What does "Priority 1" mean on a scanner?
Priority 1 is the most urgent response: units go with lights and sirens because someone's life or safety may be at risk right now. Priority 2 is urgent but usually without lights and sirens, and Priority 3 is a non-emergency response.
Where Priority 1 fits: priorities
- Priority 1
- The most urgent response: lights and sirens.
- Priority 2
- Urgent but not an emergency response; often no lights and sirens.
- Priority 3
- Non-emergency: respond when available at normal speed.
- Med 1, Med 2, Med 3
- Kent County fire dispatch's way of giving a medical call's priority, with Med 1 the most urgent ("Engine 52 on a Med 1").
Priority and medical level are different things
The priority says how units respond. The medical level, Alpha through Echo, says how serious the patient's condition sounds from the caller's answers. A Delta or Echo call usually gets a Priority 1 response; an Alpha call often doesn't.
Police priorities
Police dispatch ranks calls the same way: Priority 1 for something happening now that threatens someone's safety, lower priorities for reports taken after the fact. Exact definitions differ from agency to agency.
More radio terms: Echo, Med 1, Med 2, Med 3, and the full list of scanner codes and radio terms. Read what the scanner is saying right now on the 616 scanner page.