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Allen County (IN)

From The RadioReference Wiki

Allen County and Surrounding Areas with Major Routes

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.

As of February 2, 2014, many agencies have been migrated to a new APCO-25 system in which most or all Talk Groups are operating with encryption.

Law Enforcement Agencies

Allen County emergency responders.
  1. Allen County Sheriff's Office (ACPD)
  2. Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD)
  3. Indiana State Police (District 22)

Signal Codes

ACPD and FWPD share a common set of radio signals. Most communication with ACFD and FWFD use plain English with a mix of specific signals still in use.

1Meet or "eyeball"
2Disregard
3Telephone (TX)
4Courthouse
4ACity/County Building
4BByron Station (ACPD Offices)
4CAnimal Control Shelter
5Garage
5ACar Wash
5GGas Pumps
6Communications
6RRadio Shop
7Out of Service
8In Service
9On Scene
10Location
11Pick Up Prisoner
12County Jail
12ALock-up
13Ambulance
14Warrant Check
14SServing Warrant
15Assist Party
16Pick Up Items
17Read Motor Number
17RRe-Read
18Work Traffic
19Escort
20Unknown Problem
21Adult
22Juvenile
22IJuvenile Investigation
22CNChild Neglect
22RCRecovery
22RNRunaway
23Vandalism
24Missing Person
25Vehicle Accident
25HSHit Skip
26Vehicle Accident w/ Injuries
26HSHit Skip
27Reckless Driving
28DUI
29Special Event
30Traffic Stop
31Breathalyzer
32Death Investigation
32ADeath Notification
33Disabled Vehicle
33JJuvenile Locked Inside
34Traffic Hazard
35Parked Vehicle - Unoccupied
36Occupied Vehicle
37Parking Violation
38Lost or Stolen License Plate
38ALost Article
39Stolen Vehicle
39UUnauthorized Use of Vehicle
40Alarm
40AAudible Alarm
40ATMATM Alarm
40BBank Alarm
40FFire Alarm
40HHold Up Alarm
40LListening Alarm (has microphone)
40PPanic Alarm
41Person Down
42Intoxicated Person
43Disturbance
44Nuisance
44FWFireworks
44LMLoud Music
44LPLoud Party
44SSmoke
45Neighborhood Disturbance
46Domestic Disturbance
47Removal of Articles
48Suspicious Person
49Prowler
50Burglary
51Theft
51ATheft - Attempted
51IPTheft - In Progress
51JOTheft - Just Occurred
52Shoplifter
53Armed Robbery
54UNUSED
55Fight
56Molesting
57Strong-arm Robbery
58Shooting
59Cutting/Stabbing
60Homicide
61Rape
62Person with Weapon
63Attempt to Contact
63ZZachary Offender Check
64Unable to Locate Person
65Suicide
65ASuicide Attempt
65TSuicide Threat
66Mental Case
66VMental Violent
67Indecent Exposure
68Protect Evidence
69Wires Down
70Fire
71Explosion
72Failure to Pay
73Walk Away
74Unruly Crowd
75Pursuit
76Road Block
77Labor Dispute
78Communicable Disease
79Confidential Information
80Civil Investigation
80EEviction
80PServe Protective Order
81Change Channels
82Improper Procedure
83Information
84Urgent - Lights & Sirens
85At Once - Lights Only
86City/County Property Involved
87Begin Tour of Duty
88End Tour of Duty
89E.O.D. (Explosive Ordinance Device)
90UNUSED
91Blood Run
92Drowning
93Aircraft Accident
94Out of Jurisdiction
95In Jurisdiction
96Battery
97Found Items
98Vice Investigation
99Narcotics
100Emergency Traffic Only
101Open Door
102Threats
103Unwanted Party
104Kidnapping
105Officer Welfare Check
106Officer Okay
107On the Air
108Follow Up
109Illegal Dumping
110Known Burglar
111Animal Investigation
111CCat
111DDog
111IInjured
111PDeer Kill Permit
112Riot
113Shots Fired
114Hunter Investigation
120Grabil
121Woodburn
122Huntertown
123Leo/Cedarville
124Monroeville
125Tower Lights at Hillegas
126Tower Lights at 4B
127Jail Escape
129COPS (Community Oriented Policing)
130Community Corrections (Home Detention)
131Community Service
134County Highway
154Officer Needs Help1

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

ACPD's First Dodge Charger

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 (which now has its own training program), 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 Impala

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".

Fire and Rescue Agencies

Allen County is served by a mix of career, volunteer and hybrid fire departments, including two city fire departments (the career Fort Wayne Fire Department (FWFD) and the hybrid New Haven Fire Department) and several township and "fire district" departments. Each department is independent of the others. As such, there is no Allen County Fire Department, per se. FWFD stations are dispatched on the city/county 800 MHz trunked radio system. All other departments are dispatched on the "Allen County fire" VHF frequency (154.010 MHz), although all departments have the capability to communicate with dispatchers on the city/county 800 MHz trunked radio system.

Staging Levels

All departments, including FWFD, NHFD and departments that serve unincorporated areas of Allen County, 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 engine to scene. All other units stage near current location
  • Level 4 - Task Force on station (1 engine, 1 tanker, 6-8 firefighters)
  • Level 5 - Ambulance crew on station
  • Level 6 - Lead engine to scene (lights & siren). All other units proceed quietly

Allen County Fire Departments

All Allen County fire departments, except for the Fort Wayne Fire Department, are dispatched on a simplex VHF frequency (154.01 MHz). This means that listeners might have trouble hearing field units unless they are close. Some departments, however, operate their own repeater system, the output of which is on the dispatch frequency. In those cases, it is possible to hear field units at a greater distance.

All Fort Wayne Fire Department apparatus are equipped only with 800 MHz radios. Most Allen County fire departments outside Fort Wayne have 800 MHz radios in at least some apparatus. These departments use the 800 MHz radios less frequently than the VHF radios. Typical uses of 800 Mhz by outlying departments include: 1.) to establish contact when VHF contact is unsuccessful, 2.) to communicate confidential or sensitive information to dispatchers, and 3.) to communicate with Fort Wayne Fire Department apparatus and/or dispatchers during responses involving both FWFD and other departments.

Listeners report that departments other than FWFD (which uses 800 MHz exclusively) made considerable use of the 800 MHz system after the June 29, 2013 derecho storm.

Signal Codes

These have been reworked to match the city 700 codes

  • 700 Evacuate Structure
  • 701 Single Unit Can Handle
  • 702 Two Units Can Handle
  • 703 Three Units Can Handle
  • 704 Working Fire
  • 705 Send Unit (specify)
  • 706 Second Alarm
  • 707 Board Up requested
  • 708 Request Arson Investigators
  • 709 Request Knox Box Key Release

Bases

Each fire department that is dispatched on the Allen County fire VHF frequency is assigned a "base" number. In some cases, where departments have more than one station, the stations each have their own base numbers.

Service Availability

Most stations operate "on call" as needed. The exceptions are Huntertown Fire, Northeast Fire District (B-140), New Haven Fire Dept (B-10), Aboite Twp Fire Dept (B-180), and Poe Fire Dept. M-145 and M-45 truck one and two are two of only a few Paramedic ambulances operated in the county, which offer 24-hour service. If a station cannot be successfully raised via VHF after four minutes, the next closest/available station is dispatched (referred to as the "four minute protocol").

Fort Wayne Fire Department

  • Sta. #1 (HQ) - 419 E. Main St. @ Lafayette St. (aka US-27),Ft. Wayne
  • Sta. #2 - 2023 Taylor St. between Bevel Ave. & Brooklyn Ave.,Ft. Wayne
  • Sta. #3 - 226 W. Washington Blvd. between Webster St. & Harrison St.,Ft. Wayne (This Sta. is closed & houses the Ft. Wayne Firefighters Museum)
  • Sta. #4 - 4130 Lahmeyer Rd. between Trotters Chase Ln. & Becky Ln.,Ft. Wayne
  • Sta. #5 - 5801 Bluffton Rd. across from Old Trail Rd.,Ft. Wayne
  • Sta. #6 -
    • Current Sta. - 1500 W. Coliseum Blvd. (aka State Route 930) between Executive Blvd. & Newaygo Rd.,Ft. Wayne (The rear of the Sta. has access off of Directors Row)
    • Former Sta. - 1441 (N.) Wells St. @ W. 4th St.,Ft. Wayne


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

Allen County Townships

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

The State of Indiana empowers these marshals, and Allen County has several outlying towns that employ/facilitate one or more marshals:

  1. Monroeville Monroeville PD (Unit 809)
  2. Woodburn PD (Formerly 812-#, now identify as WOODBURN #)
  3. Zanesville PD (Allen & Wells Counties)
  4. Churubusco PD (Whitley County, but 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:

  1. 808
  2. 810

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.