Tune In to Radio Disc

Radio discipline means properly using handheld, 

mobile and base station radios. In recent years, 

communication managers have noticed a sharp 

decline in radio discipline across the country. One of 

the trends they’ve noted is an increase in excessive 

or pointless talk over the radio. Professional wildland 

firefighters have to pay attention to this issue.

Firefighters have used radios for decades

Why is “radio discipline” a problem now

Radio discipline has become a problem in recent 

years for several reasons:

• Technology has opened the communication floodgates. 

Nowadays, people expect to be able to communicate 

more, not less. 

• Experts estimate the number of radios in use in wildland 

fire suppression has tripled over the past 20 years.

• Placing a radio in someone’s hands predisposes that 

person to use the radio—sometimes regardless of the 

necessity to transmit.

Tune In to 

Radio Discipline

National Interagency

Incident Communications Division

National Interagency I

Communications 

3833 S. Development 

Boise, Idaho 8370

(208) 387-5485

http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/niicd/in

BLM-FA-AE-10-00
So what  What’s the big deal with fir

their radios a lot? Isn’t that what ra

Excessive radio transmission isn’t just irritating. It creates 

some potentially serious outcomes.

First, research strongly suggests that constant speaking 

over the radio (or a cell phone, for that matter) can siphon 

a firefighter’s attention away from the fire environment. 

Researchers believe a person’s attention is like a well from 

which only one bucket at a time can effectively dip. Stick too 

many buckets in your “well” of attention at once, and none of 

them will fill up.

Second, overabundant radio traffic clogs the airwaves and 

can force necessary communication to wait in line or just get 

ignored. One analysis of radio traffic found that up to 12% of 

radio messages went unacknowledged. This is a significant 

safety issue, because communication isn’t communication if 

it isn’t being heard. 

Third, crowded airwaves are frustrating and can trigger 

requests for more frequencies on incidents. Frequencies, 

however, are finite resources just like engines, crews and 

aircraft. Additional frequencies simply may not be available. 

Using home unit frequencies on out-of-town fire assignments 

is not the answer. Radio frequencies are authorized for use in 

certain locations. You can use your “home” frequencies only 

on your home unit, because those frequencies are probably 

in use in dozens of other regions. Not only is using a “home 

unit” frequency in another part of the country illegal, it can 

cause serious communication and safety glitches. 

How do I improve my radio dis

You can do a lot to help improve radio discipline. Here are 

four good suggestions.

1. Train and practice radio use skills. Describing to a 

helicopter pilot exactly where you’d like a bucket drop, for 

example, is a skill. Your description must be clear, it has to 

make sense to the pilot (who sees things differently than you 

do—literally), and it needs to be expressed quickly. Practice 

describing target locations using headings tied to the hours 

on a clock (“Turn to your three o’clock now.”) or using 

prominent landmarks (“When you’re over the meadow, fly 

upslope to the base of the rock slide.”)

2. Discipline yourself to think through what you want to say 

before keying the microphone. Time is wasted—and confusion 

is created—when people talk over the radio without knowing 

what they want to say. Radios are not good tools for thinking 

aloud. In fact, some experts even recommend practicing 

a critical message once or twice just before transmitting.

3. Transmit only when you need to. Not all fireline 

communication needs to go over the radio. If you need 

to use the radio, use it. Hold side conversations off the 

airwaves.

4. Be a professional. Maintain your composure, be 

prepared, be concise and above all, be clear. Radio 

communication is almost purely verbal; the nonverbal clues we all unconsciously use in face-to-face 

communication simply aren’t there. 

Radios are fantastic tools, and the radio communication 

system used on incident management across the 

United States is world-class. However, the system’s 

effectiveness can be hobbled when its users practice 

poor radio use habits. Spread the word, and help keep 

our radio system tuned in to success.