Metro Fire (Mutual Aid District 13)

Metro Fire is the Mutual Aid Channel for the Greater Boston area. 483.3125 Metro Fire Red is the Fire Ground frequency, 483.2875 is used for fire dispatch to fire dispatch communications. 483.2625 Metro Fire Blue is the regional HAZMAT frequency. The PL for the regional channels is 131.8.

Currently there are 33 communities and the Logan Airport Fire Department on MetroFire, each community has at least one base and one mobile on the system. Some communities have MetroFire in all of their radios. The control point is located at Boston Fire Alarm. Both VHF and UHF base stations are located at Waban Reservoir on the Boston Newton line. 10 alarm running cards are maintained for communities within the system. Some communities adjoining District 14 have radios capable of operating on the MetroFire frequencies. Radio roll calls are conducted daily at 10:00. At this time all communities are polled as to availability for mutual aid. Mobile radio tests are conducted at 10:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Most Metro Fire towns are in the process of moving to UHF frequencies. This is in conjunction with the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region adding UHF interoperability frequencies for use by that system. As part of this move, Cambridge Fire Department will be simulcasting several of their trunk radio talk groups on UHF frequencies. These are likely to also be cross patched so that fire departments operating on UHF will be able to talk directly with CFD units on the 800Mhz trunk system. Licenses for the new UHF frequencies have already been issued and I’ll include the call signs for the new allocations. These frequencies will be coming on line as equipment is purchased and installed.

New Metro Fire Interoperability channels.

North District	482.2500	107.2
North Fireground	482.1875	141.3
Central District	482.0250	123.0
Central Fireground	485.1875	127.3
South District	482.2125	103.5
South Fireground	485.1000	114.8
METROFIRE Orange	470.1875	156.7
METROFIRE Silver	470.1375	173.8

MetroFire Community's Local Fire Frequencies

Town	Frequency	PL	Notes
Arlington Fire	460.6	82.5
Bedford Fire+	154.34	131.8
Belmont Fire	482.775	77.0	New Dispatch
Belmont Fire	453.2375		New License
Belmont Fire	154.13	100.0
Boston Fire	483.1625	118.8
Braintree Fire	483.5125	131.8
Brookline Fire	483.4375	131.8
Burlington Fire	483.3625	131.8
Cambridge Fire	154.355	146.2	Simulcast of Fire Dispatch
Cambridge Fire	471.31250	146.2	Dispatch Simulcast
Cambridge Fire	470.1250		WQHR372
Cambridge Fire	482.0250		WQHR372
Cambridge Fire	482.0500		WQHR372
Cambridge Fire	482.1875		WQHR372
Cambridge Fire	482.2875	141.3	Fire Ground 16 Simulcast
Cambridge Fire	470.1250
Chelsea Fire	154.325R	114.8
Chelsea Fire	470.0250		WQHR366
Chelsea Fire	482.2375		WQHR366
Dedham Fire	153.95	131.8
Dedham Fire	453.6875	88.5
Everett Fire	154.31	186.2
Everett Fire	470.0500		WQHR367
Everett Fire	470.0875		WQHR367
Everett Fire	482.1750		WQHR367
Lexington Fire	154.340	131.8
Lexington Fire	482.0875		WQHR356
Lynn Fire *	154.415	74.4	Dispatch
Lynn Fire	153.830	74.4	Fire Ground
Lynn Fire	153.800	79.7	Dispatch
Lynn Fire	470.1750		WQHR347
Lynn Fire	482.1625		WQHR347
Lynn Fire	482.2125		WQHR347
Malden Fire	154.25	179.9
Malden Fire	154.265	179.9	Channel 3
Malden Fire	482.0125		WQHR361
MassPort Fire-Rescue			See MSP Troop F for talkgroups and frequencies
Medford Fire	153.89	131.8
Medford Fire	482.0125		WQHR361
Melrose Fire	159.405	127.3
Melrose Fire	153.830	127.3	Fireground
Melrose Fire	470.1500		WQHR359
Milton Fire	482.0750	131.8	New Dispatch
Needham Fire	153.950	192.8
Needham Fire	453.0750	D-411
Newton Fire	483.4625	131.8
Quincy Fire	483.5375	131.8
Reading Fire	483.4125	146.2
Reading Fire	46.34	156.7
Revere Fire	154.175	123.0
Revere Fire	470.0625		WQHR371
Revere Fire	482.2000		WQHR371
Saugus Fire	159.645	131.8
Saugus Fire	153.830	131.8	Fire Ground
Saugus Fire	482.2625		WQHR360
Somerville Fire	483.3875	131.8
Stoneham Fire	460.625	131.8
Stoneham Fire	46.06
Wakefield Fire	46.06		Licenses maintained, but not used
Wakefield Fire	483.4375	146.2
Waltham Fire	154.4	123.0
Waltham Fire	159.375		License Applied for
Waltham Fire	453.8375	141.3
Waltham Fire	470.1125		WQHR348
Waltham Fire	482.2250		WQHR348
Watertown Fire	483.7125	131.8
Wellesley Fire	482.575	D-065
Weston Fire	154.16	94.8
Weston Fire	472.200		New License
Weymouth Fire	154.235R	136.5
Weymouth Fire	482.0625		WQHR351
Winchester Fire	483.6875	131.8
Winthrop Fire	483.6375	131.8
Woburn Fire	483.6125	131.8

*Lynn primarily operates on Metro Fire for mutual aid. Lynn also dispatches for Swampscott

and Nahant

+Not part of District 13, but does respond into adjacent communities on line boxes and mutual aid.

Individual Fire Department profiles

Brookline Fire Department 483.4375 PL 131.8

Station #1	140 Washington Street (Route 9)	Deputy Chief, Engine 1, Ladder 1
Station #4	827 Boylston Street Fire	Engine 4, Fallon ALS Ambulance
Station #5	49 Babcock Street	Engine 5, Ladder 5
Station #6	962 Hammond Street	Engine 6 (Also houses Fire Department Training Facilities).
Station #7	665 Washington Street	Engine 7, Fallon ALS Ambulance

Fallon Ambulance Service, dispatched on FD frequency, provides EMS.

Cambridge Fire Department

154.3550	146.2	Fire Channel 1	Dispatch
852.2625	D-125	Fire Channel 14	Secondary Fire Ground
854.4875	D-125	Fire Channel 16	Primary Fire Ground

Frequencies are 856.7875, 857.7875, 858.7875, 859.7875, 860.7875, 868.7875, and 853.2625. Recently licensed are 866.800, 867.300, 867.4375, and 867.6875 which it appears will be used to extend system coverage underground to several MBTA stations in Cambridge.

853.2625 D-125 is currently used in the MBTA tunnels and the Galleria Mall.

The City of Cambridge operates a Type II Motorola trunked system. Alarm dispatches are simulcast on 154.355.

16816	Fire "F1" Dispatch (154.355)
16848	Fire "F2" Common/Routine Messages
16880	Fire "F3" Training
16912	Fire "F4" Metrofire Red (483.3125) Apparatus cross talk
16944	Fire "F5" EMS
16976	Fire/Police "F6" Inter-Agency
17008	Fire "F7" Cambridge Hospital Notification
17040	Fire "F8" Administration / Fire Alarm Maint
17072	Fire "F9" Investigation?
17104	Fire "F10" City Supervisors?
17136	Fire "F11" Investigation?
17168	Fire "F12" Hazmat?
17200	Fire "F13"?
17232	Fire "F14"?
19792	Fire "F15"
17264	Fire "SCAN 16" Fireground (854.4875)
20816	EMS to Cambridge City Hospital
20848	EMS to Mt. Auburn Hospital
20880	EMS to Somerville Hospital
21040	Fire ATG (announcements to all Fire radios)
21232	? Fire Alert Channel
22480	Belmont FD

HQ and Fire Alarm 491 Broadway Engine l, Truck 1, Rescue 1, Rescue 2, HAZMAT, Tactical Rescue

Station 2 - 378 Massachusetts Ave. Engine 2, Truck 3, Divisions 2

Station 3 - 175 Cambridge Street Engine 3, Truck 2

Station 4 - 2029 Massachusetts Ave. Engine 4

Station 5 - 1384 Cambridge Street Engine 5, Division 1

Station 6 - 176 River Street Engine 6

Station 8 - 113 Garden Street Engine 8, Truck 4, Division 2

Station 9 - 167 Lexington Street Engine 9

Box alarm response is 3 Engines, 2 Ladders and Rescue. Second Alarm 3 Engines and 1 Ladder. Level A, ALS response, Engine, BLS ambulance and ALS ambulance. Level B, BLS response, Engine and BLS ambulance. ALS is provided by Professional Ambulance Service (472.8625) BLS Rescue 1 & Rescue 2.

C1 Chief C2 Senior Deputy C3 Junior Deputy

Alarm calls at Harvard and MIT get 1 Engine and 1 Ladder. EMS calls at Harvard get no FD response. Fire calls at the Museum of Science get a combined Boston and Cambridge response. EMS calls are handled on channel 5 on the trunked system. Professional units are heard talking with Cambridge Fire units here. Cambridge still has telegraph style fire boxes on buildings and street corners.

Rescue 100 Rescue officer on portable

Rescue 101 Rescue man on portable

Ladder 100 Officer on Ladder 1

Ladder 101 Firefighter on Ladder 1

Engine 100 Officer on Engine 1

C2A Senior Deputy's Aide/Driver

C3A Junior Deputy's Aide/Driver

Chelsea Fire Department

154.325	114.8	Operations
153.830		Fireground
154.220		EMS?

Headquarters	307 Chestnut St.	Engine 2, Tower 1, Deputy Chief
Station 1	Sagamore Street	Engine 1
Station 3	885 Broadway	Engine 3, Ladder 2

Cataldo Ambulance provides EMS with one dedicated ALS unit.

Dedham Fire Department 453.6875 PL 88.5

Main Station	436 Washington Street	Engine 2, Engine 4, Ladder
East Dedham Station	230 Bussey Street	Engine 3, Ladder 2

Fallon Ambulance Service, operating out of the police station, provides EMS. Dispatch is on the police frequency.

Lexington Fire Department 154.340 PL 131.8

HQ and Fire Alarm Bedford Street Engine 3 Engine 2 & 4, (reserve) Ladder 1, Rescues 1&2,

C3

Station 2 East Lexington Engine 1, Engine5 (reserve)

Box Alarm response, Engines 1&3, Ladder 1, Rescue 2, C3. Working Fire page out of off duty Chiefs. Brush Calls Engine 4 or 5. Only Engines 1, 3, Ladder 1, Rescue 2 and C3 are normally manned. C3 is officer in charge. R1 & 2 are BLS ambulances.

Malden Fire Department 154.250 PL 179.9

Headquarters--Salem Street, near Malden Square	Engine 1, Ladder 1, Rescue 1, Car 2
Maplewood Square Station:	Engine 2, spare ladder
West End (Pleasant Street, near MBTA station):	Engine 3, Ladder 3
Belmont Hill Station:	Engine 4

Cataldo Ambulance (P40) provides EMS

Mass Port Fire Rescue (see Mass. State Police Troop F for frequency and talk group info)

Headquarters station (near South gate)

Engine 1

Ladder 1

Rescue 1

Engine 2 (reserve)

Engine 4 (reserve)

Engine 5 (reserve)

Engine 7 ARFF

Ford Expedition Command vehicle

Station 2

Engine 3 ARFF

Engine 6 ARFF

Marine Units

Marine 1- 1971 80' Fireboat "Howard Fitzpatrick"

Marine 2- 1993 27' Boston Whaler

Fire-Rescue provides first response for EMS, with defibrillator capability. EMS is usually provided by Boston EMS, however there are no EMS units dedicated to the airport. BLS and/or ALS units are sent as the nature of the call dictates.

Medford Fire Department 153.890 PL 131.8

Headquarters	Medford Square	Engine 1, Ladder 1, Emergency Incident Unit
West Medford	Harvard St. near High Street	Engine 2
East Medford	Salem St., near Haine Square	Engine 3, Ladder 2
Southeast Medford	Riverside Ave. at Commercial Street	Engine 4
South Medford	Main St., Tufts Square	Engine 5
North Medford	Fulton Heights	Engine 6

Medford Fire Radio Codes

51 Lockout

70 Domestic

797 Overdose

451 Death/Sudden

454 Attempted Suicide

456 Suicide

Engine 3 is usually not manned. ERU is a light rescue truck that might be cross-manned with Ladder 1. Box Alarm response is 2 Engines, and 1 Ladder. Suspected fire gets 3 Engines and 1 Ladder. "T box" is

Transmitted box, which is given when the alarm is received by phone and not box. Armstrong Ambulance and 1 Engine provide EMS. Armstrong units assigned to the contract operate on 153.890, and sign as A1, A2, etc. A1 is an ALS unit based out of Medford FD HQ; if more units are needed, Armstrong will dispatch an ambulance to cover as A2, A3, etc. Armstrong provides ALS, as well.

Needham Fire Department 453.0750 D-411

Headquarters	88 Chestnut Street	Engine 1, Engine 3, Spare Engine, Rescue 1
Station 2	707 Highland Avenue	Engine 4, Ladder 1

EMS is provided by the fire department. They are in the process of hiring paramedic/fire fighters and are operating at the ALS level.

Newton Fire Department 483.4625 PL 131.8

Station 1	Church St Newton Corner	Engine 1, Ladder 3
Station 2	Commonwealth Ave at Washington St Auburndale	Engine 2, Ladder 1
Station 3	Centre St at Willow St Newton Centre	Engine3, Engine 6, ERU, C2, Medic 2,Rescue 1
Station 4	Craft St at Watertown St	Engine 4, Medic 1
Station 7	Elliot St Newton Highlands	Engine 7, Ladder 2
Station 10	Dedham St Oak Hill	Engine 10

EMS is provided by AMR with one BLS and two ALS units stationed in town. Medic 1 & 2 are both ALS and staffed 24/7.

Rescue 1 is a BLS rig and is staffed 10:00 - 22:00 daily. Dispatch is on the Newton FD frequency.

Quincy Fire Department 483.5375 PL 131.8

Headquarters	40 Quincy Avenue	Engine 1, Ladder 1, Rescue 1
Station 2	311 Hancock Street, N. Quincy	Engine 2, Ladder 5, Special Services Unit 2
Station 3	615 Washington Street, Quincy Point	Engine 3, Hazmat 2
Station 4	111 Beale Street, Wollaston	Engine 4, Ladder 2
Station 5	182 Copeland Street, W. Quincy	Engine 5, Special Services Unit 1
Station 6	1082 Sea Street, Hough’s Neck	Engine 6
Station 7	86 Huckins Ave, Squantum	Engine 7
Station 8	140 Doane Street, Germantown	Engine 8

Spare apparatus and a Tunnel Rescue unit provided by the MWRA are stored at the former General Dynamics Shipyard in South Quincy.

Box Alarm response is 2 Engines, 2 Ladders, and the Rescue. Fallon Ambulance provides EMS with first response provided by both QFD and QPD. Fallon units assigned to the Quincy contract operate on the police and fire channels as Xray 1, 2, 3, and 4. R-1,L-2, L-5 and E-5 have the Jaws.

Accidents on Route 93 get Engine 5, Ladder 1 and Rescue 1.

Revere Fire Department 154.175 PL 123.0

Headquarters	Station 400 Broadway	Engine 4, Ladder 2
Station 1	360 Revere Beach Pkway	Engine 1, Ladder 1, Deputy Chief
Station 3	3 Overlook Ridge Drive	Engine 3
Station 5	4 Freeman St.	Engine 5

Cataldo Ambulance Service provides EMS, with first response provided by the fire department.

Saugus Fire Department 159.645R PL 131.8 Fire ground 153.830 131.8

HQ 27 Hamilton St.	Engine 3, Ladder 1, Rescue 1
120 Essex Street	Engine 1

EMS is provided by Cataldo Ambulance Service (Ambulance 1)

Somerville Fire Department 483.3875 Ch. 1 Operations 483.2625 Ch. 2 Fireground

HQ - Broadway and Walnut	Engine 1, Engine 2, Ladder 2, C2 (Deputy Chief), Air Supply Unit
Union Square	Engine 3
651 Somerville Avenue	Engine 4, Tower 1
6 Newbury Street	Engine 6, Ladder 3
265 Highland Avenue	Engine 7, C3 (Deputy Chief)

Still Alarm response is 1 Engine or 1 Engine and 1 Ladder. Box is not tapped out.

Box Alarm response is 2 Engines and 1 Ladder. Box tapped out twice.

Full Box Alarm response is 3 Engines and 2 Ladders. Box tapped out twice.

2nd Alarm response is 3 Engines and 1 Ladder. Box tapped twice preceded by "2"

Cataldo Ambulance provides EMS with 1 Engine as first responder.

Auxiliary FD operates Squad 1 to pump cellars and supply lights.

Waltham Fire Department 154.400 PL 123.0

Headquarters 175 Lexington Street	Engine 2, Ladder 1, Rescue 6, Engine 6A
536 Moody Street	Engine 1, Squad 5, Ladder 2
63 Willow Street	Engine 3
35 Prospect	Engine 4
196 Lake Street	Engine 7
Trapelo Road Station	Engine 8, Metro Fire Command post

EMS is provided by AMR, with two units, Waltham A-1 (BLS) and P-1 (ALS).

Waltham EMS units will use "channel 4", 153.875 to communicate with Fire Alarm.

Watertown Fire Department 483.7125 PL 131.8

Station 1 99 Main Street	C2 - Deputy Chiefs, Engine 1, Ladder 1,  Reserve Engine 4, Water & Ice Rescue, Confined Space Rescue Support Unit
Station 2 564 Mt. Auburn Street	Engine 2, Ladder 2, Confined Space Rescue Support Unit
Station 3 270 Orchard Street	Engine 3, Rescue 1

BLS is provided by the Fire Department, ALS is provided by Armstrong Ambulance Service.

Wellesley Fire Department 482.575 PL D-065

Headquarters 457 Worcester Street (Route 9)	Engine 2, Engine 3, Ladder 2, ERU
Wellesley Square Station 104 Central St.	Engine 1,Reserve Ladder 1

Weymouth Fire Department 154.235R PL 136.5

Headquarters	636 Broad Street	Engine 2, Ladder 1,Tower 1, Forestry 2
Station 1	195 North St.	Engine 1, Forestry 1
Station 3	138 Winter St.	Engine 3, Forestry 3
Station 4	Former NAS Weymouth	Ladder 5
Station 5	246 Park Ave	Engine 5, Forestry 5, Special Hazards

EMS is provided by Fallon Ambulance. Units operate on both FD and PD frequencies. You can probably also hear them on various “company” frequencies.

They ID as Weymouth Paramedic x.