Lingo
LE – Law enforcement
AOB – Alcohol on Breath
ATL – Attempt to Locate
BBL – Birch-Bay Lynden Rd
CAD or “Screen” – Computer Aided Dispatch (in-car computers)
MVA – Motor Vehicle Accident
RP – Reporting Party
MP – Mile Post
NB or SB- Northbound, Southbound
DV – Domestic Violence
VD – Verbal Domestic
DOA – Dead on Arrival
RO – Registered Owner
DOL – Dept of licensing
PSE – Puget Sound Energy
MRAP – Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (Vehicle)
BearCat – Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck
Title 69 issues – Usually related to Drugs, reference is to Title RCW 69
481 issues – Mental Health related
301 – DUI related
Flagged CPL – Has concealed pistol license
“Cold Report” – incident that occurred hours, days or even months earlier
“What-Comm” or “Radio” – Dispatch
WCSO – Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office
Code 1 – non-urgent response, when you can
Code 2 – urgent response (often meaning, lights)
Code 3 – maximum urgent response (often meaning, lights and siren)
Code 4 – everything OK, situation secure.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office
Designators
Area Agency Personnel & Unit Designators on WCSO Frequencies:
- Adam = Whatcom County sheriff personnel numbers
- Edward = Everson police personnel numbers
- Frank = Ferndale police personnel numbers
- George = Ferndale police on-duty sector & supervisor units
- Henry = Lummi tribal police on-duty sector & supervisor units
- Ida = Lummi tribal police personnel numbers
- Omaha = Customs and Border Protection helicopter
- Sam = Whatcom County Sheriff on-duty sector & supervisor units
- Tom = Nooksack tribal police
- Victor = Everson police on-duty sector & supervisor units
WCSO Personnel Designators – first number:
- 1 = staff (as in 1 Adam 2)
- 2 = sergeants (as in 2 Adam 100)
- 3 = detectives (as in 3 Adam 125)
- 4 = patrol deputies (as in 4 Adam 184)
- 5 = traffic deputies (as in 5 Adam 92)
- 9 = volunteers (as in 9 Adam 623)
- 11 = corrections officers (as in 11 Adam 109)
WCSO Shift Designators – first number:
- 1 = day shift (as in 1 Sam 2
- 2 = swing shift
- 3 = graveyard shift
WCSO Patrol Sector & Special Designators – last number(s):
- 1, 2, 3, etc. = sectors (as in 1 Sam 2)
- 20’s = sergeants
- 30’s = investigators
- 40’s = K-9 units
- 50’s = traffic deputies (50 is traffic sergeant)
Booking Codes
FTA – Failure to Appear
FTC – Failure to Comply
INV – Investigation
DWLS – Driving while license suspended
MIP – Minor in possession
DOC – Department of Corrections
MAL MISCH – Malicious Mischief
UNLAW IMP – Unlawful Imprisonment
NCO – No Contact Order
City Of Bellingham and Whatcom County
Bellingham Fire Department and Whatcom County Fire Districts
- Code Red – Full lights sirens, as fast as you can safely get here
- Code Yellow – Continue as regular, depends on alpha, delta, Charlie, bravo call
- Code Green – Disregard, no need anymore
- CVA – Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke)
- ALS, BLS – Advanced or Basic Life Support
Unit Designator
- Prospect: Fire and Medical Dispatch for all of Whatcom County. Located inside of BFD Station 1. It’s named Prospect because it used to be located on Prospect St in downtown Bellingham.
- Chief 1 – Bellingham Fire Chief
- Battalion 1 – On duty operations Battalion Chief
- Engines 1-6 – Front line engine companies
- Ladder 6 – Cross Staffed with Engine 6
- Ladder 2 – Reserve ladder truck
- Haz Mat 98 – A smaller version of the unit above. A F450 chassis with a custom box on the back housed at Station 6.
- Aid 1-6: Aid ambulances cross manned with their respective engine numbers.
- Medic 1-2 – Medic units stationed at Bellingham Station One.
- Medic 3 – Medic unit stationed north of Ferndale at Grandview Rd
- Medic 4 – Medic unit stationed on E. Smith Rd.
- EMS 6 (red pickup truck) – On duty shift Medic Captain. Responds to major calls in the city of bellingham as well as in whatcom county. (i.e. CPR in progress, Major car accidents, etc).
- EMS 1 – Medic 1 Division Chief
- EMS 109 – Medical Program Director (If he gets paged to a call, the world is ending somewhere in the county)
- 11, 12, 13’s – District 4. Includes the areas of the Britain Rd, and a portion of the Mt. Baker Highway. Directly adjacent to the east of Bellingham city limits
- 20’s – South Whatcom Fire Authority
- 30’s belong to District 8, Lummi Island and Bellingham Airport.
- 40’s belong to District 7, which covers the ferndale area.
- 50’s – District 5, BP Cherry Point Fire, District 17
- 60’s – North Whatcom Fire and Rescue
- 70’s – North Whatcom Fire and Rescue and Lynden Fire Department. Aid, Engine, and Rescue 75 are part of city of Lynden Fire. Lynden Fire Department will often be referred to as ‘liberty’ over the air.
- 81, 82 – District 1 – Everson, Nooksack, Nugents Corner.
- 84-87 – District 16 and 19
- 90’s – District 14 – Sumas, Kendal, Mt. Baker Ski Area (and the area in between)
(Excludes Hazmat 98, which is operated by the city of Bellingham)
Now some special use units that are one of a kind:
- Air 43 – Essentially a giant air compressor on the back of a truck designed to refill air bottles at the scene of a fire.
- Rehab 43 – A mini-bus converted into a supply unit. It’s sorta the water cooler for during and after a fire.
Bellingham Police Department
Unit Designators
- Boy = staff personnel numbers (1 Boy 1 = chief)
- David = detectives (David 1 = detective sergeant, David 2, 3, etc. = detectives)
- King = warrant officers (King 6, etc.)
- Ocean = sergeants’ and officers’ personnel numbers (Ocean 187, etc. – usually their badge number)
- Paul = patrol sector designators (Paul 1, 2, etc.), patrol sergeants (Paul 20, 21, etc.), traffic sergeant (Paul 50), traffic officers (Paul 51, 52, etc.), parking enforcement officers (Paul 71, 72, etc.), senior volunteers (Paul 76)
- Robert = school resource officers (Robert 5, etc.) – alternately, reserve officers?
- Zebra = Special Investigations Unit (Zebra 1 = SIU sergeant, Zebra 2, 3, etc. = SIU detectives
City of Everson
The city of Everson is dispatched on the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office dispatch frequency, 453.32500
- Edward = Everson police personnel number
- Victor = Everson police sector units
City of Ferndale
The city of Ferndale is dispatched by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
- Frank = Ferndale police personnel number
- George = Ferndale police sector units
Customs Border Protection
Unit Designators For This Area
100 – Admin
200 – Blaine Units
300 – Bellingham Units
400 – Lynden Units (Guide Meridian Station)
500 –
600 – Sumas Police
700 –
800 – Blaine Police
900 – Air/Marine Units?
Amateur Radio
Contents From The RadioReference Wiki
Other Info
Bellingham & Area Scanner Internet feed http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/ctid/2994
Looking for other radio info? wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Whatcom_County
More identifiers & info www.interceptradio.com/wiki/index.php/Whatcom_County,_WA
Additional Links which you may find helpful
WSDOT Traffic Cams
Mt. Baker Hwy Milepost Information
Whatcom County Road Closure Information – rarely updated
Whatcom Unified Emergency Management
City of Bellingham
City of Ferndale
City of Lynden
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Tip Lines
Illegal drug activity – (360) 676-6952
Other criminal activity – (360) 715-7459 or toll free 1-866-456-2157
City of Bellingham Tip Lines
Direct Line (360) 778-8611
To report a crime without a suspect (360) 778-8804
Non-emergency calls to Dispatch (360) 676-6911