Marion Fire Department
Public calls for service ring at the county PSAP located at the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office in West Memphis. Marion Fire Department also has its own non-emergency number. The dispatchers at this PSAP are handling calls for multiple agencies on several different talkgroups.[¹]
Radio traffic is plain English. Marion Fire uses well-structured and concise fire department radio procedure, both for dispatch and fireground communications.
The communications center answers to “dispatch.” Callsigns are equipment-based (Engine 1, Rescue 2, etc.). Marion Fire has a small full-time contingent with a large number of volunteer firefighter/EMT’s. Each member of Marion Fire uses a 700 series callsign when checking in to a call.
Marion Fire uses the State’s APCO P25 Phase II AWIN system. They primarily use two sites but I can only pick up the one at Shell Lake. That antenna, operating under FCC callsign WQBZ905, is 308 feet above the ground, near Interstate 40 in Shell Lake.
1. The agencies these dispatchers are fielding calls for include the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office, Marion Police, Marion Fire, Earle Police, Jericho Police, and Crittenden EMS.