Departments vs Stations?

You do have the "Groups" function, which acts in a similar way.

I have previously mentioned linking stations into departments. I think it would be helpful for manpower, units, dispatching, etc. To your idea, I suppose that would work, maybe it would require setting a boundary (like a city limit) for where units could respond within it. Perhaps something like the patrol menu where we set the routes, but instead we're setting a limit for response.

Quote from Gavin876

You do have the "Groups" function, which acts in a similar way.

The problem I've encountered with groups is in the fact that it selects ALL the units within that group, where as with response regulations it only selects the number and type specified. I ran into a problem where I was using response regulations to assign alarms for structure fires. Due to the limitations of the Chief, my brush units are classified as engines and get assigned on structure responses; or vice versa, a regular engine will be assigned to a grass fire when a brush may be at the same station and available.

It would be nice to use the groups function in harmony with alarm response regulations. For example you can select which stations the units in a response come from, would it be possible to select a group that the units come from in a response regulation? You could have the possibility of giving a group an unlisted value so that it wouldn't appear on the calls tab like all groups do now, and using those unlisted groups to categorize vehicles as you wish, by department or type of unit you specify. Then, add a drop down menu on the alarms and response regulations tab to select which group the alarm will draw the units from so only units from the corresponding group will be selected, just as you're able to do with stations.

EDIT: After careful consideration, while this is a good solution for department responses and individual unit response tabs, it does not solve responses where units need to be decluded from a response plan. Using groups in conjunction with alarms/reponse would essentially be a blacklist/whitelist system, I just never included a solution of the blacklist part, only whitelisting. The blacklist system would function just as the whitelist system, but would instead preclude any unit listed in the group. It would also function as a dropdown menu, and maybe have the ability to select multiple groups through either a.) Another dropdown menu that appears under the first once an option has been chosen or appears by clicking a small prompt such as a + icon, or b). Another dialog tab listing all groups and allowing you to mark which ones are included.

There is a checkbox in the edit menu of every vehicle that says "Exclude in the Alarm and Response Plan". I have all my brush trucks marked as such and that way they don't get called to a residential fire or whatever else (commercial, industrial, etc.)

Quote from letsgohope12

There is a checkbox in the edit menu of every vehicle that says "Exclude in the Alarm and Response Plan". I have all my brush trucks marked as such and that way they don't get called to a residential fire or whatever else (commercial, industrial, etc.)

That's well and good for structure alarms, but for brush responses I'd like to respond ONLY brush trucks, or a brush and an engine, depending on location and the engine's capacity as a grass fighting engine with a response plan, but I would be unable to if those units are, as a whole, excluded.

I use single unit response plans for smaller calls for service alongside full response plans (or was using these, until I ran into these problems lol) separated by columns to quickly select the unit and amount to send to a call, or send an additional vehicle with individual unit response buttons if another vehicle or manpower is needed, or if a call escalates and a partial response is already on scene for the upgraded call that I need send one or two units to, however with the current alarm and response system that makes it impossible to do.

Using groups a way to filter alarm and response vehicles would allow the ability classify units as brush vehicles as a whole including trucks and engines into a unified response pool for multiple unit responses, brush truck only responses, grass engines only, etc., or as a blacklist that woukd act as you said as the blacklist option we have now, but still allow those units that may not be good for one reaponse plan, to be readily available for another that you need.

Assuming that you use type 2's as brush trucks, allow me to make a formal request to make Type 2 Engines another option in the Alarm and Response menu.

Quote from letsgohope12

Assuming that you use type 2's as brush trucks, allow me to make a formal request to make Type 2 Engines another option in the Alarm and Response menu.

I actually use type 1's with a max transport size of 2-4 (depending on department vehicle's make and model). Using type 1's allows me to reconvert them to a full size engine company if I need to move a company to another department that has and requires one more than a department would need a brush unit.

And while adding type 2's to the response plans is an excellent idea, it still doesn't solve chevyrulzs' problem of wanting to group his fire stations under the one unified department they operate under and wants his call responses to only come from, nor does it allow for a more versatile and role-play/realistic that I could see being available to the player base if groups were added as a functioning list to draw/block units from in alarms and response regulations.

Adding groups as another means of filtering your alarms and response regulations would essentially allow people to not only create city specific response plans, only drawing resources from the city's response group, but also allow for players to essentially create their own unique unit types as well that can be called from the alarm response tabs. I did a mock up of what the implementation would look like.

I've attached two mock up photos demonstrating what I believe could be a way to add more to the game that would benefit all of the players in one way or another. These pictures are made with a basis on the viewer having a basic understanding of how both alarm and response regulations, and groups work, which I'm sure most if not all of the people here have used or tinkered with at one point or another.