Lee County (AL)
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Fire Departments
The City of Auburn FD utilizes the Montgomery Metro Communications Cooperative District (MMCCD) P25 system. Traffic is generally encrypted with the exception of some training operations, and Auburn University special event operations which occur on TG 677. This talkgroup is referred to as "FD EVENT." Following the trend of many other departments around the country, Auburn FD employs automated dispatch. Additionally, Auburn FD maintains the ability to patch traffic to 154.400 as seen fit.
The City of Opelika FD can be found on the Alabama Interoperable Radio System (AIRS) P25 system and is unencrypted. As of August 2024, Opelika FD has switched to an automated dispatch system.
Lee County VFD operations occur on two VHF conventional repeaters. 155.145 covers the east part of the county (100/200/400/500/600 units), while 159.165 serves the west side (700/800 units). These two repeaters are not linked together. That means that traffic carried on one of the repeaters will not be heard on the other repeater. The 159.165 repeater has been observed to, at times, be patched to MMCCD TG 4302. This patch is not always active and must be initiated by Auburn dispatch. Units on each side of the patch are able to communicate with each other.
Lee County Fire Unit Numbers
- 1xx - Smiths Station
- 2xx - Beauregard
- 4xx - Oakbowery
- 5xx - Salem
- 6xx - Beulah
- 7xx - Southwest
- 8xx - Farmville
Additional information is available here.
City of Opelika Fire Stations
- Station 1 (HQ) - 604 Avenue B Opelika, AL 36801
- Station 2 - 1900 Pepperell Parkway Opelika, AL 36801
- Station 3 - 1900 Palin Avenue Opelika, AL 36801
- Station 4 - 200 Lake Condy Road Opelika, AL 36801
Additional information is available here.
City of Auburn Fire Stations
- Station 1 (HQ) - 359 East Magnolia Avenue
- Station 2 - 1520 Shug Jordan Parkway
- Station 3 - 685 Ogletree Road
- Station 4 - 1299 Stoker Street
- Station 5 - 234 Technology Parkway
- Station 6 - 1501 West Farmville Road
Additional information is available here.
Emergency Medical Services
EMS in Lee County is provided by East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC). EAMC's EMS will sometimes go by EAEMS (East Alabama EMS), but mostly goes by ETS (Emergency Transport Service). EAMC is home to a 911 communications center, based out of their station next to the hospital, that handles all medical 911 calls and dispatches for ETS. ETS Dispatch goes by "ETS Base" or just "Base" while dispatching.
ETS uses two channels-- 154.025 in Salem and 155.895 in Opelika. 154.025 is fully repeated, but 155.895 is Simplex/Base-Mobile only. ETS utilizes the tower atop the hospital for the simplex channel. The dispatcher is heard simultaneously on both frequencies. The repeater is not linked to the simplex channel. Units further out on the county's east side typically use the repeater. In contrast, units on the county's west side use Simplex due to reduced repeater coverage and a heavy RF interference observed in the Auburn area on 154.025.
ETS traffic can be patched to MMCCD TG 4304 as needed. Units on both side of the patch are able to communicate with each other. It should be noted that this patch is not always active and is only initiated on an as-needed basis.
ETS also uses SoutherLinc radios while out of radio coverage, or if the radio in the unit is down. The SouthernLincs are not linked to the repeater or simplex. ETS uses a mix of Kenwood TK-790's and NX-5600's inside their units, for handhelds ETS uses Kenwood NX-5200's.
ETS typically operates seven frontline 911 trucks, with one to two transfer trucks during the day on weekdays. ETS runs three 911 units (along with additional transfer trucks) out of Station 1, three 911 trucks out of Station 2, and one 911 truck out of Station 3. Station locations are listed below.
During Auburn University football games, 453.4625 UTAC simplex (previously 155.280) is used for medical operations at Jordan Hare Stadium. EAMC deploys several med-carts in and around the stadium to quickly respond to medical calls and to transport individuals as needed.
Smith's Station Fire Rescue (SSFR) also conducts EMS operations within the Smith's Station Fire Protection District. SSFR operates out of a RAM Vans. SSFR runs only one ambulance on any given day out of Fire Station #5 on Lee Rd 240. ETS and SSFR respond to the same calls in Smith's Station, and whoever is first on scene takes over and maintains patient care, while the second ambulance on scene assists the first ambulance with patient care. SSFR's ambulance goes by "Medic One" and will be found on the Fire East Channel (155.145). Medic One is dispatched by Lee County Dispatch, who goes by "302" when dispatching.
Opelika Fire and Auburn Fire both have ambulances but are only dispatched if ETS is overloaded with 911 calls, or for mass casualty events.
Air Methods (Air Care) provides Med Flight services in Lee County and can be found on AIRS TG 31039. Air Care units have access to a variety of public safety radio systems across the state. When responding to incidents in Auburn, Air Care can communicate with Auburn FD/PD on MMCCD TG 663 (PS EVENT). For calls in Lee County, Air Care typically communicates on the ETS dispatch frequency. Traffic on 155.3475 (Air Ambulances VHF Statewide) and STATE NET has also been noted.
ETS Station Locations
- Station 1 (HQ): 190 E Thomason Cir, Opelika, AL 36801
- Station 2: 1405 Pumphrey Ave, Auburn, AL 36832
- Station 3: 9063 Lee Rd 246, Smith's Station, AL 36877
Law Enforcement
City of Auburn
The City of Auburn PD utilizes the Montgomery Metro Communications Cooperative District (MMCCD) P25 system. All communications are encrypted with the exception of certain special event traffic (usually carried on TG 664 "PD EVENT"), and Auburn University Football Gameday traffic (see below). PD EVENT can be patched to Lee County SO TAC West (152.405) as needed. Units on both sides of the patch are able to commuicate with each other. The Auburn PD dispatch channel (TG 656) is referred to as "PD MAIN." Units utilize Harris XL-185 portables.
Auburn PD provides law enforcement for Auburn University. However, Auburn University also maintains an after-hours security force that patrols campus buildings, as well as a security shuttle service that is available to all students. Both security and the shuttles can be found on two VHF DMR frequencies (154.0325 and 152.435 respectively).
Other Lee County Law Enforcement Agencies
The City of Opelika PD uses the Alabama Interoperable Radio System (AIRS) P25 system. As of August 2024, Opelika PD dispatch is now fully encrypted.
Lee County Sheriff uses a single conventional frequency (155.715) for their primary dispatch operations. This frequency can be patched to MMCCD TG 4300 as necessary. In areas in the western part of the county with poor coverage on the primary dispatch channel, units may switch to 152.405 (TAC West). As mentioned elsewhere, SO TAC West can be patched to MMCCD TG 663, 664 and/or 4301.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency traffic for the Lee County area is carried on 155.445. Dispatch is referred to as "Opelika." This frequency can also be patched to MMCCD TG 1811. It should be noted that this patch is not necessarily always active. Unless the dispatcher manually initiates the patch, if there are no units affiliated on the MMCCD side, the patch will terminate. Additional information about AL LEA can be found here: AL_Highway_Patrol_(AL).
Law Enforcement at Jordan Hare Stadium
On Auburn University football game days, MMCCD TG 663 is typically patched to 152.405 (Lee County Sheriff "TAC West") to allow for the variety of law enforcement agencies within Jordan Hare Stadium to be able to communicate with each other. This talkgroup is referred to as "PS EVENT." Temporary radios are issued to out-of-area units as needed and are returned at the end of the game. Traffic is fully unencrypted. The dispatcher is referred to as "Auburn." TG 663 has been patched to 155.610 in the past, although 152.405 was used exclusively throughout the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons. For the most part, TG 663 is used only by units within the stadium itself, but some traffic for the surrounding areas may be heard, especially for non-Auburn PD units.
TG 664 (PD EVENT) has also been observed to be used in-the-clear at times during gamedays, primarily for coordinating VIP and LE parking prior to kickoff. In addition, TG 658 "TAC 2 (Ch. 3)" is used for on-campus, but outside of the stadium, traffic on gamedays, including UAV operations. TAC 2 is fully encrypted. Gameday public safety traffic has also been noted on 453.4125 and 453.7375 in past years, but the exact usage of these frequencies has not been confirmed.
Law Enforcement routinely deploys a drone for surveillance operations. Thus, civilian drone usage is prohibited around the stadium during gamedays.
Please see the previous sections for information regarding EMS and Fire communications at Jordan Hare Stadium.
Auburn University Gameday Public Safety Operations Summary:
- MMCCD TG 658 - "TAC 2" (Ch. 3) - Law enforcement operations on-campus but outside the stadium (including UAV ops)
- MMCCD TG 663 - "PS EVENT" (Ch. 8) - Law enforcement operations inside the stadium + out-of-area units outside the stadium
- MMCCD TG 664 - "PD EVENT" (Ch. 9) - Pre-game VIP/LE parking operations
- MMCCD TG 677 - "FD EVENT" - Fire operations in and around the stadium
- 152.405 - "SO TAC WEST" - Patch to PS EVENT. Used by units that do not have a MMCCD radio.
- 453.4625 - "UTAC41" - ETS medical operations in and around the stadium (simplex).
- 453.4125 - ? - Unknown public safety operations. Possibly no longer used.
- 453.7375 - ? - Unknown public safety operations. Possibly no longer used.
- 155.280 - ? - Old ETS medical operations. Dropped in favor of UTAC41.
- 155.610 - ? - Old patch to PS EVENT. Dropped in favor of SO TAC WEST.
Auburn University
In addition to the public safety frequencies mentioned in the above sections, Auburn University maintains a wide variety of frequencies for campus operations. Many of these frequencies are listed in the database.
While some of the University's operations occur on conventional frequencies, a number of users can be found on the University's DMR CAP+ system. Users of this system include, but are not limited to: Facilities, dining, student center, event operations, recreation center, lifeguards, and athletic facilities.
Auburn University's transportation service, Tiger Transit, has abandoned its UHF FM conventional frequency in favor of a partially encrypted DMR frequency (461.4125).
In the 2022-23 academic year, The Edge dining hall used FRS/GMRS (462.700) for communications.
Businesses
In downtown Auburn, many businesses were observed to be using FRS/GMRS for communications rather than typical business frequencies. The following businesses can be found on FRS/GMRS: Southeastern Bar, 1716 Bar, and other currently unidentified businesses.