The importance of testing and maintaining your ERRCS System

 

Every building, structure, or venue is prone to emergencies, whether it’s a fire drill, electrical shortage, or random malfunctions that cause panic among residents, building managers, and the like. 

The age-old term “better safe than sorry” is the main keyword here, especially when looking down the face of a high-pressure emergency that requires communication from inside the structure to the outside world. 

It is essential that all occupants, whether residential or commercial, be able to dial 911 when such a circumstance arises, which is why building managers tend to opt for installing an Emergency Responder Radio Communication System, otherwise known as an ERRCS system. 

 

What is an ERRCS System?

The ERRCS system aims to boost critical communications in and around a building to first responders to get the word out. It operates through an extension of the public safety network by leveraging a setlist of small antennas extracted from a distributed antenna system (DAS), which opens the way for all users to send and receive radio signals to the outside world.

Accordingly, its presence within a structure is vital, as it touches down on a matter of life and death; in fact, it has become a requirement within the United States that the ERRCS system must be installed on-premise. 

This highlights the importance of testing and maintaining your ERRCS System, as a system’s malfunction or total shutdown would have fatal and tragic consequences. With that in mind, many fire departments have outlined several recommendations for building managers to go through to make sure their systems are free flowingly operational. 

 

What Professionals Recommend

The San Jose Fire Department’s ERRCS guideline notes that ERRCS testing should “be compatible with Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority (SVRIA) P25 Phase II digital radio system.”

The guideline also highlights that these systems should be able to support a minimum of 24 channels in the 700/800 MHz band and be field programmable. 

Some Background

 

It is essential to mention that the importance of bolstering, maintaining, and testing ERRCS systems that emit indoor connectivity and communications for first responders came to the forefront following the release of the Post-9/11 Commission Report earlier in 2005. 

Before this, firefighting teams and first responders primarily relied on more traditional means such as phone jackets placed in close proximity to stairways for signals to bounce from within the building and into control rooms. 

With that in mind, it is undeniably crucial to undergo ERRCS testing and maintenance to ensure that in the event of any catastrophe, building occupants and tenants have a clear line of communication with first responders to guide them through the emergency, regardless of its calamity. 

 

Peer Communications Offers ERRCS Testing & Maintenance

ERRCS testing and maintenance can be done in various ways that are required to be done by certified professionals employed and dispatched by Peer Communications. If you’re looking to make your system airtight, reach out to us to schedule an appointment.