VMED28

VMED28 is a nationally allocated ems radio channel on 155.3400 MHz. Nationwide VHF EMS calling/coordination channel (formerly EMS-1).

The channel is part of the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG), maintained and published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) through the SAFECOM program. NIFOG is the canonical reference for nationwide public-safety interoperability channels and is used by federal, state, tribal and local responders whenever an incident requires units from multiple agencies to share radio communications. Because the channel is licensed for use anywhere in the United States, every fire department or EMS agency that has interoperability capability programmed into its radios will typically include VMED28 as part of a standardized NIFOG bank.

The mode is Analog FM with a fixed receive tone or NAC of 156.7 to keep co-channel traffic from far-distant agencies from breaking squelch. Because the channel is shared nationwide, transmit discipline is critical: units identify clearly, keep transmissions short, and yield the channel back to the calling agency between exchanges. During large-scale incidents — wildfires, hurricanes, mass-casualty events — an incident commander may temporarily assign VMED28 as the primary tactical channel for the incident if no agency-specific tactical channel is available to all responding units.

For ham radio operators, hobbyists, and journalists who monitor public-safety traffic, VMED28 is one of the high-value frequencies to keep programmed: outside of incident periods it is generally quiet, so the moment you hear traffic on it you know something significant has crossed jurisdictional lines. Pair it with the rest of the NIFOG VHF, UHF, 700 and 800 MHz interop ladder for complete interop coverage, and add the relevant state mutual aid channels — like CALCORD in California, MABAS Red in Illinois, or NJICS in New Jersey — for coverage of incidents that escalate beyond a single agency but stay within a single state.