Lost communications on radio networks between stations moved from CFA to FRV
The CFA is battling to sort out how it will continue communicating with stations lost to FRV today, as they shift to a different radio network.
CHAOS continues in the wake of the Andrews Government’s CFA carve up, as volunteers struggle to maintain radio communications with the newly formed Fire Rescue Victoria brigades.
The CFA is battling to sort out how it will continue communicating with the 38 stations it has lost to FRV today, as they shift to a different radio network.
Eleven of the 38 stations shifting to FRV will abandon the CFA’s Regional Mobile Radio (RMR) network and adopt the Metropolitan Mobile Radio (MMR) network used by their new FRV partners, the MFB.
A CFA memo lists the brigades moving to FRV’s metro radio network as: Caroline Springs, Greenvale, Eltham, South Warrandyte, Tarneit, Craigieburn, South Morang, Springvale, Point Cook, Rowville and Boronia will now use the MMR network.
The CFA is now scrambling to ensure volunteer brigades in outlying areas can communicate with these FRV brigades when they need to support each other, issuing them with portable MMR radios or trying to sort out a “software patch” that allows communication between the two systems.
The memo states: “In areas where CFA will now be supporting the new FRV areas utilising the MMR network, additional MMR portable radios are being acquired to assist with joint agency communications.
“Training on the use of the MMR radios will also be provided where CFA members are not familiar with the use of this equipment. Radios will be supplied in the coming days to CFA Brigades that do not already have them.
“In addition to the allocation of MMR portable radios across new CFA/FRV mutual aid areas, existing CFA channels in the Tait Radios will be “patched” to the current FRV (ex-MFB) MMR Dispatch channels.
“This will allow responding CFA vehicles-personnel to use the vehicle mobile radio to communicate directly with FRV and “FIRECOM” (ESTA) when responding to support FRV.”
The “patched” CFA channels are as follows:
Tait Radio RMR Channel – Patched to – FRV MMR Dispatch Channel
- CFA 581 – FRV Central 1
- CFA 582 – FRV Northern 2
- CFA 583 – FRV Southern 3
- CFA 584 – FRV Western 4
- CFA 585 – FRV Eastern 5
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