TalkBeam for Fire & rescue

Push-to-talk for everything around the fireground

TalkBeam is a push-to-talk walkie-talkie app that gives fire departments a second, phone-based channel for station operations, recall, training and logistics, with a live member map and searchable transcripts, alongside the P25 radios you keep for the fireground.

Please note: TalkBeam complements, and doesn’t replace, your mission-critical LMR/P25 radios. Keep fireground, dispatch and interoperability traffic on your radio system, and use TalkBeam for everything around it.

CH 01The problem

The everyday traffic that clutters your radio system

Your radio system is for emergencies. A lot of what crosses it every day isn’t, and a lot of what your members need never reaches them.

  1. Admin chatter on tactical talkgroups

    Fuel runs, station logistics and “can someone pick up the part for the ice machine” end up on talkgroups that should stay clear.

    With TalkBeam

    Move the non-emergency traffic to TalkBeam channels for each station, apparatus or division, and keep your talkgroups for incidents.

    • Unlimited company channels
  2. Volunteer and off-duty recall is slow

    Paging reaches pagers, but sorting out who’s actually coming turns into a flurry of calls and texts.

    With TalkBeam

    An all-call reaches every member’s phone at once, members answer on the channel, and the officer hears who’s responding.

    • Priority talk & all-call
  3. Who’s where?

    Crews are at training, on inspections, on a detail or back at quarters, and finding them takes a radio call.

    With TalkBeam

    The live map shows members who are sharing their location, so the duty officer can see who’s at the station and who’s out.

    • Live team map
  4. Support staff out of range

    Rehab, logistics and public information staff at a long operation or a large event are hard to reach from far away.

    With TalkBeam

    Support staff stay on the same TalkBeam channel over cellular data, without taking up a tactical talkgroup.

    • Unlimited company channels
    • Any headset, glasses or CarPlay
  5. Heat on the training ground

    Training days and details run through extreme heat and summer storms.

    With TalkBeam

    Automated broadcasts read heat, thunderstorm and severe weather warnings aloud on your channels.

    • Automated safety broadcastsEnterprise
  6. No searchable record

    After-action reviews and training write-ups depend on memory and scattered notes.

    With TalkBeam

    Every TalkBeam transmission becomes searchable text. Enterprise adds retention and CSV export.

    • Searchable transcripts
    • Retention & exportsEnterprise

CH 02A day on TalkBeam

Saturday training, with the talkgroups left clear

A combination department runs a live-fire training day with two stations still in service. Tactical traffic stays on the county P25 system; everything else runs on TalkBeam.

On Monday the training officer searches “rehab” in the transcripts to write up the after-action notes. The county talkgroups stayed clear all day.

Illustrative scenario. People, places and times are made up; the features are real.

CH 03 · TRAININGTranscript
  1. TRAINING OFFICER All-call

    All members: training starts at 0800 at the burn building. Rehab is in the north bay. Hydrate before you gear up.

  2. ENGINE 2

    Engine 2 crew is ten minutes out with the extra SCBA bottles.

  3. TALKBEAM Automated broadcast

    Heat index at the training grounds is 104°F. Drink water every 15 minutes, rest in the shade and watch each other for signs of heat illness.

  4. TRAINING OFFICER Priority

    Rehab rotation every 20 minutes, starting now. Company officers, confirm on this channel.

  5. LT. ALVAREZ

    Ladder 1 copies, rotating now.

  6. CAPT. REYES Direct

    Chief, Station 1 is short a driver for B shift tomorrow. Can you cover the move-up?

CH 03What you get

What fire departments get on TalkBeam

Everything a two-way radio does, on the phone, headset or vehicle your people already have, plus the things a radio never could.

  • Unlimited company channels

    A channel per crew, site, shift or job, and the people who need each one. Supervisors can sit on all of them.

  • Priority talk & all-call

    Supervisors cut through the chatter mid-sentence, or reach every channel at once with one hold.

  • Live team map

    See everyone who’s sharing their location on one map, and who’s talking right now.

  • Direct talk

    Private one-to-one talk for the conversation that shouldn’t go to the whole channel, still kept in company transcripts.

  • Automated safety broadcasts Enterprise

    Severe weather warnings, thunderstorms, earthquakes, air quality and extreme heat near your sites or crews, read aloud on your channels automatically.

  • Searchable transcripts

    Every transmission becomes text with a time and a name, so anyone can scroll back or search what was said.

  • Any headset, glasses or CarPlay

    Talk through AirPods, a Bluetooth or wired headset, Ray-Ban or Oakley Meta glasses, Apple Watch, CarPlay or the phone itself.

  • Single sign-on Enterprise

    People sign in with their Okta, Microsoft or Google work account.

Features marked Enterprise are part of the Enterprise plan. TalkBeam isn’t an emergency service and doesn’t contact 911.

CH 04Plans

Which plan fits your department?

Both start with a 14-day free trial for up to 50 people. No credit card.

Teams

$8per person / month

or $6 billed yearly · 5–50 people

Fits a volunteer or combination department of 5 to 50 members that wants station channels, recall all-call, the member map and transcripts.

  • Company console
  • Unlimited channels
  • Live team map
  • SOS with location
  • Priority talk & all-call
  • Direct talk
  • Searchable transcripts
  • Email support
Start free team trial

Enterprise

$15per person / month

billed yearly · 25+ people · $13 from 100 · custom from 500

For larger departments and districts: single sign-on for your staff directory, automated weather and heat broadcasts, lone-worker check-ins for inspectors and fire marshals, an audit log and transcript retention.

  • Everything in Teams
  • Single sign-on (Okta, Microsoft, Google)
  • Automated weather & hazard broadcasts
  • Crash & man-down detection
  • Lone-worker check-ins
  • Audit log
  • Retention & exports
  • Private AI on your own servers
  • Uptime SLA & priority support
Book a demo

Weighing it against your radios? Compare three years of costs, or read the 30-day radio replacement playbook.

2:31

CH 05See it in action

Watch a crew run on TalkBeam

In our 2½-minute demo, a fictional ambulance company dispatches with an all-call, reroutes a crew over private direct talk, hears a flood warning read aloud in every unit and reviews it all in the transcripts. Every feature in it is real.

Or try the demo company yourself. In the TalkBeam app, open Me → Company and enter this code:

HCEMS247

TalkBeam for iPhone is in early access. Get early access.

CH 06FAQ

Fire & rescue: questions, answered

Does TalkBeam replace our P25 or LMR radios?

No. TalkBeam complements your mission-critical radios; it doesn’t replace them. Keep fireground, dispatch and interoperability traffic on your radio system. TalkBeam depends on cellular data or Wi-Fi and a charged phone, and it isn’t a public-safety radio system.

So what do departments use TalkBeam for?

Station and apparatus logistics, member recall, training days, inspections and prevention, special events and command staff coordination: the traffic that doesn’t belong on tactical talkgroups.

Can volunteers use their own phones?

Yes. Members install TalkBeam on their iPhone (Android is coming soon on Google Play) and join with your 8-character company code. You can remove anyone from the company console when they leave.

Do members have to hold the phone to talk?

No. TalkBeam works with Bluetooth headsets, AirPods, Apple Watch and CarPlay, and Hybrid mode opens the mic with one tap and closes it with another.

Does SOS reach 911?

No. TalkBeam isn’t an emergency service. SOS alerts the people in the channels you choose, with the member’s location.

What does it cost?

Teams is $8 per person per month, or $6 billed yearly, for 5 to 50 people. Enterprise is $15 per person per month billed yearly, from 25 people. Both start with a 14-day free trial.

Put your whole crew on one channel.

Try TalkBeam free for 14 days with up to 50 people. No credit card, and no radios to buy.