Lee County (AL)
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Contents
Fire Departments
Auburn Fire Department
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.
Prior to switching to MMCCD in 2020, Auburn FD dispatched on 154.400. As on 2024, Auburn FD maintains the ability to patch traffic to 154.400 as seen fit.
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.
Opelika Fire Department
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.
Before switching to AIRS (formerly called AFRN) in 2014, Opelika maintained their own mixed-mode Motorola Type II system.
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.
Lee County Fire Department and Emergency Management
Lee County VFD operations occur on two VHF conventional repeaters. "Fire East" (155.145) covers the east part of the county (100/200/400/500/600 units), while "Fire West" (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 or by a unit affiliating with the talkgroup. Units on each side of the patch are able to communicate with each other. Dispatch is referred to as "302."
The Lee County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), while maintaining their own repeaters, primarily operates on the repeaters of other county agencies. They can often be heard on the Lee County Fire East and Fire West repeaters. Lee County EMA also has the ability to operate on all other systems in the county (conventional, AIRS, and MMCCD) as necessary.
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.
Emergency Medical Services
EAMC Emergency Transport Service
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 on 155.895 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 maintains the ability to communicate directly with VFD units on the Fire East and Fire West repeaters.
ETS also uses SouthernLinc 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.
Opelika Fire and Auburn Fire both have ambulances but are only dispatched if ETS is overloaded with 911 calls, or for mass casualty events.
One may hear "the FED" mentioned by ETS. This refers to EAMC's Freestanding Emergency Department, which is located on Camp Auburn Road in Auburn, AL. "Main" refers to Lee County's primary hospital -- East Alabama Medical Center -- in Opelika.
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
Smith's Station Fire Rescue
Smith's Station Fire Rescue (SSFR) also conducts EMS operations within the Smith's Station Fire Protection District. SSFR operates out of a RAM Van. 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.
Medical Helicopters
Air Methods (Life Flight) 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.
Law Enforcement
Auburn Police Department and Auburn University Security
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 communicate with each other. The Auburn PD dispatch channel (TG 656) is referred to as "PD MAIN." Units utilize Harris XL-185 portables.
Before switching to MMCCD in 2020, Auburn PD dispatched on 155.610. As of 2021, this repeater was still in service and could be patched to MMCCD.
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).
Opelika Police Department
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.
Before switching to AIRS (formerly called AFRN) in 2014, Opelika maintained their own mixed-mode Motorola Type II system.
Lee County Sheriff's Office
Lee County Sheriff uses a single conventional frequency (155.715) for their primary dispatch operations. Despite being a dispatch frequency, this channel is referred to as "TAC East." In 2009, dispatch was switch to TAC East due to coverage issues on the original 154.740 repeater. This change stuck and the channel naming convention was never changed. 155.715 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.
LCSO is currently in the process of obtaining funding to upgrade to the AIRS P25 system. Source
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency
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).
AL LEA units can also operate directly on the Lee County Sheriff repeater (155.715), enabling them to communicate directly with deputies as necessary.
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 licenses for 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 also operates a second UHF CAP+ system at the Gouge Performing Arts Center which covers only a small radius around the facility.
Auburn University's transportation service, Tiger Transit, has abandoned its UHF FM conventional frequency in favor of a DMR frequency (461.4125).
In the 2022-23 academic year, The Edge dining hall used FRS/GMRS (462.7) for communications.
The following frequencies were submitted to the database, but without supporting information. Thus, they have been removed from the database entry. Please submit data such as tones, talkgroups, and channel usage for these frequencies:
- 453.3875 458.6875 WQBL815 RM AU Facilities 2D Facilities DMR
- 453.1625 458.1625 WQBL815 RM AU Logistics 1 Facilities - Logistics 1 FMN
- 453.4375 458.4375 WQBL815 RM AU Logistics 2 Facilities - Logistics 2 FMN
- 453.6875 458.6875 WQBL815 RM AU Logistics 3 Facilities - Logistics 3 FMN
- 460.100 465.100 WQBL815 RM AU Logistics 5 Facilities - Logistics 5 FMN
- 460.6375 465.6375 WQBL815 RM AU Logistics 7 Facilities - Logistics 7 FMN
- 463.875 468.875 WNNG437 RM AU Operations 1 Operations 1 FMN
- 464.425 469.425 WXH257 RM AU Operations 2 Operations 2 FMN
- 464.675 KNGZ381 BM AU Operations 3 Operations 3 FMN
- 154.515 KD37632 M AU EAVES Colism EAVES Coliseum FMN
- 451.775 456.775 WNDU539 RM AU Ag Research Agricultural Research FMN
- 466.6375 WQOA742 M AU Athletic1 Athletics DMR
- 466.7125 WQOA742 M AU Athletic2 Athletics DMR
- 467.0375 WQOA742 M AU Athletic3 Athletics FMN
- 467.1125 WQOA742 M AU Athletic4 Athletics FMN
- 468.7875 WQOA742 M AU Athletic5 Athletics FMN
- 469.7625 WQOA742 M AU Athletic6 Athletics FMN
- 469.775 WQOA742 M AU Athletic7 Athletics FMN
- 462.4125 WQNZ449 M AU Facil 1 Facilities FMN
- 465.0375 WQBL815 M AU Facil 2 Facilities FMN
- 465.100 WQBL815 M AU Facil 3 Facilities/EMS Stadium First Aid FMN
- 465.275 WQBL815 M AU Facil 4 Facilities FMN
- 465.275 WQBL815 M AU Facil 5 Facilities FMN
- 467.4125 WQOE438 M AU Facil 6 Facilities FMN
- 464.975 KB25030 M AU Rec Svc Rec Services FMN
Businesses
A number of Lee County business frequencies are listed in the database. In Auburn, some businesses were observed to be using FRS/GMRS for communications rather than typical business frequencies.
The following are business frequencies that are either FRS/GMRS (and are thus not listed in the database), or are currently unidentified:
462.6125 - 1716 Bar (Auburn)[OLD FREQUENCY]- 462.625 PL 127.3 Hz - Unknown Downtown Business (Auburn) - As of 1/25
- 462.6375 PL 131.8 Hz - Southeastern Bar (Auburn) - As of 2/23
- 462.6625 PL 136.5 Hz - 1716 Bar (Auburn) - As of 1/25
- 462.700 CSQ - The Edge Dining Hall (Auburn University) - As of 2023
- 462.725 CSQ - Unknown Downtown Business (Auburn) - As of 2024
Repeater Sites
Salem Hill
Salem Hill is located in eastern Lee County near the town of Salem, AL (32.64258, -85.23762) and is the highest point in the county. The repeater site atop the hill features four towers and is home to a variety of public safety repeaters including Lee FD East (155.145), ETS Dispatch (154.025), and Lee Sheriff Dispatch (155.715). Additional users of the site include the WX4LEE 2m amateur radio repeater, Lee County school buses, and Verizon.
Main Repeater Towers
Third Repeater Tower
Verizon Cell Tower
Auburn ECC
This tower site is located near the City of Auburn's 911 Emergency Communications Center (32.60807, -85.47614) and serves as the hub for the City of Auburn's public safety repeaters, as well as a Southern Linc cell site (LTE B26/48). Conventional repeaters found on this tower include 154.400 (Auburn FD Patch) and 155.610 (Auburn PD Patch). Additionally, the Auburn site of the MMCCD P25 trunked system site is located on this tower.
Auburn ECC Tower
Opelika AIRS
This tower is located off of Fox Trail near US-431 in Opelika, AL (32.65397, -85.36031). It is home to the Opelika site of the AIRS P25 trunked system as well as the Alabama Highway Patrol (AL LEA) Troop D Opelika repeater (155.445).
Opelika AIRS Site
Auburn Satellite Uplink Facility
This tower site can be found on Auburn University's campus at the intersection of Hemlock Dr. and W. Samford Ave (32.60045, -85.49808). A number of Auburn University repeaters utilize this site including campus security (154.0325), security shuttles (152.435), and Auburn University's CAP+ DMR system. Additional users of this site include WEGL-FM, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
Satellite Uplink Facility Tower Site
Loachapoka Water Tank
The water tank located at Loachapoka Water Authority facility in western Lee County (32.61198, -85.60384) is home to the Lee County FD West repeater (159.165). This site provides improved coverage for VFDs on the western side of the county due to reduced coverage from the Salem Hill repeater (155.145) in some areas.
Foster Street Tower
This 460 ft tower located off of Foster Street in Auburn, AL (32.62209, -85.50134) is home to the Lee County Sheriff TAC West repeater (152.405). The site is utilized by sheriff units in areas with low coverage from their repeater atop Salem Hill and may also be patched to MMCCD during events in Auburn (see preceding sections). T-Mobile, Southern Linc, and Verizon also utilize this site, as well as FM radio station W212AP.
Foster Street Tower Site
