I Heard All That on the Scanner

If you truly want to feel the heartbeat of Cape May County, down and dirty, first-hand, buy and use a police radio scanner. Those devices will keep you up to the minute, faster than any other means of communication. Once frequencies are installed, (they are accessible on the Internet) all that’s needed is a listening ear and a bit of instruction as to the jargon you’ll hear and what it really means. If you like cryptograms, you’ll love listening, 10-4?
Police scanners have been a part of my listening life since my first two-channel Bearcat. It was a neat device, crystal controlled, but the best thing about it, when there was nothing happening either on the police or fire channels, it reverted to AM radio. That was the best of both worlds at the time.
As with many simple devices, it was so utilitarian it was replaced by flashier technology long before it wore out. If it were resurrected today, from wherever it reposes, I venture to say a couple of D-cell batteries installed and it would be humming right along.
Scanners have chronicled the changing times in this rural county. In those earlier days, there were far fewer fire calls. Why was that? Could it be that fire companies were only dispatched to real fires. If and when a fire company was summoned to an accident scene, chances were that someone had been killed or was in terrible distress.
Enter today’s “alarming” society. Carbon monoxide, that invisible killer, never got much attention when the old Bearcat alerted to fires and crimes. Modern, safety-conscious homeowners have installed carbon monoxide detectors and alarms as well as smoke alarms. Because of that, it’s commonplace any time, any day to hear fire tones on the scanner due to carbon monoxide alarms. Fire trucks must roll manned by properly-suited firefighters, many of them volunteers taking time away from jobs and home life.
Smoke detectors, known to save many lives, also were relatively unknown when Bearcat was king of the hill. If folks had them at all, they were installed on their ceilings powered by 9-volt batteries. When they chirped, the family headed for the doors as rapidly as possible. Now, many homes have alarms installed that instantly call the fire department. Many are false alarms, set off by electrical fluctuations or system malfunctions. Still, fire companies cannot take any chances, and must respond quickly to such alarms.
Hence, fire engines roll throughout the day to chase alarms that, frequently, are the result of burned toast, too much bacon being fried, or cake dough that spilled over in the oven.
Scanners also teach lessons about safe driving or avoidance of road rage. It amazes me to hear of overturned vehicles on the county’s overcrowded roads. How can they can get sufficient speed to go into second gear let alone flip over. A mental picture flashes, then comes into mind, “Was alcohol involved?” “Was a cell phone involved?” “Did the driver simply doze off?”
As one listens to a scanner, it’s impossible not to become involved from afar, especially with tragedies. Initially there may be a report, or perhaps several, of “a 10-50 involving two vehicles with downed wires.” When the fire tone goes off (each district has its distinctive sound that becomes recognizable to the listener), it’s evident the severity of the call by the dispatcher’s voice. “Report of a 10-70 in a structure at (address), heavy smoke showing. I told them to get everyone out of the residence.”
Instantly, when those calls are made, I imagine lives forever changed. I imagine the condition of the crash victims, perhaps unconscious and bleeding in a car that’s about to explode or trapped inside with dangling hot electric wires just out the window. I can picture a mother grabbing young children, screaming to get out and asking if everyone is alright. I can imagine little children wanting to get their beloved pets or stuffed animals, not realizing their very lives are at stake.
It’s also possible to gauge the sense of responding police, fire and rescue units. As they respond, especially the first ones of the scene, there are no wasted words. “Get the jaws for extrication…” “We need a second rig here” “Fully engulfed, expedite, expedite.”
“Jaws” means the hydraulic extrication tools known as the “Jaws of Life.” Those impressive tools can clip off a car’s roof so it can be peeled back like a tin can lid to free victims. It is also used to “pop” doors that are smashed in an accident.
When a life-threatening condition may exist, then quickly follows a call for the “ALS” (advanced life support) units, commonly known as Medic 9 or 5 from AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.
Silence will often follow as responders are too busy to talk. What’s next? The silence can be maddening. There may come a directive to close a highway to all traffic, and a call for a utility company because there is a downed pole, or call a tow truck. Extremely serious and accidents involving fatalities can be revealed by higher-ranking officers being notified as well as a fatal accident investigation units or the medical examiner and County Prosecutor’s Office.
So many volunteers are involved in all these incidents, it takes a police scanner to make us realize how vital are those responders. They often place themselves in danger for sheer strangers. Emergency calls come in midafternoon or in the wee hours of the morning. Regardless of the hour, there is always a response, sometimes on scene for hours.
Who would do that for nothing? Thank goodness there are many who do. They put self and family aside. They train for countless hours to become worthy to treat victims with first aid. They take other medical classes just so they can help save a stranger’s life.
Others do the similar training at the Cape May County Fire Academy. There, they learn the proper protocol for responding to blazes and perhaps the grizzliest scenes anyone can imagine. Again, who would do that for nothing? We owe them all a debt of gratitude.
Scanners also reveal life’s other side, suicide threats, illicit drug sales, beatings of spouses, drug overdoses and DOAs (dead on arrival), abuse of animals, neighborhood battles, and the unimaginable, neglect of small children wandering a neighborhood unattended, clad in a diaper or naked. All this and more happens every day in our hometowns, yet all with no commercial breaks.
A scanner paints a picture that might be unpleasant, but one that mirrors the society in which we live.