Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council

Office of State Fire Marshal

3565 Trelstad Ave. SE

Salem, Oregon 97317

Heidi Moawad, Office of Governor Brown

State Capitol Building

900 Court St. NE Suite 160

Salem, OR 97301

Dear Ms. Moawad,

The Statewide Apparatus Numbering Task Force was tasked by the Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council to determine the feasibility of a statewide numbering system and a unified fire department rank structure.

The task forceoriginated March 1, 2015 by the Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council to determine if there is a need for a statewide numbering system. Apparatus numbering is currently determined by the local fire department, sometimes without coordination with other local fire departments. Having apparatus with the same number responding to or on scene of an incident may cause confusion and creates a safety concern. Due to history and fire department pride, this tends to be a sensitive subject. The task force met regularly for nineteen months. At the conclusion of the nineteen months, the task force was able to identify numbering conflicts across the state at the local, county, regional, and conflagration levels.

The task force believes there are strong safety gains by having a numbering system that reduces confusion while on the incident scene. While several individuals across multiple departments shared feedback for their desire for a uniform numbering system, there were also concerns for the cost of renumbering and computer aided dispatch (CAD) reprogramming requirements. The task force also discovered that the renumbering plan, although thorough and comprehensive, was a one-size fits most solution.

In due course, the task force determined that mandating a statewide numbering system was not feasible at this time and developed a best practice document for the proposed statewide apparatus numbering system. The document was introduced at fire service meetings and conferences before ultimately being submitted to the Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council on April 25, 2017. A motion was carried to consider the report complete and ready to forward. The task force was also instructed to reconvene in a year to provide a status update and any further recommendations on the best practices.

Respectfully,

Les Hallman, GFSPC Chair

Deputy Fire Chief, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue

Enclosure: Proposed Statewide Apparatus Numbering System Best Practices Document

CC: Oregon Fire Chiefs Association, Oregon Fire Marshals Association, Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association, Oregon Fire District Directors Association

Poposed Statewide Apparatus Numbering System

Best Practices Document

March 2017

Prepared by the Statewide Apparatus Numbering Plan Task Force

Contents

Executive Summary

County Identifiers

Resource Typing

Statewide Apparatus Numbering Proposed Model

Executive Summary

The Statewide Apparatus Numbering Task Force originated March 1, 2015 by the Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council to determine if there is a need for a statewide numbering system, identify the pros and cons of a statewide numbering system, identify options for different types of designations including numbering and typing systems, and to make recommendations for implementing a statewide system.The task force determined that mandating a statewide numbering system is not feasible at this point but created the following guidelines for Fire Defense Boards who might be looking for a solution to some of the challenges posed by not having a standard numbering system within their district.

This document is an implementation guide for the best practices for a statewide apparatus numbering system in the Oregon fire service and is intended to offer guidance for Fire Defense Boards looking to standardize apparatus numbering and radio identifiers.

All apparatus in a station or a department will have the typing followed by the station/agency numbers. For example, an engine in Klamath County at Station 2 might be identified as E1802. Stations/agencies may choose not to use the entire 4 or 5 digit identifier during routine operations; however, it may be included during mobilizations andduring incidents outside of normal response areas. Using the example above, the Klamath County engine might be E2 in daily operations.

If a station has more than one staffed engine, it can receive a number for another station within the agency’s block of numbers or as determined by the Fire Defense Board. Second out units might be a 100 series; E5 and E105 at station 5. Reserves can be Reserve 5. Chief officers will assume the station numbers assigned to their jurisdiction, C1802 (or C2 during daily operations).

Resource Typing is the categorization and description of common response resources. It is understood that there are some resources not identified within this document. Fire Defense Boards may develop their own resource types and radio identifiers as necessary to supplement the table below.

County / LEDS Assigned Number
Baker / 1
Benton / 2
Clackamas / 3
Clatsop / 4
Columbia / 5
Coos / 6
Crook / 7
Curry / 8
Deschutes / 9
Douglas / 10
Gillam / 11
Grant / 12
Harney / 13
Hood River / 14
Jackson / 15
Jefferson / 16
Josephine / 17
Klamath / 18
Lake / 19
Lane / 20
Lincoln / 21
Linn / 22
Malheur / 23
Marion / 24
Morrow / 25
Multnomah / 26
Polk / 27
Sherman / 28
Tillamook / 29
Umatilla / 30
Union / 31
Wallowa / 32
Wasco / 33
Washington / 34
Wheeler / 35
Yamhill / 36

County Identifiers

Resource Typing

Common Resource Types / Character Prefix / Examples of Radio Identifier
Chief Officers / C / Chief
Battalion Chief / BC / BC or Battalion
Duty Officer / DO / DO or Chief
Fire Marshal / FM or C / Fire Marshal or Chief
Emergency Manager / EM / Emergency Manager
Prevention / PV
Fire Investigator / FI
Public Information Officer / PIO / PIO
EMS Officer / EMS or C / EMS or Chief
Training Officer / TO or C / Chief
Safety / SO or C / Safety or Chief
Chaplain / CH / Chaplain
Engine / E / Engine
Interface Engine / IE / Interface Engine
Truck / T / Truck
Ladder / L / Ladder
Squirt / SQ / Squirt
Water Tender / WT / Tender
Brush / BR / Brush
Heavy Brush / HB / Brush or Heavy Brush
Rescue / R / Rescue
Heavy Rescue / HR / Rescue or Heavy Rescue
Squad / S / Squad
Heavy Squad / HS / Squad or Heavy Squad
Rope Rescue / RR / Rescue
Water Rescue / WR / Rescue
Dive Rescue / DR / Rescue
Boat / B / Boat
Fire Boat / FB / Boat
USAR / US / USAR
Rehab Unit / RH / Rehab
Air (SCBA support) / Air / Air
Hazmat / HM / Hazmat
Fire Medic / M / Medic
Ambulance / A / Ambulance
Car / CA / Car

Statewide Apparatus Numbering Proposed Model

Washington County Example

Common Unit TypeStation/Unit Identifier

E3467

LEDS County Numbers