[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Amherst 1-17-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
§ 103 Title.
The title of this law shall be "Emergency Responder Radio Coverage."
A.
To ensure the safety of all Town of Amherst residents and its visitors.
B.
The State of New York Codes Council has passed the New York State
supplements to the International Fire Code (IFC) which are effective
October 6, 2016.
C.
The State of New York has mandated emergency responder radio coverage
for all new buildings only.
D.
Emergency responders need the best technology to keep themselves,
the Town's residents and its visitors safe.
E.
The Town of Amherst is taking proactive measures to keep its Emergency
Responders, residents and its visitors safe in existing buildings,
as well as in new buildings, by enforcing this new code in existing
buildings.
This article applies to a buildings located within the Town
of Amherst.
The purpose of this Local Law shall be to provide minimum standards
to insure a reasonable degree of reliability for emergency services
communications from within certain buildings and structures within
the Town of Amherst to and from emergency communications centers.
It is the responsibility of the emergency service provider to get
the signal to and from the building site.
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to:
(a)
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, no person shall modify
any building or structure or any part thereof, or cause the same to
be done which fails to support adequate radio coverage for firefighters
and police officers. Inadequate radio coverage shall be deemed to
render such buildings or structures or any parts thereof unsafe and
subject to penalties including, but not limited to, a fine of up to
Fifteen Hundred Dollars ($1,500) per violation.
(b)
The Town's emergency services shall determine the frequency
range or ranges that must be supported.
(c)
For the purpose of this section, adequate radio coverage shall constitute
a successful communications test between the equipment in the building
and the communications centers for all appropriate emergency service
providers for the building.
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
(a)
Testing shall be performed by a Town approved RF officer. The Town
will provide a list of qualified RF officers. It is the responsibility
of the building owner to contact the RF officer and make arrangements
for testing.
(b)
Tests shall be made using frequencies close to the frequencies used
by the Town's emergency services to appropriate emergency services.
If testing is performed on the actual frequencies, then this testing
must be coordinated within the Town's RF Officers. All testing
must be performed on frequencies authorized by the FCC. A valid FCC
license will be required if testing is performed on frequencies different
from the Town's police, fire or emergency medical frequencies.
(c)
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
The system must meet the requirements of the IFC § 510(c).
A construction permit for the installation of or modification
to public safety radio amplification systems and related equipment
is required.
(a)
Annual tests will be conducted by a Town approved RF officer. The
Town will provide a list of qualified RF officers to the building
owners. If communications appear to have degraded or if the tests
fail to demonstrate adequate system performance, the owner of the
building or structure is required to remedy the problem and restore
the system in a manner consistent with original approval criteria.
Failure to remedy any problems shall render the building and/or any
appendages unsafe. Testing shall consist of the following:
(2)
Signal boosters shall be tested to ensure that the gain is the
same as it was upon initial installation and acceptance;
(3)
Backup batteries and power supplies shall be tested under load
of a period of one (1) hour to verify that they will properly operate
during an actual power outage. If the battery exhibits symptoms of
failure within the one (1) hour test period, the test shall be extended
for additional one (1) hour periods until the integrity of the battery
can be determined.
(4)
All other active components shall be checked to verify operation
within the manufacture's specifications; and
(5)
At the conclusion of the testing, a report, which shall verify
compliance with this article, shall be submitted to the fire code
official.
(b)
Test results, as set forth in § 103-9, shall be provided to the Town RF Officers annually, on or before, the anniversary date of the initial acceptance. The re-testing will be performed at no expense to the Town or the appropriate emergency services departments as required in the original testing procedures.
A successful demonstration of compliance to § 103-5-1 and § 103-5-2 for buildings referenced in § 103-4 and the testing referenced in § 103-12 shall be completed prior to final approvals issued under § 203-8-9 for the occupancy of these buildings. Failure to comply with this Chapter shall result in the withholding, or suspension, of a certificate of occupancy from the Town.
This Chapter shall take effect immediately.
