Honolulu Fire Department
Honolulu, Hawaii
How we verified this
As of August 2026 RadioReference lists every Honolulu Fire Department talkgroup on the Honolulu City and County Public Safety System (P25) as encrypted, starting with "2680 HFD FIRE DISP — Fire Dispatch — T Enc", along with the city's EMS dispatch ("2400 EMS DISP — T Enc").
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Honolulu County Context
Honolulu Fire Department isn't an outlier here: 8 of the 8 public-safety agencies we track in Honolulu County are fully encrypted (100%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Honolulu County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
There is no partial access here: routine dispatch is encrypted alongside everything else, so a scanner picks up nothing from this agency at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Honolulu Fire Department radio encrypted?
Yes — Honolulu Fire Department's radio system runs on P25 AES-256 encryption. There is no partial access here: routine dispatch is encrypted alongside everything else, so a scanner picks up nothing from this agency at all.
Can I listen to Honolulu Fire Department on a police scanner?
No. Honolulu Fire Department has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Honolulu Fire Department encrypt their radio?
Ask why, and the answer is usually officer safety, sometimes operational security. What is harder to obtain is any documented case in Honolulu County where an open channel caused harm. The costs need no such documentation: reporting on fire department response slows down, and mutual-aid coordination gets more awkward, immediately.
Can Honolulu County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes. Whoever made this call for Honolulu Fire Department can also unmake it; there's no technical lock-in. The approach that has worked elsewhere combines public-records requests, direct council pressure, and a coordinated local coalition.
What can I do about Honolulu Fire Department encryption?
Contact the officials who oversee Honolulu Fire Department's budget directly and ask why full encryption was chosen over partial alternatives. Pair that with a FOIA request for recordings and policy records, and look for an existing coalition in Honolulu County, or start one, since agencies respond differently to organized, sustained pressure than to individual complaints.