Henrico County Division of Fire

Welcome to the Henrico County Fire Broadcastify feed, providing real-time radio audio from Henrico County's Division of Fire. This feed keeps residents, first responders, and enthusiasts informed about real-time Fire activities in Henrico County.

About Henrico County

Henrico County is part of the Richmond Capital Region, conveniently located near major destinations including Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach, and the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. As one of Virginia's original eight shires, Henrico boasts a rich history, with landmarks such as the site of the Civil War Battle of Glendale and the historic Henrico Theatre. Today, it is a thriving community known for its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and modern amenities, offering residents and visitors a perfect blend of historical significance and contemporary appeal.

About the Henrico County Division of Fire

Henrico Division of Fire operates as a combination system of career and volunteer personnel, responsible for Emergency Medical Services (EMS), fire suppression, emergency management, and fire code enforcement.

The department serves approximately 335,000 residents plus visitors across 245 square miles of jurisdiction. Henrico Fire also oversees critical transportation routes such as I-64, I-95, I-195, I-295, VA-895, US-1, US-33, US-60, US-301, US-360. Henrico Fire operates 22 fire stations and a Fire Training Center. The department supports a diverse range of commercial, industrial, and residential needs.

Monitored Radio Resources:

This feed monitors the following talkgroups, providing coverage of Fire activities:

Dispatch Talkgroups

• F/R_D1 ("D 1"): Primary dispatch channel used by the Phoenix G2 Station Alerting system. Voice traffic is prohibited on this talkgroup.
• F/R_D2 ("D 2"): Secondary dispatch channel. Administrative radio traffic & talkaround. Typically used for Communications to go direct with units about status changes, station move-ups, etc.

Purpose-specific Talkgroups

• FTAC4 ("TAC 4"): Dedicated channel for EMS incidents that are not presumed to be cardiac arrests.
• FTAC5 ("TAC 5"): Dedicated channel for small-scale fire incidents, usually single-unit fire response calls for service.

Tactical Incident Talkgroups

• FTAC6 to FTAC12 ("TAC 6–12"): Assigned for moderate to large scale fire incidents & EMS calls which are suspected cardiac arrests that require a multi-unit response. Channels are assigned in the order of FTAC6, FTAC8, FTAC10, FTAC12, FTAC7, FTAC9, FTAC11.

Critical Talkgroups

• F/R_ATG ("Announcement Talkgroup"): A "priority" talkgroup programmed into all Fire radios for critical alerts, such as MAYDAY declarations. Communications will occasionally use this talkgroup to raise a unit who's not answering on other talkgroups. All Fire radios affiliated with the radio system receive transmissions from this talkgroup, regardless of their affiliated channel.

Conventional Resources

• 8CALL90: An analog repeater funded by the 2004 UASI grant used as a fallback in case of a trunked radio system failure. Learn more about radio resources like 8CALL90 made available to public safety users by the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG) here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Why do I hear a robotic voice?
  • The robotic voice you hear is "Samantha," a computer-generated voice from the Phoenix G2 Fire Station Alerting system. This system helps dispatch calls quickly and efficiently, improving response times and reducing firefighter stress. Learn more about Phoenix G2 here.
• Why does everyone use a 300-series number?
  • Henrico Fire uses the 300-series as part of a regional mutual aid agreement in the Richmond Capital Region. Each participating jurisdiction is assigned a unique hundred-series number for streamlined radio and dispatch interoperability. Henrico's designation is 300, so "Henrico Engine 21" becomes "Engine 321". This is especially helpful when outside jurisdictions are assisting Henrico, or vice versa.
• Why don't I hear any static, isn't this a radio feed?
  • ​Henrico County operates a P16 Trunked Radio System (Motorola SmartNet/Type II). The technical nature of this type of radio system means the voice signal is "digital" instead of analog, which results in no static and very clear voice. Additionally, trunked systems allow for significantly more channel capacity compared to a conventional solution.
• What's a "TAC channel"?
  • ​A TAC channel, short for "tactical," is used for incident-specific communication, like structure fires, major accidents, or rescues. These channels help keep radio traffic organized by separating communications for different incidents, preventing multiple users from talking over each other on the same channel.
• How can I listen without the internet?
  • ​For Henrico's radio system, you'll need to purchase a digital, simulcast capable scanner. The only two commercially available scanners are the SDS100 (portable) and SDS200 (base/mobile) from Uniden.
• When is the best time to listen to the feed?
  • ​Call volume is dynamic; however, there is usually increased activity during afternoon hours on weekdays, and anytime there's a significant working incident - like a structure fire, major motor vehicle crash, etc.

Technical Information

This feed uses a Uniden BCD996P2 scanner to recieve the trunked radio system & relay talkgroup aliases & radio IDs on the feed's alpha tag display.