Knox County Public Safety Communications Information for Responders
Good Samaritan Hospital – Emergency Medical Services
Tactical Talkgroups (TAC)
Central Dispatch will assign a TAC talkgroup to incidents involving more than one agency or department that will be responding together. Currently, there are eight (8) TAC talkgroups for Knox County.
When an incident is inside the City of Vincennes, 42-TAC8 will be assigned first, working down to 42-TAC1.
When an incident falls within the County areas, 42-TAC1 will be assigned first, working up to 42-TAC8.
In the future, this will be revisited to make the process easier for assigning TAC talkgroups.
Using the TAC talkgroups:
Before transmitting, make sure the talkgroup is free of traffic to avoid interrupting ongoing traffic you may be unaware of.
Routing communications such as calling “en route” or “on scene”, etc should always be conducted on the assigned TAC talkgroup.
For EMS calls: When transporting a patient to the hospital, remain on the assigned TAC talkgroup until you arrive at the hospital. When you are in service and available for calls, revert back to 42-EMS to mark “available”. The TAC talkgroup will be considered available for the next incident upon your arrival at the hospital.
Radio Etiquette and Order Model
To ensure effective communications and message delivery, always use proper radio communications order. Never assume the person you are calling can or is listening to the radio at any particular moment, especially when no traffic has been sent for some time.
The order model in use is the “Hey you, it’s me” format. Example:
Medic 33 wants to call Central Dispatch
Medic 33: “Central Dispatch, Medic 33”
Central: “Medic 33, go ahead”
Dispatchers and other responders may be busy with other items which is one reason it is important to follow radio etiquette and procedures when communicating.
Special Event Information
Larger special events involving the EMA Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC-42) will have an Incident Action Plan (IAP) for all responding units to follow. EMS units staging or assigned to a special event should check-in with the Mobile EOC either in person or on a designated radio talkgroup from the IAP. If unsure if an IAP is in place for the event, contact Central Dispatch.
The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) utilizes web based applications for creating and updating Incident Action Plans. Responders can contact EMA and request access to a smartphone application to view IAP information. This method allows for real-time updates to the IAP to be viewed immediately without the need to create more hard copies and passing the information out. Hard copies can be printed as needed from the Mobile EOC.
Link to Apple App Store Link to Google Play Store
An example of some forms you will see on an IAP are:
- ICS 201 – Incident Briefing/Map Sketch
- ICS 202 – Incident Objectives
- ICS 203 – Organization Assignment List
- ICS 204 – Assignment Lists
- ICS 205 – Radio Communications Plan
- ICS 206 – Medical Plan
- Weather Forecast Update
