National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
From Freq Of Nature
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho is the nation's support center for wildland firefighting. Seven federal agencies call NIFC home and work together to coordinate and support wildland fire and disaster operations. These agencies include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, National Weather Service, and Office of Aircraft Services. In addition to these Federal Government offices the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as well as the California Governors Office of Emergency Services work closely with these agencies to fight wildland fires.
Contents |
Links of Interest
National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
United States Forest Service (USFS)
Office of Aircraft Services (OAS)
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
National Weather Service (NOAA)
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF)
California Office of Emergency Services (OES)
Air Guard Frequency
168.625 MHz is the common air guard frequency and is always the last channel of all NIRSC radios. This frequency is used for air-to-air initial contact, emergency ground-to-air communications and initial call, recall and redirection.
National Flight Following
168.650 MHz is the national flight following frequency. In addition to flight following, this frequency is used for general administration of air traffic but is never used for ground-to-ground communications.
VHF-FM Radio Frequencies
National VHF-FM air frequencies are located in group 2 of the NIRSC radios. These frequencies have specific uses and the incident's dispatch center must notify the Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC) for clearance. This is to avoid interference problems.
| Description | Frequency |
|---|---|
| AIR GUARD - Common air guard | 168.625 |
| FLGHT FLW - Flight Following | 168.650 |
| ICS CALLUP - Incident Command System/Smoke Jumpers | 168.550 |
| AIR SAFETY - Air Safety | 172.600 |
| AIR TAC 1 - Air-to-air, Air-to-ground | 166.675 |
| AIR TAC 2 - Air-to-air, Air-to-ground | 169.150 |
| AIR TAC 3 - Air-to-air, Air-to-ground | 169.200 |
| AIR TAC 4 - Air-to-air, Air-to-ground | 170.000 |
| AIR TAC 5 - Air-to-air, Air-to-ground | 167.950 |
VHF-AM (Victor) Radio Frequencies
There are six national AM frequencies that are used for aviation only. Additional frequencies may be used but these are common nation wide in all NIRSC radios.
Contrary to popular belief and older frequency publications, Victor 7 135.975 MHz is no longer included in the USFS radio plan. This frequency was pulled from the radio channel plan several years ago due to interference with other fixed aviation stations. While this frequency is not officially part of this plan it may be worth monitoring in certain areas since it is a common heliport frequency.
| Description | Frequency |
|---|---|
| VICTOR-1 Air-Air Air-Ground Fixed and Rotor aircraft | 122.9250 |
| VICTOR-2 Air-Air Rotor aircraft | 122.9750 |
| VICTOR-3 Air-Air Air-Ground Rotor aircraft | 122.8500 |
| VICTOR-4 Air-Air Air-Ground Rotor aircraft | 122.0250 |
| VICTOR-5 Air-Ground Rotor aircraft | 123.0500 |
| VICTOR-6 Air-Air Air-Ground Rotor aircraft | 123.0750 |
| Air Tankers | 123.9750 |
Air Attack Radio
Air Attack kits are used to supplement communications in contracted fixed-wing aircraft for missions ranging from reconnaissance to complex air attack. The kit can fit between the pilot and co-pilot seats in some aircraft (i.e. Cessna) and slightly behind the front seats in other aircraft. These kits crate an interface between the aircraft's existing audio system/radio and the Air Attack radios. These kits have the capability to operate two Technisonic Industries radios. Two radios can be issued with these kits, a standard VHF-FM and a Project 25 digital radio.
For non-fire related incidents, the VHF-VHF radios could be changed to give the kit a VHF-UHF capability. An external UHF antenna would be necessary on the aircraft.
Logistics
Logistics radios are used for support personnel, e.g., Plans, Logistics, Finance. The radios can operate independently or in conjunction with UHF repeaters. The radios have a toggle switch on top. This is the talk-around switch and, when activated, the radio frequency moves 5 MHz up in frequency on all transmit channels, receive channels are not changed.
Logistic repeaters are a portable battery operated repeater designed for mountainous terrain and/or extended area coverage.
| Description | Frequency |
|---|---|
| L1 Group 2, Ch 2 | 414.6500 |
| L2 Group 2, Ch 4 | 415.4000 |
| L3 Group 2, Ch 6 | 415.5000 |
| L4 Group 1, Ch 1 | 417.3000 |
| L5 Group 1, Ch 2 | 417.3500 |
| L6 Group 1, Ch 3 | 417.5000 |
| L7 Group 1, Ch 4 | 417.8000 |
Command
| Channel | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| USFS Command 1 | 170.9750 | 168.7000 |
| USFS Command 2 | 170.4500 | 168.1000 |
| USFS Command 3 | 170.4250 | 168.0750 |
| USFS Command 4 | 172.2500 | 169.9750 |
| USFS Command 5 | 171.5000 | 169.1750 |
| BLM Command 1 | 168.2750 | 171.7250 |
| BLM Command 2 | 168.5250 | 169.4000 |
| BLM Command 3 | 168.4000 | 168.6125 |
| BLM Command 4 | 169.7500 | 167.1000 |
| BLM Command 5 | 173.8125 | 168.4750 |
Command repeaters use a PL of 110.9, 123.0, 136.5 or 141.3
Tactical
| Channel | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Tac 1 | 168.0500 |
| Tac 2 | 168.2000 |
| Tac 3 | 168.6000 |
| Tac 4 | 173.9125 |
| Tac 5 | 173.9625 |
| Tac 6 | 173.9875 |
UHF Link Frequencies
| Input | Output | |
|---|---|---|
| 411.2250 | 415.2250 | |
| 411.2500 | 415.2500 | |
| 411.2750 | 415.2750 | |
| 411.3250 | 415.3250 | |
| 411.3750 | 415.3750 | |
| 411.4250 | 415.4250 | |
| 411.4500 | 415.4500 | |
| 411.4750 | 415.4750 | |
| 411.5250 | 415.5250 | |
| 411.5500 | 415.5500 | |
| 411.6500 | 415.6500 | |
| 411.7500 | 415.7500 |
