public safety services in massachusetts lets consider the work flow from 911 call to service delivery
Massachusetts has 351 citys and towns - 99% have their own fire department - maybe 95% have their own police department - maybe 80% have their own ambulances the statewide E911 phone systems feeds calls to 212 PSAPs [ As of 2026, Massachusetts has 440 law enforcement agencies under the jurisdiction of the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission. This total encompasses various types of departments across the state. municipal police and colleges mostly ] in eastern massachusetts - most communitys run their own PSAP. there are countywide dispatch centers for Berkshire County + Franklin County + Hampshire County + Dukes County - they serve between 50% and 100% of their respective counties. Regional ambulances serve several areas in western Massachusetts - regional ambulances in eastern Massachusetts are typically operated by private ambulance services working on 911 contracts. The radio systems mirror these dispatch arrangements. Countywide dispatch centers use countywide radio channels - local dispatch centers use local radio channels. Typically, every local police and fire department has their own radio channels. Fire ambulances operate on fire radio channels. Private ambulances operate on private radio channels - and typically on fire radio channels if responding to 911 calls. There are several police and fire mutual aid radio networks that cover various areas.The CMED system uses 463 mhz channels for ambulance to hospital communications in eastern Mass and the Springfield area - even though cellphones have replaced most of those channels. Medevac helos use their own dispatch channels and their own dispatch centers. State Police cover the interstate highways and use the state 800 mhz trs. In western Mass MSP also patrols small towns. Dispatch is provided by the barracks and regional HQs. US Coast Guard operates on 157 mhz and 163 mhz channels.They have their own dispatch centers. Federal law enforcement agencies use federal radio channels and cellphones. Military bases have their own radio channels and dispatch centers. Railroad police use 160 mhz - MBTA Police use UHF. Clleges have their own armed police on UHF channels with their own 24/7 dispatch centers. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "massfire" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/massfire/CAFXWwKbdC_y4cK7k_%2BAdrYUNQMtaQTmcfwZceogFDMYwrPXXmQ%40mail.gmail.com.
