bit more consistent on here for my two or three readers.
But now, I've got the old Sportcat 180 at work (part of our "disaster preparedness"!!!!). Sitting on the 15th floor of a Wilshire Boulevard hi-rise gives the old Sportcat good range and it's always plugged in, so no worries on the tired battery front--at least until we have the "Big One" and the power gets knocked out and my scanner dies after three hours or so.
A couple of fairly recent Scannerland highlights:
--Jet Blue flight 292 was scanned live from work. Weirdly, though we're 15 stories up with a clear wraparound view of 3/4 of the L.A. skyline, including LAX, the Sportcat wouldn't pick up any LAX VHF air traffic.
So, I made do with LAFD Tac and OCD 9 freqs where the ops were ongoing. LAFD gave out some bad info to their units regarding ETA of the crippled jet's landing, but otherwise it was pretty easy to get a good picture of what was going down. The live helo shots from local TV were pretty damn impressive too. LAFD had some crazy unit assignments at LAX for that one. Saw E37 (Westwood), E112 (San Pedro) on the tarmac and a few other units playing way out of their local sandboxes.
--Sitting at dinner at a hotel on Wilshire Boulevard the other night smack in the middle of Beverly Hills. Saw BHFD Engine 1 and Truck 4 hauling ass making right turns (west) from Rodeo Dr. onto Wilshire. Followed shortly by LACoFD Engine and Squad 7 (usually added as Automatic Aid on BHFD structure fire responses). Since they had made it into the center of BH from their station on San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood, it meant that there was a working incident since BHFD hadn't yet canceled them.
A few minutes later saw LAFD E108 (Coldwater Canyon/Mulholland Drive; a bigtime LAFD "retirement house") making the right turn onto Wilshire from Rodeo as well. That's a good 10 minute Code 3 response for old E108 so now I KNEW BHFD had a good fire going, and I was stuck at dinner. BH gets less than 10 decent fires a year, and probably about 3 GOOD rippers annually, and I was missing the Big one. Good dinner though.
BHFD clearly did a crew recall for off-duty personnel, because their Ford utility pickup truck soon cruised by Code 3 with the extremely expensive and amazingly awesome new USAR Rig right behind them cruising down Wilshire, lights ablaze.
Anyway, got home a few minutes later and got out of the car to hear the buzzing sound of news choppers hovering somewhere not too far away. Made it to my apartment in time for the 11 p.m. local news: Indeed an old 3-story center-hall apartment building in the charming Beverly Hills Spanish-style lit up about a mile from my house down Olympic Boulevard at McCarthy Drive. TV footage showed the 3rd floor and attic fully involved venting through much of the roof on initial arrival. No injuries, though a few dogs and cats didn't make it out.
Most amazing fact: LAFD sent a Major Emergency response (16 companies!!!), which in itself is a big fire with good scanning, not to mention the mutual aid component etc. It's my equivalent of good scanner porn: Think porn with video instead of still pics.
There's always next time. I just hope next time isnt my 1930's style Spanish apartment building.
And, as I always say, I'll try to be a bit more consistent on here for my two or three readers.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Westwood Fake Bomb Scare
Caught it on LAPD West Bureau Tac 1 around 2330 hours. Randomly, I was cruising westbound on Wilshire through Westwood about 45 mins before when I saw an LAPD two-man car going eastbound code 3.
Apparently, they had a suspicious device near Wilshire and Comstock outside a hotel near the intersection. They were operating on Tac 1, closing Wilshire and blocking various streets. Basic cars (8A59) and extra and reserve units (8Z3, 8X98) were evacuating people from the surrounding high dollar apartment hi-rises. Not a great place for a high-powered bomb to light off around midnight. Bomb squad rolled and I heard some intriguing traffic about "two vans parked near the hotel that were used to transport Saudi Arabian diplomats to the hotel." The device must have been near the vans. It was all Code 4 about an hour after it started prior to the Bomb Squad's arrival.
Apparently, they had a suspicious device near Wilshire and Comstock outside a hotel near the intersection. They were operating on Tac 1, closing Wilshire and blocking various streets. Basic cars (8A59) and extra and reserve units (8Z3, 8X98) were evacuating people from the surrounding high dollar apartment hi-rises. Not a great place for a high-powered bomb to light off around midnight. Bomb squad rolled and I heard some intriguing traffic about "two vans parked near the hotel that were used to transport Saudi Arabian diplomats to the hotel." The device must have been near the vans. It was all Code 4 about an hour after it started prior to the Bomb Squad's arrival.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Veering Off Topic
It's been nearly three months since I published my last post. In that time, I've listened to a lot of scanning and just haven't had the energy to post. My Bearcat BC296D (Trunktracker IV) kicks ass. I just got around to programming the L.A. County Fire (with Long Beach Fire, and assorted Marine VHF frequencies thrown in for good measure) into the unit.
In general--now that I'm digital--I think the best way to cover the parts of the Southland that I live in, and care about, is to do something similar to the following.
I live west of La Cienega Boulevard, but east of the ocean. North of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, but south of Mulholland. So that's my immediate area of interest. It extends beyond that pretty much to the LA County line (at speaking in terms of fire departments) and pretty much limited to the LAPD, CHP and Beverly Hills on the law enforcement side of things. I learned long ago that listening to the LA County Sheriff's frequency is an exercise in frustration.
That said, here's how I scan most effectively: Bank 1 is all of the LAPD frequencies, grouped by bureau. Since I live in West Bureau, I start with West LA base, followed by the simplex and continue through the divisions thusly. I include the bureau tac frequencies at the end of the group. So on and so forth all the way through most of the frequencies found on the LAPD ASTRO (portable) radios. I then lock out the entire bank.
Bank 2 includes (at this point at least) only a few freqs. They include the Beverly Hills PD, and immediate area CHP freqs. The CHP is a tough listen because the base and mobile freqs for specific divisions are separate. From where I live, the base freq (CHP PINK) comes in fairly clear, but I almost never hear the mobiles unless it's a very calm, clear night, or they're super-close. I keep that bank on scan with a few of the tacs locked out (l/o).
Bank 3 is closest to my heart: It's the LAFD freqs in ascending order as programmed on their radios. I also have Beverly Hills and Santa Monica Fire's freqs in the bank and keep them unlocked as well. As for the LAFD, I keep the main administrative and ancillary channels l/o but leave the primary dispatch channels and all of the fireground tacs unlocked. Bank 3 remains on perma-scan as well.
As of this past Sunday, I added (through the magic of programming the scanner via computer= great invention) the cumbersome LA County Fire freqs. Until about two years ago, I avoided LACoFD scanning like the plague. It's totally different than LA City's SOP and takes a bit of getting used to. But once you've got it wired, in some ways it's crisper than the LAFD's traffic, but never as encompassing or as informative. However, it's pretty easy to get a quick handle on the large scope of incidents going on at any one time in the country's largest county.
Before I transitioned to the new digitial scanner (and thus, reopening the LAPD option) I also regularly monitored Gerber Ambulance (transporting for Santa Monica FD and AMR, tranporting for LACoFD). But that's just too much chatter for me to handle these days.
As for daily utility listening. I have also added the LAPD Air/K9 (Hotshots) freq in Bank 3 along with the LAFD. That way I hear the LAPD hotshots go down and if something sounds interesting, I quickly unlock Bank 1 and go directly to the LAPD freq that's hosting the incident. This, of course, limits my listening to that particular frequency at that time, because l/o all the other freqs on Bank 1 would be a serious pain in the ass. Though I am often tempted to l/o the Hotshots freq (and have for months at a time in the past) because of the burdensome nature of lots of the LAPD dispatches (missing persons descriptions and long descriptions of suspects breaking into vehicles, etc.) I have made an effort to keep it unlocked. The great LAPD calls, especially the pursuits and other wackiness are worth wading through the bullshit Code 2 calls and impossibly long dispatches. The only drawback: It's a great way to miss a good fire dispatch or size-up on another frequency while the scanner is stuck on Hotshots.
I am debating whether or not I want to consolidate some freqs into Bank 5 where I would simply duplicate the primary freqs that I already listen to over 3 banks. But to do that, then I would have to switch back to the particular freq or bank for specific incident listening.
If I were to do it this would be the ideal setup:
--LAPD Air/K9 Hotshots (also totally doable on an analog scanner at 154.830)
--LAFD OCD 4 (City EMS Dispatch)
--LAFD OCD 7 (City Fire Dispatch)
--LAFD OCD 8 (Valley EMS/Fire Dispatch)
--LAFD OCD 9 (Major Incident Dispatch, i.e. Brush, Hi-Rise, MCI et. al)
--LACoFD Blue 8 (Countywide Dispatch)
--Beverly Hills PD Dispatch
--Beverly Hills Fire Dispatch
--CHP West LA Base (CHP Pink)
That would provide a good enough overview to chase the biggest Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement incidents (minus the LASO, but those incidents can be picked through clever deduction of LACoFD dispatches).
And that, my friends, is a good overiew of how I scan.
In general--now that I'm digital--I think the best way to cover the parts of the Southland that I live in, and care about, is to do something similar to the following.
I live west of La Cienega Boulevard, but east of the ocean. North of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, but south of Mulholland. So that's my immediate area of interest. It extends beyond that pretty much to the LA County line (at speaking in terms of fire departments) and pretty much limited to the LAPD, CHP and Beverly Hills on the law enforcement side of things. I learned long ago that listening to the LA County Sheriff's frequency is an exercise in frustration.
That said, here's how I scan most effectively: Bank 1 is all of the LAPD frequencies, grouped by bureau. Since I live in West Bureau, I start with West LA base, followed by the simplex and continue through the divisions thusly. I include the bureau tac frequencies at the end of the group. So on and so forth all the way through most of the frequencies found on the LAPD ASTRO (portable) radios. I then lock out the entire bank.
Bank 2 includes (at this point at least) only a few freqs. They include the Beverly Hills PD, and immediate area CHP freqs. The CHP is a tough listen because the base and mobile freqs for specific divisions are separate. From where I live, the base freq (CHP PINK) comes in fairly clear, but I almost never hear the mobiles unless it's a very calm, clear night, or they're super-close. I keep that bank on scan with a few of the tacs locked out (l/o).
Bank 3 is closest to my heart: It's the LAFD freqs in ascending order as programmed on their radios. I also have Beverly Hills and Santa Monica Fire's freqs in the bank and keep them unlocked as well. As for the LAFD, I keep the main administrative and ancillary channels l/o but leave the primary dispatch channels and all of the fireground tacs unlocked. Bank 3 remains on perma-scan as well.
As of this past Sunday, I added (through the magic of programming the scanner via computer= great invention) the cumbersome LA County Fire freqs. Until about two years ago, I avoided LACoFD scanning like the plague. It's totally different than LA City's SOP and takes a bit of getting used to. But once you've got it wired, in some ways it's crisper than the LAFD's traffic, but never as encompassing or as informative. However, it's pretty easy to get a quick handle on the large scope of incidents going on at any one time in the country's largest county.
Before I transitioned to the new digitial scanner (and thus, reopening the LAPD option) I also regularly monitored Gerber Ambulance (transporting for Santa Monica FD and AMR, tranporting for LACoFD). But that's just too much chatter for me to handle these days.
As for daily utility listening. I have also added the LAPD Air/K9 (Hotshots) freq in Bank 3 along with the LAFD. That way I hear the LAPD hotshots go down and if something sounds interesting, I quickly unlock Bank 1 and go directly to the LAPD freq that's hosting the incident. This, of course, limits my listening to that particular frequency at that time, because l/o all the other freqs on Bank 1 would be a serious pain in the ass. Though I am often tempted to l/o the Hotshots freq (and have for months at a time in the past) because of the burdensome nature of lots of the LAPD dispatches (missing persons descriptions and long descriptions of suspects breaking into vehicles, etc.) I have made an effort to keep it unlocked. The great LAPD calls, especially the pursuits and other wackiness are worth wading through the bullshit Code 2 calls and impossibly long dispatches. The only drawback: It's a great way to miss a good fire dispatch or size-up on another frequency while the scanner is stuck on Hotshots.
I am debating whether or not I want to consolidate some freqs into Bank 5 where I would simply duplicate the primary freqs that I already listen to over 3 banks. But to do that, then I would have to switch back to the particular freq or bank for specific incident listening.
If I were to do it this would be the ideal setup:
--LAPD Air/K9 Hotshots (also totally doable on an analog scanner at 154.830)
--LAFD OCD 4 (City EMS Dispatch)
--LAFD OCD 7 (City Fire Dispatch)
--LAFD OCD 8 (Valley EMS/Fire Dispatch)
--LAFD OCD 9 (Major Incident Dispatch, i.e. Brush, Hi-Rise, MCI et. al)
--LACoFD Blue 8 (Countywide Dispatch)
--Beverly Hills PD Dispatch
--Beverly Hills Fire Dispatch
--CHP West LA Base (CHP Pink)
That would provide a good enough overview to chase the biggest Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement incidents (minus the LASO, but those incidents can be picked through clever deduction of LACoFD dispatches).
And that, my friends, is a good overiew of how I scan.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
The Joys of Scanning Part 1
In what I hope will be a continuous feature, I will sometimes spot post when I am engrossed in Scannerland and something that makes it all worth it goes down. Now that I once again have access to the LAPD's vast catalog of frequencies, it will happen more often than before.
Example: Last night about midnight: Patrol officers in the fine division of Hollywood began following a vehicle which turned out to be stolen. Though proper procedure dictactes a helicopter above and at least one back-up unit behind before affecting a traffic stop, sometimes the suspects just won't wait.
These guys certainly didn't and the two suspects fled in the vehicle initiating a short pursuit, which ended a mere two minutes later when the gentlemen crashed into a vehicle in cross-traffic and then lodged the stolen car against a light post. The inevitable and breathless radio transmissions followed with the LAPD officer asking for two ambulances: one for the unconcious driver of the suspect vehicle and a second for the innocent bystander who was also KO'd.
That, my friends, is a down and dirty Joy of Scanning moment, and it's why scanning is great. Because you don't have to be a cop or a suspect to enjoy the benefits of being both.
Link of the moment: Maui County EMS, Maui Hawaii. Not technically a SoCal site, but courtesy of DaveK, working hard and hardly working in Hawaii.
NOTE: Fun/Lame images will be added shortly.
Example: Last night about midnight: Patrol officers in the fine division of Hollywood began following a vehicle which turned out to be stolen. Though proper procedure dictactes a helicopter above and at least one back-up unit behind before affecting a traffic stop, sometimes the suspects just won't wait.
These guys certainly didn't and the two suspects fled in the vehicle initiating a short pursuit, which ended a mere two minutes later when the gentlemen crashed into a vehicle in cross-traffic and then lodged the stolen car against a light post. The inevitable and breathless radio transmissions followed with the LAPD officer asking for two ambulances: one for the unconcious driver of the suspect vehicle and a second for the innocent bystander who was also KO'd.
That, my friends, is a down and dirty Joy of Scanning moment, and it's why scanning is great. Because you don't have to be a cop or a suspect to enjoy the benefits of being both.
Link of the moment: Maui County EMS, Maui Hawaii. Not technically a SoCal site, but courtesy of DaveK, working hard and hardly working in Hawaii.
NOTE: Fun/Lame images will be added shortly.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
First Links
In celebration of my inaugural post, I have added two links to the right. The first is the most comprehensive frequency site I've ever encountered: Freqofnature.com. It's run by a guy named Tracy Justus up in Ventura County. Sometimes it has formatting problems if you're running Internet Exploder, but try to close your "Favorites" tab before you load the site. (or, alternatively, stop being retarded and download Mozilla's Firefox. Word.)
The second, is the LAPD's official site: lapd.org. It's actually pretty comprehensive, and the section on each division is worth checking out. Tons of detail on the department, and in each divison, it provides summaries of crime in the particular areas written by the divisons' Senior Lead Officers. The "SLOs" (pronounced SLOWS) are senior officers who are assigned to liasion with particular neighborhoods in each division. You wont be able to hear them called SLOs on the LAPD's radio traffic, but the LAPD's site identifies them by their unit identifier, so if you were really diligent, and really gave a shit, you could correlate the two.
Later, however, I'll devote an entire post to the LAPD's radio system and why I spent $600 to buy a new scanner just to hear them. And then I'll tell you about my love/hate relationship with the LAPD's scanner traffic.
The second, is the LAPD's official site: lapd.org. It's actually pretty comprehensive, and the section on each division is worth checking out. Tons of detail on the department, and in each divison, it provides summaries of crime in the particular areas written by the divisons' Senior Lead Officers. The "SLOs" (pronounced SLOWS) are senior officers who are assigned to liasion with particular neighborhoods in each division. You wont be able to hear them called SLOs on the LAPD's radio traffic, but the LAPD's site identifies them by their unit identifier, so if you were really diligent, and really gave a shit, you could correlate the two.
Later, however, I'll devote an entire post to the LAPD's radio system and why I spent $600 to buy a new scanner just to hear them. And then I'll tell you about my love/hate relationship with the LAPD's scanner traffic.
Code 6 Charles
So,
I've recently decided the internet is not a "fad" as I've long
believed. I see the tempest of blogs swirling around me and I finally
gave in.
I have nothing at all to say. I do, however, listen to my scanner a
shitload. It has tons to say.
So, this is my site, Code6Charles.com.
I have no affiliation with any public safety organization in Los Angeles City or County. I now live my workdays in a world far removed from Scannerland, but I have long been fascinated (and at times in my life intimately involved in public safety) with the lights and siren world. This site is an attempt to shed light, comment upon, make fun of, pass judgement and generally chronicle the comings and goings I hear on my scanner.
When I'm enjoying the relative solace of my home, I listen to my scanner much as others relax to the background noise of a CD or the hum of a television. At home, this provides me with between one and four hours of listening on any given day. I often fall asleep with the scanner buzzing on my bedside table. Pathetic? Maybe. But after about 15 years of listening, much of that in the City of Los Angeles, I think I know my shit.
In fact, I'm listening right now, and it's a pretty quiet night in the City of L.A. LAFD Engine 39 is working a traffic accident in the Van Nuys area where the Captain just requested three additional Basic Life Support Ambulances. Translation: Lots of banged up people, maybe some fake neck/back pain. It gets contagious when people in traffic accidents see other victims complaining of pain and getting the VIP ambulance treatment. Suddenly, the $$$$$ signs flash before their very eyes, and they start feeling the pain....
There are plenty of folks in Southern California who know more about radios, procedures, frequencies, the physics of radio waves and other assorted topics than I do. But I've got a good handle on the big picture, and the small details. And while there are Yahoo Groups, forums, and plenty of frequency database sites, all with message and comment boards attached, I've yet to see a good Scannerland blog. This is my attempt.
I'm a pretty busy guy, so I don't envision posting everyday. But every time I post, I'll add a scanner or public safety-related link to that section. That's the only goal I am setting for myself.
Welcome to Code6Charles.com. Here we go.
I've recently decided the internet is not a "fad" as I've long
believed. I see the tempest of blogs swirling around me and I finally
gave in.
I have nothing at all to say. I do, however, listen to my scanner a
shitload. It has tons to say.
So, this is my site, Code6Charles.com.
I have no affiliation with any public safety organization in Los Angeles City or County. I now live my workdays in a world far removed from Scannerland, but I have long been fascinated (and at times in my life intimately involved in public safety) with the lights and siren world. This site is an attempt to shed light, comment upon, make fun of, pass judgement and generally chronicle the comings and goings I hear on my scanner.
When I'm enjoying the relative solace of my home, I listen to my scanner much as others relax to the background noise of a CD or the hum of a television. At home, this provides me with between one and four hours of listening on any given day. I often fall asleep with the scanner buzzing on my bedside table. Pathetic? Maybe. But after about 15 years of listening, much of that in the City of Los Angeles, I think I know my shit.
In fact, I'm listening right now, and it's a pretty quiet night in the City of L.A. LAFD Engine 39 is working a traffic accident in the Van Nuys area where the Captain just requested three additional Basic Life Support Ambulances. Translation: Lots of banged up people, maybe some fake neck/back pain. It gets contagious when people in traffic accidents see other victims complaining of pain and getting the VIP ambulance treatment. Suddenly, the $$$$$ signs flash before their very eyes, and they start feeling the pain....
There are plenty of folks in Southern California who know more about radios, procedures, frequencies, the physics of radio waves and other assorted topics than I do. But I've got a good handle on the big picture, and the small details. And while there are Yahoo Groups, forums, and plenty of frequency database sites, all with message and comment boards attached, I've yet to see a good Scannerland blog. This is my attempt.
I'm a pretty busy guy, so I don't envision posting everyday. But every time I post, I'll add a scanner or public safety-related link to that section. That's the only goal I am setting for myself.
Welcome to Code6Charles.com. Here we go.
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