Fire-code proposals call for in-building coverage for public safety

Several fire-code proposals designed to support in-building LMR and LTE coverage for public-safety users recently received favorable recommendations in preparation for Fire Code Hearing Committee meeting, which will be conducted April 17-19 in Louisville.

Alan Perdue, executive director of the Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC) and a retired fire chief, said that 12 SBC proposals associated with in-building coverage for public safety received “full support” from the International Code Council during its meeting in Chicago, while modifications were recommended for two other proposals.

“What we’re pushing for is in-building communications for public safety, whether they use FirstNet, whether they use 700/800, VHF or UHF [land mobile radio],” Perdue said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

Final proposals will be presented next week in Louisville, and the vote to determine approval for inclusion in the 2018 International Fire Code is scheduled to occur in October, Perdue said. Local jurisdictions have the option to adopt items that are in the International Fire Code, he said.

A key characteristic of the Safer Buildings Coalition’s proposals was objectives-based language, as opposed to prescriptive requirement that would limit technology choices, Perdue said.

“We look more at not a single solution—like a radiating cable or a BDA—but solutions to encompass current technology and future technology … not a specific laundry list of solutions that may change in the future,” Perdue said.

“One of the things that the fire code tries to take into account now—looking at prescriptive-based and performance-based requirements—is not locking into a particular technology that may be outdated as the code goes forward, and being more open-minded that we’re trying to achieve a solution versus a particular technology. We all know and hear at all of the technology conference how quick that things are changing. We certainly don’t want to lock into one frame of mind versus another.”

Two key proposals receiving recommendation address the backup-battery supply for an in-building system. An in-building system for public safety would need to have 12 hours of battery backup power—aligning the proposal with other fire codes—instead of the 24 hours that is included in current rules.