Welcome to our Webinar - MemberClicks · 2019. 2. 11. · UL 2524 Technical Requirements continued Construction: • Type 4 or 4X for all repeater, transmitter, receiver, signal booster

Automatic Fire Alarm Association The Center for Campus Fire Safety

Overview of In-Building Emergency Responder Radio

Communication Systems

Presenters: Larry Shudak and Bruce E. Johnson

Welcome to our Webinar


What to expect• Your microphone is automatically muted.• Questions? Please type them in the question box of the control panel. • You can enter questions anytime throughout the presentation. We will

break for answers at the end.• This presentation will be available online and it will be recorded. • Certificate for ICC Re-certification CEU’s are available.


About our Organizations

• CCFS (The Center for Campus Fire Safety)• National, non profit, member based organization.• Board of Directors from across the country.• Training programs for campus fire & life safety officials and

emergency responders.• Library of online resources & free e-magazine.

• AFAA (Automatic Fire Alarm Association)• Industry advocate organization dedicated to improving the quality,

reliability and value of Fire and Life-Safety Systems.• Develop & deliver high quality training and educational programs• Promote code compliant installations


About our Presenters• Larry Shudak

• UL's Principal Engineer for Life Safety Systems ( fire alarm, MNS, emergency signaling)

• Authored both the Outline of Investigation and the proposal for UL 2524, In-building 2-Way Emergency Radio Communication Enhancement Systems.

• Additional authored standards include ANSI/UL 2572, Mass Notification Systems, ANSI/UL 864, Fire Alarm Control Units and Accessories, and ANSI/UL2017, General Purpose Signaling Devices and Systems.

• UL's technical expert on various UL and ULC standard technical panels for fire alarm control units, off-premise signaling equipment, mass notification systems and residential fire and security control systems.

• He is a member on several NFPA technical committees, including: NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code; NFPA 101, Life Safety Code; NFPA 92, Smoke Management Systems, and NFPA 3 and 4, Commissioning and Integrated Testing


About our Presenters• Bruce E. Johnson

• Senior Regulatory Engineer in UL's Codes and Advisory Services Department, joining UL in April 2015.

• Served several decades in the fire, emergency services and life safety arena beginning his career in the late 1970's as a firefighter on Long Island, NY.

• Most recently, Bruce has worked for the International Code Council (ICC) as a Vice President in the Government Relations Department focusing on Fire Service Activities.

• Currently serves on several ICC code development committees and is an alternate on NFPA Technical Committees for NFPA 1, 101, 730, 731 and 5000.

• Also an Adjunct College Instructor at SUNY Empire State College instructing in the areas of fire protection structures and systems, emergency management and community risk reduction.

• Extensive expertise in building construction and fire prevention codes, code and standard development and code administration.


Let’s Begin


1. About UL2. Why these systems are needed3. Overview of Available Technology4. US Code Requirements – ICC and

NFPA5. UL Standard development process6. Overview of UL 25247. Certification process8. Question & Answer Session

Today’s Agenda


UL Overview

8

• Founded in 1894• 22 billion UL Marks applied annually• 96,000 annual product evaluations• 170 UL testing and certification facilities• 104 countries with UL customers • 11,600 employees in 40 countries• 1,614 current standards for safety


UL NFP

q Researchq Standard development


q Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL)

ü State of the art laboratoriesü Technical expertise

q International accreditation

UL, LLC


Why Enhancement Systems are Needed

Public Safety – Lives Depend On It!üPortable Land Mobile Radios (LMRs) are an essential

life-safety tool for firefighters and emergency responders.

üMany buildings prevent the receipt or transmission of LMR messages based on construction elements and/or building configuration.

üEnhancement systems provide assurance that emergency messages can be transmitted and received into and out of every building.


Why Enhancement Systems are Needed

Public Safety – Lives Depend On It!

üEnhancement systems do not rely on alternate communication equipment or fixed locations (i.e. firefighter’s telephone handsets) from which to transmit.

üCurrent technology allows for economical and reliable installation and maintenance of these systems.


Overview of Available Technology



• Distributed Antenna System (DAS)



Leaky coaxial cable


US Code Requirements


US Code Requirements – ICC International Fire Code (IFC)Section 510 ØFirst introduced in 2009 editionØAll buildings to have approved radio coverage for

emergency responders available throughout the interior of building at the same coverage levels that existed outside the building

ØReferences NFPA 72 and NFPA 1221Ø2021 IFC will require system listing to UL 2524


2021 IFC Coverage Requirements Critical Area Coverage –99% coverage required in Critical areas: üExit stairsüExit passagewaysüElevator lobbiesüFire protection equipment room and control valve locationsüFire command centersüOther areas identified by the fire code official

General Area Coverage –All other areas should have 95%


US Code Requirements – NFPA

NFPA 1 Fire CodeSection 11.10ØFirst introduced in 2012 editionØAll buildings to have approved radio coverage for

emergency responders available throughout the interior of building at the same coverage levels that existed outside the building

ØReferences NFPA 72 and NFPA 1221Ø2021 NFPA 1 (First Committee draft) includes

requirement for listing to UL 2524


NFPA Coverage Requirements Critical Area Coverage –99% coverage required in Critical areas:

üEmergency Command Center(s) üFire Pump Room(s) üExit Stairs üExit Passageways üElevator Lobbies üStandpipe Cabinets üSprinkler Sectional üValve Locations

General Area Coverage –All other areas should have 90% **


NFPA StandardsNFPA 72 and NFPA 1221

The 2016 edition of NFPA 1221 includes Section 9.6 (Two-Way Radio Communication Enhancement Systems) with technical requirements for design, installation and performance generally consistent with the 2018 IFC Section 510.


Technical RequirementsThe technical requirements for design, installation, commissioning, inspection testing and maintenance is included in the IFC, NFPA 1 and NFPA 1221 are summarized as follows:ØTypical system operation is continuous or automatic.ØRequires specified signal strength into and out of the

building with a Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ) of 3.0ØNote: DAQ is simply a qualitative measurement of voice

intelligibility or clarity.ØDesign and operation must be specifically designated for

use as an in-building emergency radio communication enhancement system by the manufacturer.


Technical Requirementscontinued

ØThese systems must meet specific survivability requirements to ensure it will continue to operate during a fire.

ØThe system must have redundant primary power sources and stand-by or back-up power to operate at 100% capacity for at least 12 hours.

ØThe system performance and reliability must be tested upon installation and maintained operational at all times. An annual inspection is also required.


Technical Requirementscontinued

The system must be monitored through the building’s fire alarm system for: Øloss of power.Øfailure of the battery charger.Ølow-battery capacity indication when 70% of the 12-hour

operating capacity has been depleted.Ømalfunction of the donor antenna and active RF-emitting

device(s).Øfailure of any critical system components, and provide either

an audible warning or “trouble” signal.


Code Authority Concerns


Code Authority ConcernsØImproper DesignØImproper InstallationØPerforming acceptance testing – floor

coverage and DAQ measurement ØReliability/component failureØAdaptability to new frequencies


Solutions/Best Practices

To ensure reliability:

ØModel Code compliance (IFC or NFPA 1)ØStandard compliance (NFPA 72 and 1221)ØEquipment certification (UL 2524)


UL Standard Development Process


Standards and Technology

üPerformance based, technology agnostic üInnovative new technologiesüReliability of tests and repeatability of

resultsüContinuous maintenance


Details on the UL standards development process are included on the Standards web page

UL Standard Development ProcessUL's Collaborative Standards Development System (CSDS) provides online access to review and submit proposals for UL's Standards development process. General access is available for information on STP meetings, submitting proposals, and access to free proposals.


UL CSDS


UL 2524 Standards Technical Panel (STP)

GROUPS REPRESENTED* UL holds the one voting seat in this category

NUMBER OF VOTING SEATS HELD – 20 TOTAL

Authorities Having

Jurisdiction

6

1

Consumer

5

Producer

1*

Testing and Standards

Organizations

Supply Chain

2

Government

1General

4


Overview of UL 2524Bi-National ANSI/SCC Standard


UL 2524 Timeline

• December 2017: UL 2524 published as an Outline of Investigation• December 2017: Product testing begins• Spring 2018: Standards Technical Panel (STP) formed for US/CAN• June – July 2018: UL 2524 proposal balloted• August 2018: STP meets to review negative ballots and public

comments• August – October 8: Recirculation of revisions to proposal• October 2018: Published 1st edition on October 18th

• January 2019: 2nd edition published - Bi-National Standard


UL 2524 Technical RequirementsThis standard addresses the following areas:

üSafety (risk of fire and risk of shock) requirements –construction and testing

üCompliance with specific performance requirements in accordance with the IFC-2018 & NFPA 1221-2019

üReliability performance requirements applicable for life safety systems – construction and testing

üProduct marking and installation documentation


UL 2524 Technical Requirements continued

Scope:

Covers products (e.g. repeater, transmitter, receiver, signal booster components, remote annunciators and operational consoles, power supply, and battery charging system components) used for in-building 2-way radio emergency radio communication enhancement systems installed in a location to improve wireless communication at that location.


Scope:Does not cover passive RF components which are defined in the standard as “any device that RF passes through that does not have an active electronic component that requires external power. This includes, antennas, splitters, couplers, coaxial cable and connectors.Passive components cannot amplify RF signals.”




Construction: • Type 4 or 4X for all repeater, transmitter, receiver, signal booster

components, external filters, and battery system components Rechargeable standby batteries are permitted to be contained in enclosures that comply with the requirements for a Type 3R

• The system shall be sufficiently modular to have the capability to support revised and/or additional system frequencies within the same frequency band of the bi-directional amplifier supplied to maintain radio system coverage as it was originally intended without the need to replace the system.



Performance - Operation:a) Normal AC powerb) Loss of normal AC power *c) Battery charger failure *d) Loss of battery capacity (to 70 percent depletion) *e) Donor antenna disconnection *f) Active RF emitting device malfunction *g) System component malfunction, other than passive RF component, which

affects system performance *h) Donor antenna malfunction **

* = Visual and Audible annunciation within 200 sec of fault** = Visual and Audible annunciation within 24 hrs. of fault



Performance - Operation:

ü Confirm capability of simultaneously supporting both analog and digital communications

üBidirectional amplifiers shall have oscillation detection and control functionality

üConfirm the maximum propagation delay, in microseconds, for a maximum rated system configuration

üRadio enhancement systems supporting more than one channel or talk path shall have the capability to support two radios simultaneously transmitting on different talk paths or channels.



Reliability:

a) Variable Voltage Operation Testb) Variable Ambient Temperature and Humidity Testsc) Component Temperatures Testd) Charging Current Teste) Transient Testing


Certification Process


üIndividual product vs system compatibilityüManufacturer's published Installation wiring

diagrams and instruction manuals üModular vs. productüOutline of investigation vs. 1st/2nd editionüSuccessful investigation results in product listing for the

purpose

Product Assessment


UL Certification


Product iQ


Product iQ



Questions / Discussion


Thanks for Listening• CCFS

• Annual Forum & Expo in Atlanta (Nov. 11-14)• Library of Online Resources• www.campusfiresafety.org

• AFAA• Annual Meeting & Codes Conference – Lake

Buena Vista (May 14 - 17)• Training Programs Nationwide• www.afaa.org

Documents

Welcome to our Webinar - MemberClicks · 2019. 2. 11. · UL 2524 Technical Requirements continued Construction: • Type 4 or 4X for all repeater, transmitter, receiver, signal booster