Why In-Building Public Safety Radio Coverage Is Required
When firefighters, police officers, and EMS personnel enter a building to respond to an emergency, they depend on their portable radios to communicate with command, request additional resources, report conditions, and coordinate operations. Modern buildings with steel framing, energy-efficient glass, concrete floors, and underground parking garages can significantly attenuate radio signals, reducing or eliminating coverage for first responders who need it most during an emergency. Firefighters have died in buildings where radio communications failed. This led to the inclusion of in-building radio system requirements in fire codes to ensure that radio coverage is available throughout all buildings above a specified size or type.