The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the availability if
essential radio communications for all first responders including,
but not limited to, police, fire, and emergency medical personnel.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AGENCY
Washington Township Police and Emergency Services.
BUILDING
A combination of materials to form a construction adapted
to permanent, temporary or continuous occupancy and having a roof,
with the exception of the following:
A.
Detached single-family or two-family dwelling unit buildings;
B.
Conventional agricultural buildings and structures erected upon
a working farm, including, but not limited to, farm animal buildings,
farm machinery buildings and farm stands;
C.
Commercial buildings 35 feet high or less, provided that said
building is not primarily of metal or concrete construction and does
not contain below grade storage or parking areas.
MINIMUM RADIO COVERAGE INTO A BUILDING
A minimum signal strength of -95dBm available in all areas
of the building when transmitted from the agency's radio system.
For purposes of this definition, 90% building coverage is considered
to be all areas of the building.
MINIMUM SIGNAL STRENGTH OUT OF A BUILDING
A minimum signal strength of -95dBm received by the agency's
radio system when transmitted from all areas of the building. For
purposes of this definition, 90% building coverage is considered to
be all areas of the building.
The agency shall maintain a document of technical information
specific to their requirements. This document shall contain (as a
minimum): the frequencies required, the location and effective radiated
power (ERP) of radio sites used by the in-building system, the maximum
propagation delay (in microseconds) and other supporting technical
information.
All buildings shall be subject to at least one in-building coverage
test as follows:
A. For newly constructed buildings, prior to the issuance of a certificate
of occupancy.
B. Whenever structural changes occur (including additions to buildings)
that would materially change the original field performance tests.
C. When any major repairs or alterations are made to an in-building
amplification system.
D. Any time a first responder experiences a radio communication failure
in responding to any event at a building.
Buildings which cannot support the required level of radio coverage
shall be equipped with a radiating cable system and/or a distributed
antenna system (DAS) with FCC-certified single boosters (aka bidirectional
amplifiers) or systems otherwise approved by the Chief of Police of
the Township of Washington, or his designee, including, but not limited
to, the Director of Warren County Public Safety in order to achieve
the required adequate radio coverage.
A. Battery systems. The active components of the installed system or
systems shall be capable of operating on an independent battery system
for a period of at least 12 hours without external power input. The
battery system shall automatically charge in the presence of an external
power input.
B. Signal booster requirements. If used, signal boosters shall meet
the following requirements as well as any other requirements determined
by the agency:
(1) All signal booster components shall be contained in one NEMA4 type,
waterproof cabinet. Permanent external filters and attachments are
not permitted.
(2) The battery system shall be contained in one NEMA4 type, waterproof
cabinet.
(3) The system shall include automatic alarming of malfunctions of the
signal booster and battery system. Any resulting alarm shall be transmitted
to the agency's designated recipient by means specified by the
agency including, but not limited to, automatic standard telephone
dial-up circuit, TCP/IP network circuit, RS232 interface, etc.
(4) FCC certification prior to installation. Pending FCC certification
is not acceptable.
(5) All signal boosters must be compatible with both analog and digital
communications simultaneously at the time of installation. The agency
will provide the maximum acceptable propagation delay.
(6) Only equipment that is preapproved by the agency may be used. This
section cannot be used by the agency to limit equipment to one manufacturer.
C. Approval prior to installation. No amplification system capable of
operating on frequencies licensed by the FCC shall be installed without
prior coordination and approval.
D. Acceptance test procedure. When an in-building radio system is required,
it will be the building owner's responsibility to have the radio
system tested to ensure that two-way coverage on each floor of the
building is a minimum of 90% upon completion of installation. Each
floor of the building shall be divided into a grid of approximately
20 equal areas. A maximum of two nonadjacent areas will be allowed
to fail the test. In the event that three of the areas fail the test,
the floor may be divided into 40 equal areas in order to be more statistically
accurate. A maximum of four nonadjacent areas will be allowed to fail
the test. After the 40-area test, if the system continues to fail,
it will be the building owner's responsibility to have the system
altered to meet the 90% coverage requirement. The test shall be conducted
using a calibrated portable radio of the latest brand and model used
by the agency talking through the agency's radio communication
system. A test location approximately in the center of each grid area
will be selected for the test, then the radio will be enabled to verify
two-way communications to and from the outside of the building through
the agency's communication system. Once the test location has
been selected, prospecting for a better spot within the grid area
will not be permitted. The gain values of all amplifiers shall be
measured and the test measurement results shall be kept on file with
the building owner so the measurements can be verified each year during
the annual tests. In the event that the measurement results become
lost, the building owner will be required to rerun the acceptance
test to reestablish the gain values. As part of the installation,
a spectrum analyzer or other suitable test equipment shall be utilized
to ensure spurious oscillations are not being generated by the subject
signal booster due to coupling (lack of sufficient isolation) between
the input and output antenna systems. This test will be conducted
at the time of installation and subsequent annual inspections.
E. Annual tests. When an in-building radio system is required, it shall
be the building owner's responsibility to have all active components
of the system, such as signal boosters, power supplies, and backup
batteries, tested to a minimum of once every 12 months. Signal boosters
shall be tested to ensure that the gain is the same as it was upon
initial installation and acceptance. Backup batteries and power supplies
shall be tested under load of a period of one hour to verify that
they will properly operate during an actual power outage. If the battery
exhibits symptoms of failure within the one-hour test period in the
opinion of the agency's representative, the test shall be extended
for additional one-hour periods until the integrity of the battery
can be determined. All other active components shall be checked to
determine that they are operating within the manufacturer's specifications
for the intended purposes.
F. Field testing. Police and fire personnel shall at any time have the
right to enter onto the property to conduct its own field testing
to be certain that a required level of radio coverage is present.