[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Tredyffrin 1-19-2016 by Ord.
No. HR-413. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alarm systems — See Ch. 68.
The Board of Supervisors finds that the ability of the police,
fire, ambulance, and other emergency providers and personnel to communicate
with each other within buildings and structures, and to communicate
from within structures and buildings to personnel and locations outside
the building and structure, is of vital public importance. A breakdown
in communications among emergency providers and personnel creates
a serious risk of harm to and is a serious threat to the safety and
welfare of emergency personnel, the citizens of Tredyffrin Township
and the public in general. Therefore, pursuant to the police power,
the Board enacts this chapter to protect the public health, safety
and welfare.
The following words and terms shall, for the purposes of this
chapter and as used elsewhere in this Code, have the meanings shown
herein:
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International.
Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
Federal Communications Commission.
National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee.
A.
Except as otherwise provided, no person shall erect, construct, alter,
refit, change the use of, or provide an addition of more than 20%
of the existing floor area to any building or structure or any part
thereof, or cause the same to be done, which fails to support adequate
radio coverage for CCDES, the Berwyn and Paoli Fire Departments, and
the Tredyffrin Township Police Department. For the purposes of this
section, adequate radio coverage shall include all of the following:
(1)
A minimum signal strength of -95dBm available in 95% for the area
of each floor of the building.
(2)
A minimum signal strength of -95dBm received at the closest CCDES
radio communications site when transmitted from 95% of the area of
each floor of the building.
(3)
The frequency range which must be supported shall be between 763
MHz and 861 MHz.
(4)
A reliability factor of 90%.
(5)
Signal strength measurements, for the purpose of measuring the performance
of a bidirectional amplifier, shall be based on one input signal adequate
to obtain a maximum continuous operating output level.
B.
The provisions of this section shall become applicable upon notification
to the property owner that unacceptable performance levels exist.
The property owner shall have 90 days from date of notification to
enhance radio coverage and bring it within the acceptable limits of
these provisions.
Buildings and structures which cannot support the required level
of radio coverage shall be equipped with either a radiating cable
system or an internal multiple antenna system with or without FCC-type
accepted bidirectional 700/800 MHz amplifiers as needed. If any part
of the installed system or systems contains an electrically powered
component, the system shall be capable of operating on an independent
battery and/or generator system for a period of at least 12 hours
without external power input. The battery system shall charge in the
presence of an external power input.
A.
Acceptance test procedure.
(1)
When an in-building radio system is required, and upon completion
of installation, 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 95%. 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, in order to be
more statistically accurate, the floor may be divided in 40 equal
areas. In such event, a maximum of four nonadjacent areas will be
allowed to fail the test. After the forty-area test, if the system
continues to fail, the building owner shall have the system altered
to meet the ninety-five-percent coverage requirement.
(2)
The test shall be conducted using the most current portable radio
or its equivalent, available to the Tredyffrin Township Police and/or
Fire Departments, talking through the CCDES as specified by the authority
having jurisdiction. A spot located approximately in the center of
a grid area will be selected for the test, then the radio will be
keyed to verify two-way communications to and from the outside of
the building through the CCDES. Once the spot has been selected, prospecting
for a better spot within the grid area will not be permitted.
(3)
The gain values of all amplifiers shall be measured and the test
measurement results shall be kept on file with the building owner
so that the measurements can be verified each year during the annual
tests. In the event that the measurements results become lost, the
building owner will be required to rerun the acceptance test to reestablish
the gain values.
B.
Annual tests. When an in-building radio system is required, the building
owner shall test all active components of the system, including but
not limited to amplifiers, power supplies, and backup batteries, a
minimum of once every 12 months. Amplifiers 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 for a period of one-hour to verify that they will properly operate
during an actual power outage. If within the one-hour test period,
in the opinion of the testing technician, the battery exhibits symptoms
of failure, the test shall be extended for additional one-hour periods
until the testing technician confirms the integrity of the battery.
All other active components shall be checked to determine that they
are operating within the manufacturer's specifications for the
intended period.
C.
Five-year tests. In addition to the annual test, the building owner
shall perform a radio coverage test a minimum of once every five years
to insure that the radio system continues to meet the requirements
of the original acceptance test. The procedure set forth above shall
apply to such tests. A copy of the accepted tests shall be provided
to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
D.
Qualifications of testing personnel. All tests shall be conducted,
documented, and signed by a person in possession of a current FCC
technician license or a current technician certification issued by
APCO, NABER, or PCIA. All test records shall be retained on the inspected
premises by the building owner and a copy submitted to officials of
the Tredyffrin Police Department and the Berwyn and Paoli Fire Departments.
Police and fire personnel, after providing reasonable notice
to the owner or his representative, shall have the right to enter
onto the property to conduct field testing to be certain that the
required level of radio coverage is present.
