Why Is Your School’s Public Safety Radio Coverage So Important?

It’s critical for First Responders to maintain reliable two-way radio coverage inside school facilities.?When Police, Fire and EMTs enter your buildings, they depend on their radios to provide clear and uninterrupted communications. If radio signals between first responder personnel are compromised, critical situational awareness cannot be shared, incident response times can be delayed, and the consequences of lost or interrupted communications coverage can be significant.?

Hopefully the buildings throughout your district are already within range of your local public safety communications networks and provide thorough and reliable coverage. If they are not, you may need to implement an Emergency Responder Radio Communications System (ERRCS).??

Many districts have a checklist they work from to stay on top of annual certifications. These lists typically cover important items such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, door alarms, elevators and other critical infrastructure. Additional consideration for annual testing should also be given to testing the coverage of the Emergency Responder Radio Communications System (ERRCS) in your buildings and across your campus.??

New variables can emerge every year that might impact the reliability of radio coverage in your buildings.??For example, variables such as new construction materials or projects like roof-mounted HVAC units, solar panels and new low e-glass windows can all negatively impact the radio coverage within your buildings.??In addition, the trend of municipalities abandoning their local radio infrastructure and joining county or state networks could present challenges with these networks’ ability to provide adequate coverage within all local structures.

An ERRCS, or Public Safety-DAS, in your facility ensures First Responders have two-way radio communication during an emergency. The requirement for dependable radio coverage as mandated by the FCC, IFC and NFPA even extends to hard-to-reach areas such as stairwells, underground tunnels, parking garages, electrical closets and pump rooms. When installed, these signal enhancement systems are mandated to be monitored through the fire alarm system and tested annually for optimal performance.

At PMC, we engage with?the local code officials, or Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), to gather the updated indoor coverage and code requirements and make sure all testing performed meets local annual code requirements.

As Public Safety coverage needs will vary from building to building, PMC Wireless partners with the leading engineering and technology providers to design, install and maintain the ideal end-to-end solutions you can count on.?Our in-house GROL (General Radio Operator Licensed) personnel are certified by the FCC and proficient with the technology in order to adjust, maintain and repair these radio systems; assuring our customers of a professionally installed and maintained solution.

PMC Wireless will provide K-12 and higher education customers with service agreements that will offer you peace of mind that your facility’s’ PS-DAS system is optimized and compliant.

If you would like a free consultation to understand the steps that can be taken to test and, if necessary, enhance your Public Safety radio signals - contact PMC Wireless today.?

PMC Wireless can also help enhance in-building cellular coverage!