Roseville Fire Department
Fire & Life Safety Division
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY STANDARD
Title: Emergency Responder Radio Coverage
Effective Date: 11/08/05
Revised Date: 01/01/2014
Code References: California Fire Code
Note: This standard is a summary of Fire Department clarifications of City and State
Codes. Information contained herein applies to typical circumstances and may
not address all situations.
PURPOSE
This document is intended to provide a general guideline pertaining to emergency responder
radio coverage required by Section 510 of the California Fire Code (CFC), as amended by local
ordinance.
SCOPE
This standard specifies the minimum indoor signal levels, signal level verification testing,
system design, plan submittal requirements, and system acceptance testing requirements for
indoor antenna systems.
A. Minimum Radio Signal Strength. A building shall be considered to have acceptable
emergency responder radio coverage when signal strength measurements in 95 percent
of all areas on each floor of the building meet the following signal strength requirements:
1. A minimum signal strength of -95 dBm shall be receivable within the building.
2. A minimum signal strength of -95 dBm shall be received by the agency's radio
system when transmitted from within the building.
B. Signal Level Testing. The building owner shall ensure emergency responder radio
coverage on each floor of the building is a minimum of 90 percent when:
1. Determining acceptable radio coverage in new or existing buildings, or
2. When a emergency responder radio coverage system is required, and
3. Upon completion of installation of a required emergency responder radio
enhancement system.
C. Signal Level Testing – Methodology.
follows:
Signal levels tests shall be conducted as
1. Each floor of the building shall be divided into a grid of approximately 20 equal
areas.
2. Uplink transmissions shall be conducted using a calibrated portable radio of the
latest brand and model used by the agency talking through the agency's radio
communications system. Upon approval of the RFD, a standard power level delta
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Roseville Fire Department
Fire & Life Safety Division
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY STANDARD
offset between the uplink and downlink signal levels may be applied to downlink
signal level measurements to obtain estimated uplink signal levels.
3. Downlink measurements shall be made using a receive antenna equal in gain to the
agency’s standard portable radio antenna, oriented in vertical position, with a
centerline of three to four feet above floor level.
4. Downlink measurements shall be made with a calibrated spectrum analyzer or
automatic signal level measurement recording system designed for such testing. A
resolution bandwidth of 10 KHz shall be used.
5. All measurements shall be made in an averaged mode with sampling minimums as
specified below.
6. Average signal levels shall be recorded while walking an “X” pattern with the center
of the pattern located approximately in the center of each grid area. The linear
distance of each side of the “X” shall be 10% of the length of the grid’s side, and a
minimum length of 10 feet. At least one sample per each five feet traveled shall be
recorded, and no less than five samples per measurement recorded.
7. 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 public agency's radio communications system.
Once the test location has been selected, prospecting for a better spot within the
grid area will not be permitted.
8. A maximum of two nonadjacent areas will be allowed to fail the test. A failure occurs
when the measured signal level falls below the minimums specified in Section A.
9. In the event that three of the areas fail the test, in order to be more statistically
accurate, the floor may be divided into 40 equal areas. A maximum of four
nonadjacent areas will be allowed to fail the test. If the system fails the 40-area test,
the system shall be altered to meet the 90 percent coverage requirement.
Exceptions may be determined otherwise by the RFD.
D. Indoor Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems. Buildings and structures
which cannot support the required level of radio coverage shall be equipped with a
radiating cable system, a distributed antenna system with FCC certified signal boosters,
or other system approved by the fire code official in order to achieve the required
adequate radio coverage.
E. FCC Compliance. The emergency responder radio coverage system installation,
components, and operation shall comply with all applicable Federal regulations,
including but not limited to, the Federal Communications Rules specified in Title 47 of
the Federal Code of Regulations, including 47 CFR 90.219.
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Fire & Life Safety Division
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY STANDARD
F. Additional frequencies and change of frequencies. The emergency responder radio
coverage system shall be capable of modification or expansion in the event frequency
changes are required by the FCC or additional frequencies are made available by the
FCC.
G. Permit required. A permit must be obtained prior to the construction or modification of
an indoor emergency responder radio coverage system as required by Roseville
Municipal Code. A copy of the permit shall be posted visibly on the main active
component, or at the point of primary system operation.
H. Plan Check Approval. No permit shall be issued without approved plans. Such plans
shall contain at a minimum the following elements:
1. Minimum Qualification of Personnel. The minimum qualifications of the system
designer and lead installation personnel shall include:
a. A valid FCC-issued general radio operators license; and
b. Certification of in-building system training issued by a nationally recognized
organization, school or a certificate issued by the manufacturer of the equipment
being installed.
c. These qualifications shall not be required where demonstration of adequate skills
and experience satisfactory to the Fire Code Official is provided.
2. Site Plans and Elevations. Plans shall be 8.5” x 11” or greater, scaled or
dimensioned, with dimensions or scale clearly noted. North shall be indicated on plan
views and elevations named in elevation views. Include site name, address, and
elevation name or floor number on each plan sheet.
a. Plan view of the subject building, building construction type and surrounding
property. Plan view shall clearly indicate the location and orientation of any
outdoor antennas associated with the proposed system.
b. Minimum of (1) building elevation depicting the location of any outdoor antennas
associated with the proposed system. Include height of antenna centerline
above building, orientation, and location of all external grounding connections.
c. Plan view of each interior floor where indoor antenna systems are proposed shall
include antenna numbers, coax routes, and the locations of any other system
components including splitters, couplers, filters, amplifiers, etc. All components
shall be named or labeled for reference in power budget calculations tables.
Overlay approximated coverage radii indicating a –95 dBm downlink (base to
mobile) signal strength around each proposed indoor coverage antenna. Include
results of any previous coverage testing per grid, if available.
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d. Specify antenna grounding and surge protection in accordance to the CEC.
e. Specify the backup power source. If not a generator, provide supply calculations
to verify the system shall be capable of operating on an independent battery
system for a period of at least twenty-four (24) hours without external power
input. The battery system shall automatically charge in the presence of an
external power input.
3. Equipment Specification Sheets.
sheets:
Provide copies of manufacturer specification
a. Amplifiers, Antennas, Coax, Couplers, Splitters, Combiners, or any other passive
components proposed.
b. Passband curves in for the uplink and downlink portions of the National Public
Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) band (821-824 / 866-869 MHz)
for any amplifiers, if not included in #1. Amplifiers may NOT amplify portions of
other licensed services, including the upper portion the Specialized Mobile Radio
Licensee band, or Cellular A or B bands.
c. Backup battery and charging system (if utilized), or generator specifications.
4. Ambient Signal Level Measurements.
For all proposed systems utilizing
broadband amplification schemes, including bi-directional amplifiers (BDA’s),
ambient signal levels measurements for nearby carriers in the adjacent SMR and
cellular bands must be provided. This will ensure the amplifier will not be overdriven
and create harmful interface as defined in 47 CFR Part 22 and Part 90.
The following measurements shall be gathered with a calibrated spectrum analyzer
utilizing an omni directional antenna with minimal gain:
a. A maximum amplitude plot (“Max Hold”) of signal strength (dBm) vs. Frequency
(MHz), between 863 MHz and 880 MHz. Perform measurement for at least (10)
minutes during the hours of 7 AM – 7 PM, Monday through Friday.
b. Resolution Bandwidth shall be no greater than 1 KHz.
c. Place markers on any carrier measured over –55 dBm to readily identify signal
strength and frequency. No more than three markers are required.
d. Place one marker on the active City of Roseville 800 MHz control channel.
Those channels are 868.8750 MHz, 868.6875 MHz, 868.4625 MHz, and
867.9625 MHz.
e. Plots should be submitted on 8.5” x 11” paper.
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Roseville Fire Department
Fire & Life Safety Division
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY STANDARD
5. Power Budget Calculations. Provide the following data for the downlink band (866869 MHz):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Ambient Roseville downlink signal strength @ donor antenna =
donor antenna gain +
donor antenna cable system loss Total donor antenna system gain =
downlink signal level at input to amplifier =
amplifier gain +
amplifier muti-carrier derating, if any Amplifier output per channel at amplifier output =
Amplifier maximum composite output power =
Max. power available per channel (assume 8 channels active)
Indicate amplifier derating if # 8 is greater than #10
(dBm)
(dB)
(dB)
(dB)
(dBm)
(dB)
(dB)
(dBm)
(dBm)
(dBm)
(dB)
Provide the following data for ALL indoor coverage antennas:
Antenna #
Cable
Length
(ft)
Cable
Loss per ft
(dB)
Total
Cable
Loss
(dB)
Splitter,
Coupler
and
Combiner
Losses
(dB)
Antenna
Make
and
Model
Antenna
Gain (dB)
System
Gain (dB)
Antenna
Input
Power
(dBm)
Effective
Radiated
Power
(dBm)
1
2
3 etc.
Provide the following uplink (821-824 MHz) calculation for the antenna with smallest
system gain (i.e., worst case amplification):
Distance
to
–95
dBm
contour
(ft)
Coupling
Loss
(db)
Constant
-3
Free
Space
+
Clutter
Loss
(dB)
Total
Uplink
Path
Loss
(db)
Average
Portable
ERP
Constant
(dBm)
Rx
Power
@
Antenna
(dBm)
System
Gain
(from
above)
Rx
Power
@
Amplifier
Input
(dBm)
Donor
Antenna
System
Gain
(from
above)
Uplink
Effective
Radiated
Power,
Worst Case
(dBm)
35
Estimated isolation between donor antenna and indoor antenna system:
_____________(dB). All information submitted will be reviewed for conformance
with the Roseville Fire Code, CA Electric Code, the FCC Rules, and other applicable
codes.
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Roseville Fire Department
Fire & Life Safety Division
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY STANDARD
Please note: After a system has been approved, it must be inspected prior to
operation. This inspection will ensure the system improves coverage as designed,
and that the system creates not harmful interference to the City of Roseville Public
Safety Radio system or other radio users. Test specifications for this final inspection
will be made available to your contractor when ready for system acceptance testing.
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