Many people enjoy following the action of Gisborne CFA on a radio scanner. With the transition to a fully digital radio network, these radio receivers no longer work. The reliance of many people on the radio transmissions to keep in touch has led to the CFA providing internet streams of the dispatch channels.

You can now tune into regional radio dispatch traffic from anywhere in the state using a free website Broadcastify. The website allows you to stream, or download, live audio of Vicfire (ESTA) dispatching trucks to local incidents or emergencies in their district.

The website is free to access, easy to use and it will give you the same audio currently available on their scanners or listening sets. To listen to the radio feeds members can search by their location, or can find a full list of the official feeds here by scrolling down to the ‘Country Fire Authority’. This gives you another way to access dispatch traffic regardless of their location – for example being able to tap into dispatch traffic as it’s happening in District 4, or District 24 or over the border.

Broadcastify is used by many other emergency services around the world and is dedicated to streaming dispatch radio traffic. The website is mobile friendly, and there are a range of free and paid apps availableto download on smart phones and tablets which are compatible with both Android and Apple devices. You don’t need to subscribe or sign up to listen to the feeds, however, as with any live streaming, it does require data downloads and members are reminded to check with their internet provider about their usage. A ‘beep’ will sound every sixty seconds to let the listener know if there is no traffic on the feed. This also helps remind listeners they are still downloading the stream even if there’s no traffic.