§ 26-56. Public Safety 800 MHz Radio Amplification System.

(a)

All new and existing structures, which exceed 5,000 square feet and are built with non-combustible walls, roof framing, or other materials that upon testing are shown to interfere with the emergency communications system shall provide adequate radio coverage for the Volusia County 800 MHz Radio Communications System, including but not limited to firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical service providers. For purposes of this section, adequate radio coverage shall include all of the following:

(1)

A minimum signal strength of —95 dBm available in 95 percent of the area of each floor of the building when transmitted from the Volusia County 800 MHz Radio Communications System;

(2)

A minimum signal strength of —95 dBm available in 95 percent of the area of each floor of the building when transmitted from the Volusia County 800 MHz Radio Communications Systems;

(3)

The frequency range which must be supported shall be 806—825 MHz Transmit and 851—870 Receive, with a 95 percent reliability factor.

(b)

Buildings and structures which cannot support the required level of radio coverage shall be equipped with any of the following in order to achieve the required adequate radio coverage, a radiating cable system or an internal multiple antenna system with or without FCC type accepted bi-directional 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 automatically charge in the presence of an external power input.

(c)

Acceptance test procedure. When an in-building radio system is required, and upon completion of installations, 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 percent. Each floor of the building shall be divided into a grid of approximately 20 equal areas. A maximum of one of the areas will be allowed to fail the test. If the system continues to fail, it will be the building owner's responsibility to have the system altered to meet the 95 percent coverage requirement. The test shall be conducted using an EDACS portable radio, talking through the Volusia County MHz Radio Communications System (VCRCS). A spot located approximately in the center of the 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 VCRCS. Once the spot 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 building owner so that the measurements can be verified each year during the annual tests. In the event that the measurements result become lost, the building owner will be required to re-run the acceptance test to reestablish the gain values.

(d)

Annual test. When an in-building radio is required, it shall be the buildings owner's responsibility to have all active components of the system, such as amplifiers and power supplies and backup batteries, tested a minimum of once every 12 months. Amplifiers shall be tested to ensure that the gain remains within manufacturer tolerances. Backup batteries and power supplies shall be tested under load to verify that they will properly operate during an actual power outage. All other active components shall be checked to determine that they are operating within the manufacturer specifications for the intended purpose.

(e)

Test records. All tests shall be documented and signed by a designee of the chief of the fire department. All test records shall be retained on the inspected premises by the building owner and shall be subject to inspection by fire department official upon request.

(f)

Field testing. 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.

(g)

All buildings with a building permit issued prior to the effective date of this article, that do not meet the requirement for adequate radio coverage as described herein, must bring the structures into compliance with this article no later than January 1, 2007.

(Ord. No. 2006-3, § 1, 2-21-06)