Section 12-H510. EMERGENCY RESPONDER RADIO COVERAGE

Strike Section 510.1 of the International Fire Code in its entirety and insert new Section 510.1 in the Fire Code in its place to read as follows:

510.1 Emergency responder radio coverage in new buildings.

All new buildings shall have approved radio coverage for emergency responders within the building, based upon the existing coverage levels of the public safety communication systems of the District of Columbia at the exterior of the building. This section shall not require improvement of the existing public safety communication systems.

Exceptions: 

1. Where approved by the building official and the fire code official, a wired communication system in accordance with Section 907.2.13.2 shall be permitted to be installed or maintained in lieu of an approved radio coverage system.

 

2. Where it is determined by the District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications (OUC) and the fire code official that the radio coverage system is not needed based on procedures and criteria set forth in Section 510 and in OUC guidelines.

 

3. In facilities where emergency responder radio coverage is required and such systems, components or equipment could have a negative impact on the normal operations of that facility, the fire code official shall have the authority to accept an automatically activated emergency responder radio coverage system.

 

4. Buildings covered by the Residential Code.

 

5. Group R-2 buildings with four or fewer dwelling units per floor up to three floors above grade.

 

6. Group R-3 buildings.

 

Strike Section 510.3 of the International Fire Code in its entirety and insert new Section 510.3 in the Fire Code in its place to read as follows:

510.3 Permits required.

No emergency responder radio coverage system or related equipment shall be installed or modified without a building permit and any required electrical permit issued by the building code official.  An operational permit issued by the fire code official pursuant to Section 105.6.47 shall be required to use any emergency responder radio coverage system or related equipment. Maintenance performed in accordance with this code is not considered a modification and does not require a permit.  

Insert new Section 510.7 in the Fire Code to read as follows:

 

510.7 Office of Unified Communications Requirements. Emergency responder radio coverage systems and related equipment shall comply with all additional requirements, specifications and criteria established by the District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications to satisfy the operational needs of emergency responders and to prevent adverse impact on the District of Columbia’s public safety communications.

 

 

authority

The Chairperson of the Construction Codes Coordinating Board (Chairperson), pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 10 of the Construction Codes Approval and Amendments Act of 1986 (Act), effective March 21, 1987 (D.C. Law 6-216; D.C. Official Code § 6-1409 (2012 Repl.)) and Mayor’s Order 2009-22, dated February 25, 2009; and the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (Director), pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 12 of the Green Building Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-234; D.C. Official Code § 6-1451.11 (2012 Repl. & 2014 Supp.)) (Green Building Act), Mayor’s Order 2007-206, dated September 21, 2007, and Mayor’s Order 2010-1, dated January 5, 2010.

source

Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 103 (January 2, 2015).

EditorNote

The District of Columbia Fire Code (2013), referred to as the “Fire Code,” consists of the 2012 edition of the International Fire Code as amended by the District of Columbia Fire Code Supplement (2013) (12 DCMR H). The International Fire Code is copyrighted by the International Code Council and therefore is not republished here. However, a copy of the text may be obtained at:http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/ifc/2012/index.htm?bu=IC-P-2012-000003&bu2=IC-P-2012-000019.