Live fire scanner radio
Hear the firefight as it happens — wildfire dispatch, tactical, command, and air-to-ground radio near active fires. We connect you straight to the live public-safety feeds, with a plain-English guide to what you’re hearing.
Scanners near active fires
Tap a fire for its details, then Listen to open its county’s live police/fire/EMS scanner feeds on Broadcastify — dispatch, tactical, and command traffic, where available.
Find a scanner feed anywhere
No active fire near you? Search any city, county, or agency — or jump straight to your state’s fire feeds.
Top wildfire scanner networks
Curated launchers to the platforms that host live fire radio.
Broadcastify — wildfire feeds ↗
Dedicated wildfire dispatch, air tactical, and incident feeds from across the country.
Broadcastify — browse all feeds ↗
The largest live scanner platform — browse 7,400+ fire & EMS feeds by state and county.
California (CAL FIRE) feeds ↗
Every California police/fire/EMS feed grouped by county — CAL FIRE dispatch and tactical nets.
Broadcastify — top feeds ↗
The most-listened feeds nationwide — usually the biggest active incidents.
OpenMHz — trunked radio replay ↗
Free, open replay of recorded public-safety radio calls from community-run systems.
RadioReference — frequency database ↗
Look up the exact dispatch, tactical, and command frequencies for any agency.
What you’re hearing: a channel guide
Fire radio is split across channels by job. Here’s what each one carries.
The main channel where the comm center toughs out calls and sends units. Best for “is there a fire and where.”
On-scene crews coordinating the actual firefight. Fast-moving and detailed once units arrive.
Incident commanders and division supervisors managing strategy across the whole incident.
Pilots and ground crews coordinating retardant and water drops — the busiest channel during air operations.
The air attack supervisor orbiting above, directing tankers and helicopters.
National and interagency coordination nets used on large, multi-agency wildfires.
Pair the radio with the map
Fire scanner radio FAQ
How do I listen to fire department scanner radio online?
Open a live scanner platform like Broadcastify, find your county or the county of an active fire, and play its Fire/EMS dispatch feed. On this page, the “Scanners near active fires” section links each current wildfire directly to its county’s feeds, and the curated list connects you to statewide and wildfire-specific networks. It’s free and legal to listen to most public-safety dispatch audio.
What scanner channel do I listen to for a wildfire?
Start with the county or agency Dispatch channel to learn there’s a fire and where it is. Once crews arrive, the Tactical (TAC) and Command channels carry the on-scene firefight, and Air-to-Ground / Air Tactical channels carry the tanker and helicopter coordination during air operations. See the channel guide on this page.
Is it legal to listen to fire and police scanners?
In the U.S., listening to most public-safety radio is legal — it’s broadcast in the clear, and platforms like Broadcastify stream it publicly. (A few states restrict using a mobile scanner in a vehicle, and some agencies encrypt their traffic.) Listening online to a public feed is generally fine; always follow your local laws.
Does FireRisk.ai broadcast the scanner audio itself?
No. We’re a launcher — we connect you to the platforms that host live public-safety audio (Broadcastify, OpenMHz) so you reach the right feed fast. The audio is streamed by those sources, not by us.
Why can’t I hear some agencies?
A growing number of departments encrypt their radio traffic, which can’t be streamed, and some rural areas have no nearby scanner feed. When that happens, the county Dispatch or a neighboring agency’s feed, plus official sources like Watch Duty and InciWeb, are your best options.
Is there a fire scanner app?
You don’t need one — this page and Broadcastify play in any browser. If you want a dedicated app, the Broadcastify (iOS/Android) and Scanner Radio apps are the most popular for live police/fire feeds, and OpenMHz is a free option for trunked-radio call replay. Listening to public-safety feeds online is free and, in most of the U.S., legal.
What are common fire scanner frequencies?
Fire and EMS typically operate on VHF high-band (roughly 151–159 MHz), UHF (453–460 MHz), and 700/800 MHz trunked systems; national interoperability channels include VFIRE21–26 and VTAC. For your area’s exact dispatch, tactical, and command frequencies, use the RadioReference database linked above. If your agency uses a trunked or encrypted system you can’t scan directly, a Broadcastify feed is the easiest way to listen.
FireRisk.ai links to live public-safety audio hosted by third-party platforms (Broadcastify, OpenMHz) and does not rebroadcast their feeds. Scanner traffic is unofficial, can be delayed, and is for awareness only — for evacuation orders follow your local authority, Watch Duty, and call 911 in an emergency.
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