The Replica Prop Forum

The Replica Prop Forum
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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Why I listen to a scanner

As you may have read from some of my tweets and earlier posts, I have at least 1, but usually 2 scanners running 24 hours a day.  Part of it is to keep an "ear" out.  Out where I live, the power can go out quite easily, usually from someone missing the turn and hitting the power pole a quarter mile away.  Other times there have been fire and ambulance calls on my street and many times I've had to go out and give proper directions to them to get to the right house.  There are a lot of small rental properties out here and while the street address might  be 123 XX street at 123 XX street there might be as many as 9 Units or Lots.  And the EMS and Fire people don't know which is which.

Tonight though, I was just laying down drowsing when the one phrase that will always terrify me came over. 

"GAS LEAK"

I live near Corpus Christi Texas, and there are literally dozens of refineries in and dozens more within 40 miles of Corpus.  And tonight one of the LPG refineries had their gas alarm go off and one of their employees injured by a Hydrogen Sulfide leak.  And that particular refinery is only 9 miles from my house.

So I'm laying down with the lights and tv off, the dogs and my cat Tufts lying in bed with me not quite awake, not quite asleep when the scanner which had been just normal traffic, the PD and SO pulling people over, EMS being dispatched, when suddenly the alarm tones sounded.

I don't know if it's the same where you live but down here there are 6 different alarm tones they use over the radio.

One is a warning to any officers that the people they have pulled over have warrants.  A second different tone will let them know if they person they pulled over is considered a threat based on their record.  A third tone will alert ALL Deputies and Officers if there is an urgent bulletin such as a BOL, AMBER Alert, active pursuit and such.  The fourth tone or rather series of tones is for the Fire Departments to alert them and open the doors of the fire stations just like on the tv shows.  The fifth series of tones are for the EMS personal just like the Fire Department.

The Sixth set of tones.

Those are reserved for major things like large grass fires and they need EVERYONE, Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS.  When those tones go off it goes out across all 9 frequencies including the Fish and Wildlife, Navigation District, Game Wardens, Mutual Assist for the neighboring counties.  You know EVERYONE!!



Those were the tones that woke me from my drowsy slumber. with the warning of a gas leak at the refinery.

Yeah, that got me awake in about 1 millionth of a second.  From sorta sleeping to BAM! total awareness, sitting up knocking Tufts off my chest and her claws took some skin and part of my t-shirt as she fell to the floor.  Turing the scanner up and reaching for my cell phone while yelling as loud as I can for my kids to come here NOW!

The last time I heard those tones there was a grass fire that consumed over 115 acres and was finally put out literally at the bottom of my street only 65 yards from my house.

So I listen for those tones, because my family's lives might depend on us KNOWING what is going on.  When the fire was coming close to my house no one was warning residents that a big fire was heading their way and while no one was seriously hurt several people lost outbuilding and one lady lost all of her chickens and goats with almost half her house.  We lost power for several hours so my base scanner was out of commission but my two battery operated scanners and my Ham Radio HT were still up.

So here I am listening to the Police, Fire, EMS and everyone at the refinery.  They have evacuated the one injured person, the Firemen are using their airpacks/SCBA to go in to locate the leak.  Hydrogen Sulfide is very flammable and caustic.

And right as I type this the Fire Chief is calling an all clear and requesting ventilators.  You know those big giant fans they use to disperse fumes and such.

If I didn't have my scanner and the proper channels programmed in, I wouldn't have known about this or other incidents which could threaten not just my life, but my kids lives.

If I didn't know the alert tones and know them subconsciously,  I could have just slept through all of the radio traffic which let me know what is going on.

However, I do have my scanners and I do know the tones.

And because of that, when I heard the tones they woke me up automatically.  Yes I have been pulled from deep sleep from hearing certain tones come over the scanner or certain words.  I woke up when I heard my street name earlier this month when EMS was being dispatched to a neighbors house when his wife was having a heart attack.

Do you have a means of "Tuning in"?  If you do, do you know your area's 10 codes?  Do you know the Alert Tones?

If the answer to those questions is no, Why?

The Police and Fire departments probably won't have time or the man power to warn you if something happens in your area that could threaten your life.  So get the equipment and the knowledge to take a proactive stance to protect you and your family.

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