City of Oak Ridge Fire Department
Anderson & Roane, Tennessee
How we verified this
As of August 2026 RadioReference lists Oak Ridge Fire dispatch and all five fire tactical talkgroups, plus its medical, staging and hazmat channels, as encrypted on the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN).
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
Anderson & Roane County Context
City of Oak Ridge Fire Department isn't an outlier here: 2 of the 2 public-safety agencies we track in Anderson & Roane County are fully encrypted (100%), so most departments nearby have made the same move.
See every agency we track in Anderson & Roane County → County encryption overview →
What This Means
Every channel this agency runs, including day-to-day dispatch, is encrypted. That shuts out the public and local reporters, and it can complicate coordination with nearby agencies that still expect to hear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is City of Oak Ridge Fire Department radio encrypted?
Yes. City of Oak Ridge Fire Department uses P25 AES-256 encryption. Every channel this agency runs, including day-to-day dispatch, is encrypted. That shuts out the public and local reporters, and it can complicate coordination with nearby agencies that still expect to hear it.
Can I listen to City of Oak Ridge Fire Department on a police scanner?
No. City of Oak Ridge Fire Department has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did City of Oak Ridge Fire Department encrypt their radio?
Agencies cite officer safety and operational security. Those are assertions rather than findings — no local evidence is typically produced — while the effects are concrete and land straight away on anyone who relied on hearing City of Oak Ridge Fire Department to know what was happening nearby.
Can Anderson & Roane County reverse the encryption decision?
It can. The radios support open and encrypted operation equally well, so this is a configuration and a policy, not a constraint — and policies set by Anderson & Roane County officials are policies those officials can revisit when constituents press for it.
What can I do about City of Oak Ridge Fire Department encryption?
Three things carry weight, in this order: a public-records request for City of Oak Ridge Fire Department's encryption policy and radio recordings, a turn at the microphone during Anderson & Roane County budget discussions, and finding the other people locally already asking the same question. Individually these are easy to deflect; together they are not.