[KE5NWT]

You are correct L7.....That is why I put in there to have an agreement with the agency before the fact so that they will know you. I am an agency head (police) and our area deparments will allow hams that we know to contact us in emergencies over the radio. We are a rural ranch county with thousands of acres of rough remote lands. We include wildfires as major emergencies, since they can grow to hundreds of acres within the first hour if not reported while they are still small. Last year we had two seperate wildland fires each over 2000 acres burning at opposite sides of the county on the the same day.
The practice of getting onto a frequency of a busy metropolitan department is a whole nother matter and I do not recommend it. I cant see much possibility that the cell service will be down or out of range in such an area. Chances are even a MARS/CAP modified radio won't work on their digital system anyway.

So first course of action is ALWAYS try a cell phone to call 911.