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You can listen to Cincinnati scanners live on your phone, for free. The city and Hamilton County share a busy public safety feed, city fire has its own, and the metro area spills across three states, so there are separate feeds for Northern Kentucky and for the Ohio suburbs to the north and east. Here's which one to pick and how to start listening.
Not sure where to start? The combined city and county feed covers the most ground:
Hamilton County and Cincinnati Public Safety
Hamilton County, Ohio
Start with Hamilton County and Cincinnati Public Safety. If you live east of the city and want to hear the deputies who patrol your area, add Hamilton County Sheriff - East. Curious how a call gets from a 911 operator to the officers on the radio? Our explainer on how emergency dispatch works walks through it.
Medical runs make up most of what you'll hear on Cincinnati Fire, with fire alarms and crashes mixed in. When a working fire comes in, the traffic picks up fast as more companies get added to the call.
Covington, Newport, and the airport are just across the river, but they're in Kentucky and have their own radio systems:
For Campbell County and Newport, search the app for "Campbell County" to see what's available.
The northern and eastern suburbs sit in three different counties. Pick the one you live in:
When a big call breaks in Cincinnati, like a building fire or a shooting, listeners on the feed tag it in Scanner Radio. It shows up as a headline on the feed, so you can tell what kind of incident is going on before you press play.
You can also get a push alert when the number of people listening to a feed suddenly jumps. A spike like that is often the first sign something major is happening.
Download the Scanner Radio app, search for "Cincinnati," and tap play on Hamilton County and Cincinnati Public Safety. For fire calls in the city, add Cincinnati Fire.
Yes. Kenton County Police and Fire carries police and fire calls in Kenton County, which includes Covington, Erlanger, and Independence.
Yes. West Chester is in Butler County, so use Butler County Public Safety. Mason is in Warren County, so use Warren County Police, Fire and EMS.
Yes. Listening is legal in Ohio and in Kentucky. It's illegal to use what you hear to commit a crime or get in the way of police or firefighters.
Yes. Scanner Radio is free to download on iOS and Android, and every Cincinnati feed is free to listen to.
Listening from somewhere close to Cincinnati? These guides cover the nearest metro areas. Or browse every city scanner guide.
