we left out major info each unit has a crew of three typically - an officer and 2 firefighters - those are payroll 'terms' / civil service terms - afaik there is no 'payroll term' nor 'civil service term / classification' for driver or pump operator in Massachusetts - at least not in Arlington - each person has a portable radio
'Engine 1 alpha' is actually the portable for the driver / pump operator / ladder operator - the term "engine 1 pump" is also commonly used on the fireground when 'engine 1 alpha' is running the pump on a firescene - when a message such as "Engine 1 charge the line" is sent - it is open to miscommunication / misunderstanding - it could be intended for someone at the pump or someone at the hydrant or for someone at a standpipe valve in a large building to review - here are the radio test terms and the corresponding 'real world' terms / meaning Engine 1 mobile - could be officer or driver Engine 1 portable - could be anyone on the crew but is typically the officer Engine 1 alpha = the driver / pump operator - "Engine 1 Pump" - "Engine 1 Chauffeur" - "Engine 1 Operator" - "Engine 1 Driver" - "Pump 1" - Driver 1 - Chaffeur 1 - yadda yadda Engine 1 Bravo = Engine 1 backstep - Engine 1 hydrant (this is the typical position for the 3rd person on the 2nd due pumper at a fire) mountain meet mole hill - but it is important if you dont want mass confusion when the crap is hitting the fan Boston FD is - "Engine 1" is the officer - "Engine 1 Pump" is the driver - Engine 1 ?can? or "nozzle" is 3rd person - 'Engine 1 hydrant' is 4th person - always - (long time since we have listened to bfd) On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 5:35 PM agent yo'range <[email protected]> wrote: > > 8 am today - daily radio tet - engine 1 mobile - engine 1 portable - > engine 1 alpha - engine 1 bravo > > presumably 'engine 1 mobile' is the mobile radio on the vehicle > > presumably 'engine 1 portable' is the officer's portable radio > > in everyday radio traffic - 'engine 1 mobile' is rarely used - and > 'engine 1 portable' is rarely used > > commonly they say "engine 1 pump" or 'engine 1 driver' when talking to > the driver / pump operator > > commonly they say "engine 1" when talking to the officer > > bottom line - there is a major disconnect between the radio test terms > and the everyday radio comms - and this sometimes shows up during > urgent situations when multi people try to answer to the same callsign > - its not good -- 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/CAFXWwKbOywc%2B724WRbzd_xTPZdScDS-UHTrBLEEagrObZYiu%3DA%40mail.gmail.com.
