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Saturday, June 01, 2002
Wolf Incident [Source: Freq Of Nature] A vegetation fire broke out in the Los Padres National Forest about 30 miles north of Ojai at around 2:30 p.m. today. There was some confusion as to the location of the fire at first and it was initially dispatched as a vehicle fire. The fire started near Wolf's Grill at the Pine Mountain Inn just south of Pine Mountain on Hwy 33. The fire, called the Wolf Incident, quickly escalated from a estimated 10 acre fire to a 200+ acre fire.  Soon after the initial size up of the fire was complete they discovered a gas pipeline in the area. After calling the gas company responsible for the pipeline they were informed to use caution because the pipeline is a 1940's era 500psi pipeline and to not use bulldozers near it. Several tankers and helicopters were brought in to fight the fire and 4 to 5 tankers and 3 helicopters have been requested for tomorrow. The suspected cause of the fire is an illegal burn and authorities were looking for a suspect in a 30 ft white recreational vehicle. Click here for detailed notes about this incident. Frequencies used on this incident 170.550 Forest Net Repeat 166.675 Air Attack 123.075 Victor (Air-to-air) 170.000 USFS Air to Ground 169.900 Forest Net Direct (SISAR) 170.475 Ground Tac (Ch 3) 123.025 Helicopter Calling 168.200 Operations
Preparing for the worst [Source: Pasadena Star] By Jason Kosareff IRWINDALE - Law enforcement agencies covering the east and west San Gabriel Valley trained Thursday for regionwide emergencies, such as natural disasters or civil unrest in the post-Sept. 11 era. About 100 officers and deputies from 17 law enforcement agencies met at Irwindale Speedway for emergency scenarios that have more poignancy for police since the terrorist attacks of last year. "I think that there is an increased sense of urgency to get this kind of thing done in a fast and efficient manner," said Brenda Hunemiller, Area D coordinator. Area D is an area of mutual police response, meaning officers from one jurisdiction can help other jurisdictions in large-scale incidents. Los Angeles County is divided into areas A through H. But police still have to deal with low-level forms of civil unrest as well, and the annual training day for Area D reflected some of those concerns. Officers and deputies trained with riot batons, less-lethal weapons and gas. The training also included tactics in crowd control, incident command and immediate action scenarios. Some of the training is mandated at state and federal levels. "We're preparing a platoon-level response for any kind of natural disaster or civil unrest," said Covina police Sgt. John Zumwalt, an Area D organizer. For example, a segment of the largely Latino population in Huntington Park often gets out of hand during the World Cup soccer tournament held every four years, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Castorina, mutual aid coordinator for the county. The unrest requires a response from Huntington Park police and surrounding agencies, who typically do not work together. But training together as one of eight areas of mutual aid in Los Angeles County puts each agency on the same page, Castorina said. "They all get together and handle the riot," he said. Unique on Thursday was officers from agencies other than the county Sheriff's Department leading training scenarios. For example, Glendora officers conducted an immediate action drill, where officers rescue an injured comrade from a hostile situation, while West Covina officers drilled on crowd control. "We're trying to get more of a teamwork aspect," Castorina said. "They're all good cops. They all have something to bring to the table." Area D is bordered by Area C, which includes cities to the west of Pasadena, and Area E, which includes cities to the south of Whittier. "We were formed in the first days of World War II as part of the National Defense Program," Hunemiller said, making it 60 years old this year. Copyright © 2002 Los Angeles Daily News
Marine Radio [Source: Freq Of Nature]  UPDATE The Marine Radio page has been updated with current information as well as some cosmetic changes. If you live near a busy harbor, monitoring the Marine Radio frequencies can be exciting and humorous with a mix of distress calls and just plain old dumb mariners. During an outing in Newport Beach/Balboa a vessel called the U.S. Coast Guard emergency channel (16) to report a "reckless" sail boat at the entrance to the harbor. After the U.S. Coast Guard determined that the reporting party was on a motorized vessel and the "reckless" sail boat was under sail the tables turned and the U.S. Coast Guard educated the reporting party that they were at fault since sail boats under sail have the right of way. It didn't surprise me that, after performing a database search on both vessels, the sail boat in question (Isis) was registered for radio communications with the FCC while the reporting vessel (Slap Happy) was not. Later that same day there was a report of two red flares seen off the coast of Catalina Island and a report of a missing vessel (which had ended up forgetting to close their travel plans with the U.S. Coast Guard). On the lighter side, we were entertained by the captains of the Balboa Ferrys playing their usual "Name That Tune" game. Friday, May 31, 2002
Long Beach Radio Frequencies [Source: Freq Of Nature] UPDATE Added Long Beach, CA to the web site including radio frequencies and maps. Thursday, May 30, 2002
So Cal Frequency Database update [Source: Freq Of Nature] UPDATE So Cal Frequency Database has been updated with current FCC records. The database now covers Los Angeles and all it's bordering counties (Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange).
Police departments rely on psychologists [Source: Ventura County Star] By Roberta Freeman Day-to-day stresses take their toll, Simi police chief says Simi Police Sgt. Sterling Johnson remembers Jan. 18, 1999 as if it were yesterday. Johnson, a member of the SWAT team, came to the aid of patrol officers in predawn pursuit of an Apple Valley man who was shooting at them from a battered Mercedes. The driver, Stephen Bayer, 39, a former Simi Valley resident, finally pulled over on Leeds Street and sat in the car for four hours pointing a gun at his head. As daybreak approached, police fired tear gas at Bayer's car and landed a canister inside. Bayer jumped out of the car and, despite commands, raised his gun at two officers standing nearby. Johnson was one of three officers who fired at Bayer and hit him in the head and torso killing him. Witnesses all testified at the time that all the officers involved had reason to feel there was an imminent threat that Bayer would shoot. "It was an exercise we prepare for for 30 years, but you never get used to it," Johnson said. What made matters worse, Johnson said, was that since he was also a trained medic, he had to then rush over and face the damage he had inflicted on the suspect. "You soon find out the hard way that these are very emotionally draining situations," Johnson said. Most law enforcement agencies require all sworn and civilian staff members involved in a crisis situations to meet with psychologists afterward for "critical incident debriefings," as they are technically referred to. Johnson said his sessions with a psychologist contracted by the department after the Bayer incident went a long way to help him sort through the myriad conflicting feelings and self doubt following the incident. "If you try to work it out yourself, it just eats you up inside," Johnson said. Simi Police Chief Randy Adams believes it is also the day-to-day stresses of law enforcement that can take a toll on police officers and their families. "The men and women in law enforcement see things that would be tough to deal with for anybody," Adams said. He has been pushing for a staff psychologist to become a permanent half-time member of the department. Adams said he was grateful to have an initial blessing from the City Council, but a few details have yet to be finalized. The goal of having a psychologist on staff, Adams says, is so that person can establish a relationship and a level of trust with officers, especially those that might be more reticent. "To survive in law enforcement you have to be a little bit detached. You are paid to problem solve," Adams said. While the officers may be good at solving other people's problems, they are sometimes not so good at solving their own. Two Simi Valley police officers committed suicide within the past five years -- Jonathan Gonce in 1998 and Joseph Loniero in 1999. A staff psychologist, Adams reasons, would be able to identify people at risk and attempt an intervention before further tragic incidents occur. Cmdr. Kathy Kemp of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said the department has employed a full-time staff psychologist for the past 20 years. Randolph Nutter recently retired and now contracts with the district in screening applicants for hire. "We have become so confident in the benefits of debriefings, it is mandatory in our departments that everyone go," Kemp said. By requiring all to attend, Kemp said, it takes the pressure from those who might entertain the notion something is wrong with them if they seek counseling. Law enforcement officials stress the specialized problems faced by police require a psychologist with specific skills and background. Simi Police Lt. Rex Jones has been involved in the research and design of how the police department will integrate the psychologist's services in training officers. Jones said the department also plans to conduct training sessions with officers' spouses. Wednesday, May 29, 2002
Remote Scanner Control Protocols [Source: David Hitchner K5DMH of Baton Rouge Area Scanning] UPDATE Remote Scanner Control Protocols for the Uniden BC780XLT have been updated. These are result codes from the MD command for the BC780XLT. For a complete list of commands see Remote Scanner Control Protocols. 13 - EDACS ID Search Mode 14 - EDACS ID Hold Mode 15 - EDACS ID Scan Mode 16 - EDACS ID Manual Mode 17 - LTR ID Search Mode 18 - LTR ID Hold Mode 19 - LTR ID Scan Mode 20 - LTR ID Manual Mode
American Red Cross page update [Source: Freq Of Nature]   UPDATE American Red Cross, added photos and information about their new communication vechicles. |