Broward County Uniform Station Numbering

Broward County Uniform Station Numbering

The Broward County Uniform Station Numbering system is a system by which all fire stations and fire apparatus in Broward County are numbered. The numbering system was developed by the Fire Chief's Association of Broward County in order to minimize confusion and create efficient radio communications at large fires or emergency scenes, where multiple departments were working together. The system went into effect on October 1, 1990 after a large fire at GLS Fiberglass in Port Everglades in 1988. Prior to 1990, each fire department had its own numbering system, usually starting at 1 and proceeding to number each station that department operated from. At this large fire in Port Everglades, Dania Beach Fire Department, Hollywood Fire Department, Port Everglades Public Safety, and Fort Lauderdale Fire Department all were on scene with their own Engine 1s. As a result, every time a person called for "Engine 1" on fireground radios, confusion would ensue.

After this fire, the Fire Chief's Association realized there had to be a way in which to standardize all fire apparatus identifiers throughout the county. They developed a system by which each fire department's station was assigned a countywide station number based on the order in which it was built in the county. For example, Dania Beach built the first fire station in the county in the early 1900s, so they are given the rights to station number 1. Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue built the second station in Broward County, so they have the rights to the number station 2. This pattern continues for all stations throughout the county. If a station should close, the department to which the station belonged will keep the rights to that station number, should the department re-open that station, or build another one.

All units that respond from a fire station are identified over the radio by their type (Engine, Ladder, Quint, Rescue, Battalion, Division, etc.) followed by the station number (1, 2, 3, etc.). This allows any person to identify the type of unit, and its department of origin based on the unit identifier. For example, Engine 88 is a fire engine (apparatus type) and is from station 88, which belongs to Fort Lauderdale. If a station has more than one of the same type of apparatus responding from it, such as two rescues from one station, or two engines from one station, the apparatus type remains the same, but the number 2 precedes the station number. For example, the second rescue at station 46 is numbered Rescue 246. The second rescue at station 102 is identified as Rescue 2102. This numbering pattern continues for third, and fourth units respectively such as at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (Station 10) with Truck 210, 310, and 410.

By using this system, it simplifies all radio communications at large scale emergency incidents that occur in Broward County, and prevents duplication of unit identifiers, and confusion at an emergency scene.