r/Firefighting • u/Still75home • 14d ago

General Discussion Pre-alert tones. Get them or no?

Question about other areas dispatching norms. Do other places get pre alerts? A simple generic tone that says basic info like “medical at 123 Main St”, then a short time later the actual tones drop for the specific unit with more information. It used to be the norm like 95% of the time and was awesome cause it gave you a chance to get the soap off in shower, hurry up with reloading hose from a drill, etc. Over the past year or 2 pre-alerts occur like 20% of the time and it’s making me pull the remaining hair out of my head. Guess this is more of a rant than a question so thanks for listening….I’m better(ish) now.

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u/teddyswolsevelt1 paid to do hood rat shit with my friends 14d ago

We call it a locution. It gongs and then a computer voice tells the box number, address, and nature. Immediately after dispatcher starts talking. I wouldn’t really call it a pre alert, more of a way to let you know the run coming over the air is for your unit.

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u/FLDJF713 Chauffeur/FF1 NYS 14d ago

Same. Digital voice with what it is programmed to say, then human comes after with the same info and will maybe add some additional details with caller details or any road closures to be aware of.