Field Comm Tour and Battalion Chief Ride Along - Wichita Kansas

Acting Battalion Chief Nick Woods takes us on a detailed tour of the Field Comm Unit, at 16:05 we respond to a high rise alarm and a reported house fire, and at 21:06 we check out the huge cache of radio communication and interoperability equipment WFD uses during major incidents.

[@Patriot-bn9om]

Spot On. Acting Battalion Chief Woods knows what he’s doing. Every word he uttered in this video is exactly correct. He has every tool he may need to deal with communications in every scenario he may face. I have used virtually all of the same equipment that he has and for all of the same reasons in MANY large disaster responses including fires, wildfires, US&R, hurricanes, floods, space shuttle recovery, etc. His points about ICS, interoperability, multi-band radios, deployable repeaters, dual sim Verizon and First Net devices, ham radio (dual band, HF, winlink email) and airband radios speaks volumes about the expanse of his knowledge of what the tools will do and understands why they are needed. The department is well led when the Battalion Chief understands how to employ all of this equipment and carries much of it in his own vehicle. Well done. It’s so refreshing to see someone of this caliber making things happen.

[@BluegrassFilmsKY]

Glad to see Wichita FD incorporating ham radio into their disaster comms. The SAR team I volunteer with in Louisville, KY. uses ham almost exclusively for our comms due to the abundance of repeaters and APRS IGates around, all team members have to hold at least a technician class license.

[@pauljameson1]

I’m glad y’all are actively using ham radio! My area is full of licensed people, but not many are active. My club is working on changing that, and being part of the AUXCOMM team in the county helps as well. So much shared knowledge across all different generations!

[@MegaShadow1964]

Very impressive. It's nice that Chief Woods is an Amateur Radio operator, too. It's critical to have someone in communications who knows radios. Bravo, very well done and excellent presentation!

[@LiamPattisonPhotography]

Wow... Acting Battalion Chief Nick Woods was a fantastic host for this video. What a classy, well spoken, and extremely knowledgeable firefighter he is. I couldn't imagine the amount of training and years of experience it would've taken him to get to that level of technical knowledge with all he went through. Really seems like he's for the people, as most are, and that's comforting. Awesome video Eric, loving this content. Cheers!

[@MrRory]

This was a wonderful video. I especially enjoyed the portion at the end detailing the various equipment. It’s wonderful to see a department have officers that are so well trained on the communications side of things. As someone who has been a ham operator for over 20 years, it gave me pure joy at the end of the video after reviewing all of the million dollar professional equipment. The man says, “and if everything else fails, here’s our ham radio kit.”

[@Dad-979]

👋🏻 hammer

[@pauljameson1]

Wow, as a radio nerd and licensed ham radio operator myself who is on my county’s AUXCOMM team, this video was a complete goldmine of beautiful radio caches and knowledge! It was really cool to see another area’s comm bus as we have an old 2004 van that has been converted into a radio van. We still run Windows XP to field program the cached radios, and a lot of the stuff we have isn’t really being used a lot. I wish we had something similar to Wichita’s bus that’s as up to date and functional. Lots to look forward to!

[@NedTheBison]

This is awesome Eric, a 2nd channel to follow along with the South Metro videos. Thanks for going out of your way for these. As a PIO you are doing an amazing job at helping future & current young firefighters with your knowledge.

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Thank you!

[@michaelt.9372]

I’m a HAM and this is like heaven for me.

[@pauljameson1]

Haha same here!

[@NotAFirefighter1]

Im so happy I found this channel, I just made captain 8 months ago and battalion chief is the final goal, im learning a lot of how different departments operate from your channel

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Congratulations on your recent promotion and best of luck in your journey!

[@tonyshield5368]

Great vid Eric, the amount of knowledge and skill to operate all of that kit and still do a BC job is awesome.

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Thank you! No doubt, his knowledge is impressive.

[@trob0914]

Well done, this BC is extremely knowledgeable and versed on Comms and technical IT gear!

[@X1j5]

I was the lead electrician at FSV about 12 years ago. Glad to see that they are still doing high quality work.

[@weston3303]

this is an absolutely amazing rig but the funniest thing to me was the low battery chirp from the smoke detector!

[@robhiggins8793]

Eric, Thank you for showing us this. As a ham operator, I really enjoyed this video. Love that you are branching out. Keep up that great job your doing.

[@mezamichael]

Very impressive setup in Wichita! BC Woods is very knowledgeable in many different facets. Thank you for sharing.

[@drakewheeler8698]

Working in low voltage technology I am very excited to see how technically capable and knowledgable the chief is with the electronic equipment. This fascinates me a lot, one day I would love to work on developing equipment like this for first responders.

[@seanconlin8712]

Eric as an amateur radio operator I'm glad to see that emergency services are open to using amateur radio as an auxiliary communications. I had an issue trying to get emergency services to understand the usefulness of amateur radio.

[@extraslayar4585]

HAM radio and other amateur radios are very common in emergency services. They arn’t as secure as everyone can hop on and cause mayhem. But during emergencies when the grid goes down and traffic overloads the actual radios HAM and amateur usually never go down so will be used. Im like 80% sure during 9/11 HAM was one of the primary forms of communication during the nationwide call for help.

[@Fivesx5555]

@@extraslayar4585 I'm also a Ham, and anytime severe weather happens hams are the first to report stuff and get info out, especially on a skywarn/ areas repeater.

[@chamian1167]

@@extraslayar4585Technically speaking, with addition of digital format’s nowadays. Some layer of security can be implemented that isn’t direct encryption (for amateur radio). Motorola’s MotoTRBO lineup offers RAS or Restricted Access to System which only allows users with correct RAS keys to transmit and receive on a handheld radio. Scanners can still pick these transmissions up (only unauthorized handheld radios won’t unmute upon RX because of the RAS) as it remains “clear” (once again, not an actual encryption).

[@seanconlin8712]

@@chamian1167 Yes I agree with you...some emergency communications need to be encrypted, such as PD during regular daily operations, but under situations like the emergency services repeaters are down due to a network issue or a tornado or hurricane taking down towers the Auxiliary Communications Services (ARES Amateur Radio Emergency Services) can step in and get the Emergency Services communicating and getting help where help is needed in the interim until necessary repairs or networks are reestablished. During an Ice Storm in Eastern part of the Province of Ontario and the Province of Quebec. Amateur Radio Operators were dispatching Police, Fire EMS and the Canadian Army due to the fact that there was no power to run regular communications systems or the repeater towers had collapsed do to the weight of the ice. Amateur radio operators in the Auxiliary Communications Services can set up temporary repeaters, antenna system to get communications up so that they could communicate. I was told by a police Sargent after the Swiss Air Plane Crash off of Nova Scotia they could not have done what they need to for the recovery of the plane pieces, personal effects etc. without the aid of amateur radio. Please don't take this the wrong way amateur radio does have its place along side the regular emergency communications.

[@patrickbuick5459]

Here in Moncton NB, the hammradiomclubis very active in keeping equipment and towers in the EOCs and practice regularly.

[@justinjones4822]

Being from Wichita, this is pretty cool. After watching all the Wichita videos it’s cool to see how prepared they are. How positive they are about the jobs. 🤘🏼

[@BruiserFL]

Quite impressive and well designed. Thanks so much for making this video with Chief Woods narrating. Just amazing. BTW, the kid in me would've loved to see the Field Comm Unit with all of its emergency response lights illuminated.

[@nosauce3039]

This thing is amazing! Thanks for everything you do and thank you Wichita fire for bringing us this unique experience!

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Incredible vehicle and awesome people at Wichita. Huge shout out to them for welcoming me and my camera in. Thanks for watching!

[@jeffpatch5]

Dude - You catch some good runs... I know you loved that siren too! Haha

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Ahh yes, that PowerCall sound has a special place in my heart lol

[@davidbehrend7054]

As a communications geek, member of my local REACT team, Amateur Radio Operator, retired Public Safety Dispatcher (Fire / EMS / Police) for the city, and current Police dispatcher for our local university police department, I am very impressed with your entire field communications setup!!! I am so glad to see that y’all are including amateur radio into your operations. All too often, it is overlooked, as it can be a valuable tool during emergency situations, especially large scale operations.

[@Slycandyman]

Lol can’t be the only one that noticed the smoke alarm chirping and needing a new battery kind of ironic 😂

[@pauljameson1]

Very ironic considering it’s a multi-million dollar Comms bus for the FD!

[@DougWalton21]

Very sweet piece! I also really like the livery of the unit, and the various FD touches - very cool!

[@RJSAMCRO]

This is awesome had no idea how busy Wichita really is. Great work loving this

[@KSEmergencyPhotos]

Eric thanks for the amazing content getting to help show what the WFD does for the community. Keep up the amazing work.

[@loyalemassey8092]

This was awesome video thank you again for coming to Wichita and sharing your experience

[@SafetyMentalst]

Jerry Rome Bass : I was coming back from Wyoming Vacation to Texas and Blew a Tire on the Interstate in Wichita . Drove on the rim to get out of danger off the next exit to a gas station , I could not get the bad rim off nor the car jacked up nor the spare tire out from under the car. I looked up and low and behold these Firemen pulled up behind me . On the Anniversary of 9-11 , I was Rescued . I could not Thank Them Enough. The Chief said to me "That's What We Do "

[@patspencer5649]

VERY impressive. Thanks for showing!

[@Internethugg]

I really enjoyed all the radio talk

[@Internethugg]

This is amazing, so glad to see agencies preparing and planning for stuff like this.

[@donlyons3196]

OUTSTANDING SERVICE!!

[@zackbaker4562]

All the radio talk is awesome

[@jimmyssnowremoval1075]

The guy from the fleet Friday on south metro for the dispatch truck must be geeking out about all the radios

[@MrBrandon105123]

Something tells me your SMFR tech guys and dispatchers are gonna be absolutely drooling. Rightfully so lol

[@WorkingFirePIO]

We're gonna need a squeegee for all the drool! It's such a great way to get new ideas!

[@ktar7189]

Thank you Eric for everything you do your friend Kyle

[@ErikTheAndroid]

Man I literally uttered "Jesus Christ!" out loud when I saw the pelican case full of radios. That is a LOT of money in that case and I am very jelly.

[@owensweetland342]

Wow! That's different. A B. C. gearing up. Not often seen unless it's work. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@adamherrmann3456]

Super impressed by his knowledge of all the technology.

[@Coastie281]

Great video Eric! I am very impressed with Wichita's setup!

[@jeffreykornspan9053]

Great video with lots of great equipment.

[@chriswilson9230]

Outstanding comm apparatus. Very impressive. I agree with a couple of other comments, it is good that they have incorporated ham. I’m not a ham operator (I need to), but believe in utilizing ham, especially in disaster situations. Great job, I’ve subscribed to your channel.

[@rgamore]

FANTASTIC !!!!!!

[@kindakrevan]

Hilarious to me that a fire department vehicle has a low smoke detector battery. 12:45

[@jamieramsay7327]

Great video again!!

[@ki4nge4]

As a Ham Radio Operator I say Thank You for Including US in your Departments Communication system... And DAMN I WANNA WORK FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT... Damn...... Your Comm Set up is SWEET !!! 73 KI4NGE

[@franklewis6943]

36:58 When BC Woods said, "And then, kinda the last thing is over here . . ." I really hoped he was heading for the vacuum cleaner. In all seriousness, though, that is an amazing array of comms equipment; a veritable plethora of everything *_AND_* the kitchen sink. (Apparently, however, not a vacuum cleaner.) On one hand, it's surprising a department the size of Wichita would need, or have a use for all of it but, on the other, they are a key agency not only for the greater Wichita/Sedgwick County region but also the state and nationally. Also, comms are key to efficient, successful incident management, and today technology is key to communications, so it behooves any organization with a lead role in providing those comms have all the tools to ensure every possible technology utilized at the incident can "talk" with all the others. Very smart planning by WFD to have that capability on-hand and knowledgeable people like BC Woods to apply it. Lastly, if you ever get the hankering to check out Wichita's FieldComm bus again, Eric, keep in mind there's a very similar one in your own neighborhood: Arvada PD operates a very similar Farber, and Arvada is much closer than Wichita.

[@brandona1370]

HAM operator here. I loved seeing all the communications equipment! So many questions though...

[@10-8technologyinc.5]

Absolutely love this!

[@211Gus]

I appreciate his commentary in hindsight on the specs of the bus. We don't get everything right when filling out the order sheet.

[@josephleonelli6776]

Excellent presentation

[@Burritosarebetterthantacos]

I literally cant wrap my head around this. Im fighting hard to get a treadmill in my station, a second set of gear for #cancer, and weve been fighting for years to get out of our mold and asbestos ridden main station. Crazy how different zipcodes do things despite being the same career. Cue the jealousy from KY😂

[@masonpletz7033]

That comms team is impressive as all get out. Would love to be involved in something like that

[@eliteadventures3884]

I got to use this on a wildland fire. It was freaking sweet to have. Also the kurig was a big win.

[@TheChubbyKid]

Lol a Keurig have fun with that watered down coffee, get a Bunn. I'm also laughing my ass off at the smoke detector chirping.

[@macktruck6407]

I agree with all the others, great job, BUT! ... need to see those engine hose beds! Wichita FD has an awesome hosebed set up and concept! But really, great stuff, thanks for the excellent videos, well done!

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Absolutely! The newer Wichita Engine Companies have an excellent spec! I'll be sure to feature one of them in a future visit.

[@_.momjeans_9219]

I need more vids I’m addicted to these

[@TheOriginalBound]

Would love to see you cover Rescue 1 in Savannah, GA. Top notch department out there!

[@417rogers]

I think I saw this getting built on our inspection visit awhile back....cool

[@mikewolf5367]

Fantastic video. Thank you for uploading. One thing that wasn’t mentioned was where the PlayStation hookup is. 😋

[@LakesRegionEmergencyPhoto]

What a cool rig!

[@BigDuke-md8ec]

Love the content, keep up the good work . I’m just gonna say chances are most of that equipment will never be used , but I guess you gotta have it because u never know

[@ki4nge4]

Great Video Eric !!!!!!

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Thanks!

[@sekkhoasmadi1625]

The irony of the battalion command vehicle's smoke detector battery warning in the background :P

[@firemedic222]

Awesome Eric

[@SafetyMentalst]

On #Remember911 Day , Blew a Tire coming in to Wichita Kansas . Drove on the Rim to the next exit parked in a gas station and could not get Wheel off or the car jacked up or the spare Tire out from under the car. Out of No Where the Firemen where There.

[@NeilM01989]

Good video, liked and shared 🧑🏻👍🏻🚒

[@beccab9724]

So on the fire department’s field office bus is a chirping fire alarm😂 happens to the best of us I guess.

[@mackflickerson6722]

Pretty good interop solutions Wichita Fire has access to. I hope they make a similar investment in their station alerting for zoned and ramped alerting for their busy companies.

[@Engro-zt4fr]

You should search up the fire rescue Victoria (australia) command bus 1 it’s massive and it looks awesome! Love the videos man keep it up ❤

[@haroldreed9078]

Incredible.

[@BACONndEGGS]

as a PIO you must of been nerding out Eric

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Can confirm. Nerding occurred.

[@FireEMS38]

Rumor has it. Eric came right back to South Metro and demanded they get one ordered STAT! 😂

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Make it two ;-)

[@FireEMS38]

@WorkingFirePIO one at the east and west, perfect response time to all directions and coverage when one of them is deployed. 😉 I like your thinking.

[@franklewis6943]

@@WorkingFirePIO Does SMFR still have access to the Greenwood Village PD mobile command post that your two departments used to share? Also, why did South Metro give up their claim to it in the first place?

[@WorkingFirePIO]

@@franklewis6943 SMFR has access to several mobile command units including Arapahoe, Douglas or JeffCo Sheriff and Greenwood Police. Aurora and Denver have identical units to GVPD's and are also regional assists that SMFR could call. Those vehicles weren't created with firefighting in mind and don't have any viewing windows. We found over the years that fire incident commanders want and need to see what's happening with smoke conditions etc. and just didn't like working without a view. SMFR rarely needs a mobile command unit (maybe 1 or 2 times annually) but GVPD uses it weekly during concert season at Fiddlers Green. It makes more sense for GVPD to house it, and SMFR can partner with the law agency in unified command of an incident, then use the most appropriate command unit.

[@franklewis6943]

@@WorkingFirePIO Makes sense. I forgot that GVPD covers Fiddler's and accordingly has a greater need for a mobile command post than does SMFR. Guess it's kinda like your neighbor's lawnmower: Yeah, you really should have your own but there's more important stuff taking up space in your garage and, besides, he lets you use his when you need it, so why deal with the headaches of owning one, right?

[@FranciscoCarmo1997]

Just WOW! 👏👏👏

[@humang]

Awesome bus.. someone should replace the battery in that smoke detector 😂

[@carsonoakley4589]

best fire channel

[@WorkingFirePIO]

Thank you!

[@thomasm3324]

A Motorola Apx is $4,000 each and he has a case with 40 of them. I lots track on the cost of what was on those tablets. What Grant did they use.

[@ryanl4175]

Grant money, slow down killer

[@davidstewart3403]

This agency loves their cordless phones! I am a Ham as well and really don't see the point of the long range phone systems as a cell phone or two way radio could do the same thing. Especially when the back haul to all those systems appears to be cellular. Oh well! Great Video, South Metro still rocks!

[@Lucyblacklab]

That is sweet 👍

[@HumanLoafMode]

Wichita FD Is stacked!

[@mattbrown1865]

1st I love your videos, From and live in Wichita. I gotta say this bus sounds like a big waste of money..., so ya forget buses don't have sea belts.

[@rossbaines2568]

this is realy cool

[@edchellino8529]

Vey impressive.

[@pauludulutch4353]

Pretty cool. I did 10 years of service as a volunteer in the 80’s so this field com stuff makes me clueless!

[@thomasdaily4363]

Great job, Chief. Now you gotta go put all that stuff back in your truck.

[@Bobbyd0052]

GAME CHANGER,4 SURE !🇺🇲

[@richconroy7267]

I can’t believe you got a tour of the Batcave and didn’t introduce us to Alfred. 😂

[@joshw1687]

Thats finny u heard the response go by on the outside of the bus but the camera system also got the engine go by 😂

[@ChrisandEileen]

I find it hilarious that i keep hearing a smoke alarm chirping in the background.. Change those batteries!!! :P

[@mooseriddle]

That rig is bigger than the one our County FD has. It looks like 53 foot 18 wheeler.

[@grizzly-bear-1k24miles2]

No way the detector needs new batteries LMFAO I heard the beep😂

[@thyluveli]

Chicago Next!!!

[@Boyd-ok9xe]

Great work as always have u thought of using helmet cams so we could get or Chef or firefighter pov

[@rfiorini]

Pretty funny that the smoke alarms were beeping for new batteries.

[@cdocker3070]

Is this a Newell coach? Also does wfd have its own fleet maintenance techs or is that contracted out? Thank you for the tour!!

[@WorkingFirePIO]

This is a Freightliner chassis with custom body work by Faber Specialty Vehicles. The City of Wichita had a large fleet maintenance facility with in-house staff who service the fire apparatus.

[@srobak]

still watching - looking at all the gear strew across the tables. this is what happens when a ham radio operator gets to also be a firefighter and has a nearly unlimited budget. jesus way too much stuff and across waaay too many communication disciplines. especially for fireground and emergency scene management - keeping it simple is always best.

[@patrickbuick5459]

When I was in Calgary, Alberta, as a ham and former EMS worker, I helped with a country-wide USAR practice. The inter-agency communication equipment was crazy. Calgary gave Toronto a run for its money at that time. Our ham club was up there too, as we helped manage their inter-agency stuff. You would be amazed what you find you need when many agencies get involved with their different systems and trying to meet the demands of the different oversight departments (like wildfire etc.) The whole operation fell apart without good communication.

[@nlocke74]

ALOT of MONEY in that room holy cow

[@je7429]

Please try a ride along at Hinsdale Fire Station in Hinsdale IL! Station 84 is the station number! Appreciate it!

[@srobak]

That's cool - but their Ubiquti access point on the mobile command bus is incorrectly mounted. This is limiting the effective range of their wifi.

[@docnelles1249]

Fantastic vehicle. Your comment that it got kind of crowded I was wondering could you connect to another command unit to expand capabilities?

[@nickwoods7760]

We usually just move into a building at that point.

[@Leotheconstructionguy]

At that point just do it in a building 😂