Allen County (IN)
From The RadioReference Wiki
Contents
Trunked Radio System
Allen County makes minimal use of SAFE-T in all respects as it maintains its own trunked radio system, Allen County Public Safety. SAFE-T is the tertiary system to fall back to if both ACPS and the Allen County Government Services TRS are out of service. The Three Rivers Ambulance Authority (TRAA) makes use of SAFE-T when patient transports require it to go out of range of ACPS.
Law Enforcement Agencies
- Allen County Sheriff's Office (ACPD)
- Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD)
- Indiana State Police (District 22)
Signal Codes
ACPD and FWPD share a common set of radio signals.
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1 154 is the badge number of the late Patrolman Kenneth Stiverson of FWPD, who was fatally shot in the line of duty while negotiating with an escaped mental patient.
ACPD
The Allen County Sheriff's Office (known as ACPD) has serviced the Allen County area since the first sheriff took office in 1824 and has had 50 sheriffs take office since then (including the current sheriff, Kenneth C. Fries).
ACPD is known for having a very strong K9 training program and provides such training for neighboring agencies, the Indiana State Police, as well as agencies from distant counties and states. ACPD was the second agency in the State of Indiana to have a SWAT/ERT team.
Unit Numbers
ACPD officers use their three digit badge numbers as their unit identifiers on the air. Occasionally, a unit will identify itself by its car number. Warrants units almost exclusively identify by their commission number and not their unit number. Some Fort Wayne units have unit numbers in these ranges, so mutual aid traffic may get confusing sometimes.
Known Unit Prefixes
- 100-300 - Officers
- 600-700 - Reserve Officers
- 800-900 - Marshall
- AC# - Animal Control/Field Service
- C### - Confinement Officer. Often, a jail van.
- CAR# - Commission (Typically Warrants Division)
- EH## - Extra Help (Not Reserves)
FWPD
FWPD units are designated with an alpha prefix that may denote what sector that that unit is assigned to and then a three digit number, possibly corresponding to a badge number. When addressed, the phonetic for the sector prefix is used (e.g. "BAKER ONE-THIRTEEN"). So far, alpha prefixes are known to go as high as "O - Ocean".
It is also possible that the alpha prefix of the car indicates the type of patrol for which the car is responsible. For instance, a J-JOHN car is assumed to have a pair of officers on patrol and is therefore equipped to handle violent crimes, warrant service, etc.
Fire and Rescue Agencies
Allen County is serviced by a mix of full time county fire bases and volunteer fire bases, which compose the Allen County Fire Department (ACFD), and full time municipal fire bases (FWFD). County fire agencies, with the exception of some Northeast Fire District personnel, rely on VHF for emergency communications. FWFD operates entirely on the county's trunked radio system.
Staging Levels
Both ACFD and FWFD use standard staging levels for emergency response situations.
- Level 1 - Lead pump to scene. All other units stage one block away
- Level 2 - All units stage at designated staging area
- Level 3 - Lead pump to scene. All other units stage near current location
- Level 4 - Task Force on station (1 pumper, 1 tanker, 6-8 firefighters)
- Level 5 - Ambulance crew on station
- Level 6 - Lead pump to scene (lights & siren). All other units proceed quietly
Allen County Fire Department
This information is specific to ACFD and may not be accurate or reliable when referring to FWFD.
Signal Codes
- 700 Disaster
- 701 False Alarm
- 702 We Can Handle
- 703 Small Working Fire
- 704 Working Fire
- 705 Send Extra Pumper
- 706 Second Alarm
- 707 Board Up Building
- 708 Arson
Bases
- 10 NHATFD HQ Station 3
- 30 Monroeville
- 40 NHATFD Station 1
- 50 SWACFD Station 1
- 60 Washington Twp
- 70 St. Joseph Twp (Part 2)
- 80 Arcola
- 90 Huntertown (Perry Twp)
- 100 Poe VFD
- 120 NHATFD Station 2
- 130 Hoagland (Madison Twp)
- 140 NEACFD Grabill
- 150 SWACFD Station 2
- 160 Woodburn (Maumee Twp)
- 170 NEACFD Cedar Canyons
- 180 Aboite Twp Station 1
- 200 Churubusco/Smith Twp(Whitley County)
- 240 NEACFD Harlan
- 250 SWACFD Station 3
- 280 Aboite Twp Station 2
- 870 Fire Arson Specialized Team (FAST Team)
Service Availability
Most stations operate "on call" as needed. The exceptions are E45 and E145, two of only a few ALS ambulances owned by ACFD, which offer 24-hour service. If a station cannot be successfully raised via VHF after four minutes, the next closest/available station will be placed on standby and eventually dispatched if additional tone outs go unanswered (referred to as the "four minute protocol").
Fort Wayne Fire Department
FWFD is composed of 18 active fire stations (Station 3 is no longer active and serves as a historical building).
Signal Codes
- 700 Emergency Evacuation Alert
- 701 First due in rig can handle
- 702 Two rigs can handle
- 703 Three rigs can handle
- 704 Working fire
- 705 Send extra pump
- 706 Two alarm fire
- 707 Board up scene
- 708 Fire Investigator
- 709 Knox Box Requests
Three Rivers Ambulance Authority
TRAA currently holds the contract with the City of Fort Wayne / Allen County for emergency medical services. TRAA will also make runs outside of the city limits to meet county rescue units to provide a paramedic or transfer a patient to an ALS ambulance as most county ambulances lack ALS equipment.
Jurisdictions
ACPD has enforcement power within the entire county, though the patrol division is assigned outside of the city limits; despite this, many enforcement activities are performed by ACPD within the city. FWPD officers are firmly limited in jurisdiction to the city limits. FWPD is empowered by the Allen County Sheriff and maintains its power of enforcement at his/her discretion. ACPD has divided the county into districts which are identified alphabetically (A through F).
Town Marshals
Allen County or the State of Indiana (it is unknown under whose authority these marshals are empowered) has several outlying towns that employ/facilitate one or more marshals:
- Monroeville Monroeville PD(Unit 809)
- Woodburn PD
- Zanesville PD (Allen & Wells Counties)
- http://www.churubusco.net/pd.htm] Churubusco PD(Located in Whitley County maintains radio contact on ACPS TRS using Unit 836)
There are several other unit numbers believed to be town marshals but have not been associated with a particular locality:
- 808
- 810
- 812-3
New Haven
Despite appearing to be conjoined with Fort Wayne, New Haven maintains its own police agency and has several fire houses under the control of the Allen County Fire Department, Adams Township. FWPD appears to have jurisdiction within New Haven, though patrols do not emphasize this area due to the empowerment of NHPD. NHPD relies mostly on marked Ford Police Interceptors, though is known to have unmarked CVPIs, one or more marked SUVs, and several marked Dodge Chargers.