Public Safety Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) include any system that provides wireless service via an antenna system in order to ensure that emergency responders can maintain wireless communications within a building in emergency situations. Enabling emergency communication is crucial when it comes to the men and women who are often the first on a scene when it comes to public safety. It’s also crucial for people such as building owners and other personnel who need to have the people under their structures or authority be safe in the event of a crisis.

As a general contractor, construction project manager, or building owner, you may know that many jurisdictions now require National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) or International Fire Code (IFC) compliant public safety and emergency responder radio coverage (ERRC) as a prerequisite for occupying a building. You may even be confident that your building requires a public safety radio coverage solution of some kind. But understanding the details of how coverage is tested and how it can be improved varies greatly by jurisdiction.

RHO Wireless will help you understand exactly what you need, the differences in code requirements, and guide you in the picking the right Public Safety DAS system for installation in your facility.

Understanding What Kinds of Public Safety Coverage Your Local Jurisdiction Requires

First responders must be able to maintain communications in an emergency throughout a property. Whether they are responding to a fire, medical emergency or domestic threat, they cannot be in a situation where their radios stop working. It is essential that their radios continue to transmit in hard-to-reach areas, such as stairwells, elevators, basements, and thick-walled or shielded areas. LEED-certified buildings with low-E glass will suffer from poor public safety radio coverage due to signal attenuation caused by low-E glass.

Public safety radio coverage for first responders is not an amenity but a requirement. Almost every city and county in the US has enacted local ordinances and codes making in-building coverage for first responders mandatory. These regulations mandate that every building must meet a minimum level of first responder communication reliability as a condition for occupancy. It is the responsibility of the building owner or operator to test their building and, if needed, install a system and make sure it is up to code.

Understand local codes is key, since there is no unified set of rules set at the federal level. Every jurisdiction has slightly different ordinances. Some larger cities have drafted their own codes to govern public safety communications. But most smaller municipalities are adopting the language in the IFC and NFPA codes rather than developing their own ordinances. That means that the location of your building and the relevant local authority dictates which codes you must meet.

One final note on local codes: don’t assume that only new construction must comply with these codes or that older properties are grandfathered in. There are already examples of the emergency responder radio coverage codes being enforced retroactively in existing buildings.

A Quick Overview: NFPA and IFC Requirements

The NFPA and IFC are the most commonly used standards and have been adopted by many local authorities.

Wireless Coverage

The NFPA dictates that 99% coverage is required in areas of “vital importance,” which are designated by your local fire department. In other areas, 90% coverage is required.

Equipment Enclosures

The NFPA and IFC specify that all equipment supporting the public safety network must be housed in NEMA-4 compliant enclosures.

Minimum Signal Strength

According to both the NFPA and IFC, a minimum signal strength of -95 dBm is required for adequate coverage.

Battery Backup 

Equipment that supports the public safety radio system must be able to function for either 12 or 24 hours on a backup battery.

In addition to these equipment and signal guidelines, there are also coverage testing requirements.

Coverage generally must be tested according to a “20 grid” process. In grid testing, each floor of a building is split into 20 sections, and each section is tested to ensure that there is connectivity and that the signal meets a minimum requirement.ty and that the signal meets a minimum requirement.

In most buildings with poured-concrete structures or underground garages, a Public Safety DAS system will be needed. These systems are interchangeably referred to as Public Safety “Distributed Antenna Systems” (DAS), Public Safety “Bi-Directional Amplifiers” (BDAs) or Public Safety “Repeaters.” Grid testing will determine which floors or areas that need to be covered by the Public Safety DAS system. 

Once installed, the public safety system is normally required to pass three types of tests: commissioning tests performed by the building owner, acceptance tests under the supervision of the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), and annual system performance and battery backup tests.

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If you're ready to get a quote for Radio Coverage Signal Strength Assessment or a public safety system, Contact RHO Wireless.

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