The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Community Affairs
BILL: SB 1190
INTRODUCER: Senator Boyd
SUBJECT: Two-way Radio Communication Enhancement Systems
DATE: January 14, 2022
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Hackett Ryon CA Favorable
2. BI
3. RC
I. Summary:
SB 1190 provides that two-way radio communication enhancement systems may be used to
comply with a local authority’s minimum radio signal strength requirements, but may not be
required by local fire authorities in apartment buildings that are 75 feet or less in height.
Local fire authorities set minimum standards for radio signal strength throughout buildings
within their jurisdictions in order to ensure consistent fire and rescue communication
capabilities.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2022.
II. Present Situation:
Florida Fire Prevention Code
The State Fire Marshal, by rule, adopts the Florida Fire Prevention Code (Florida Fire Code),
which contains all firesafety laws and rules that pertain to the design, construction, erection,
alteration, modification, repair, and demolition of public and private buildings, structures, and
facilities, and the enforcement of such firesafety laws and rules.
1
The State Fire Marshal adopts a
new edition of the Florida Fire Code every three years.
2
The Florida Fire Code is largely based
on the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Standard 1, Fire Prevention Code, along
with the current edition of the Life Safety Code, NFPA 101.
3
The 7th edition took effect on
December 31, 2020.
4
State law requires all municipalities, counties, and special districts with
firesafety responsibilities to enforce the Florida Fire Code as the minimum fire prevention code
1
Fla. Admin. Code R. 69A-60.002.
2
Section 633.202(1), F.S.
3
Section 633.202(2), F.S.
4
Division of State Fire Marshal, Florida Fire Prevention Code, available at
https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/sfm/bfp/floridafirepreventioncodepage.htm (last visited Jan. 12, 2022).
REVISED: BILL: SB 1190 Page 2
to operate uniformly among local governments and in conjunction with the Florida Building
Code.
5
The Florida Fire Code applies to every building and structure throughout the state with
few exceptions.
6
Municipalities, counties, and special districts with firesafety responsibilities
may supplement the Florida Fire Code with more stringent standards adopted in accordance with
s. 633.208, F.S.
7
Radio Signal Strength for Fire Department Communications
The life safety of firefighters and citizens depends on reliable, functional communication tools
that work in the harshest and most hostile of environments.
8
All firefighters, professional and
volunteer, operate in extreme environments that are markedly different from those of any other
radio users.
9
The radio is the lifeline that connects the firefighters to command and outside
assistance when in the most desperate of situations.
10
Modern focus on radio signal strength stems from difficulties experienced by firefighters
attempting rescue operations on September 11, 2001, in the World Trade Towers, who found that
in certain areas of the building their radio signal degraded, making live communication difficult
or impossible.
11
Two-way radio communication enhancement systems are devices installed after a building is
constructed that accept and then amplify radio signals used by first responders. A radio
frequency site survey may be conducted in a building to determine areas where radio signal
strength drops due to materials used in construction, such as thick walls, metal construction,
underground structures, and low-emissivity glass windows. The generally desired effect is that
radio signal strength at ground level, where a fire rescue operation might be based, is equal to the
radio signal strength in all locations throughout the building, to ensure consistent
communication. Several devices are available to boost signal strength to meet required radio
signal strength. These include bi-directional amplifiers and networks of indoor antennae, referred
to collectively as a distributed antenna system.
12
5
Sections 633.108 and 633.208, F.S.
6
Section 633.208, F.S., and Fla. Admin. Code R. 69A-60.002(1).
7
Section 633.208(3), F.S., and Fla. Admin. Code R 69A-60.002(2).
8
Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Fire Administration. Voice Radio Communications Guide for the
Fire Service (June 2016), p. 1, available at
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/Voice_Radio_Communications_Guide_for_the_Fire_Service.pdf
(last visited Jan. 12, 2022).
9
Id.
10
Id.
11
See Assessment of Total Evacuation Systems for Tall Buildings: Literature Review, National Fire Protection Association’s
(NFPA), available at https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Executive-
summaries/evacsystemstallbuildingsliteraturereviewexecsum.ashx#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20definition%20of,floo
r%20of%20the%20highest%20occupiable (last visited Jan. 12, 2022).
12
See High-Rise Public Safety System Integrators, Treasure Island Fire Department, available at
https://www.mytreasureisland.org/residents/departments/fire_dept/local_high-rise_public_safety_system_integrators.php
(last visited Jan. 12, 2022); Information Bulletin: Two-Way Radio Communication Enhancement System Requirements, East
Lake Tarpon Special Fire Control District, available at
https://www.elfr.org/files/e2eae3cb2/Bulletin+East+Lake+Two+Way+Communications.pdf (last visited Jan. 12, 2022). BILL: SB 1190 Page 3
Florida Fire Code Minimum Radio Signal Strength
The Florida Fire Code provides that all new and existing buildings must maintain minimum radio
signal strength at a level determined by the authority having jurisdiction (local fire authorities).
13
Where required by a local fire authority, two-way radio communication enhancement systems
must comply with federal standards for installation and upkeep.
14
Additionally, if a two-way
radio communication enhancement system would have a negative impact on the operations of a
facility, the local fire authority may accept an automatically activated emergency responder radio
coverage system in the alternative.
15
Minimum Radio Signal Strength for High-rise Buildings
Section 633.202(18), F.S., enacted in 2016,
16
provides that local fire authorities must determine
minimum radio signal strength for fire department communications in all new and existing
high-rise buildings. A high-rise building is defined in the Florida Fire Code as a building greater
than 75 feet in height where the building height is measured from the lowest level of fire
department vehicle access to the floor of the highest story that can be occupied.
17
Existing
high-rise buildings are not required to comply with a local authority’s minimum radio strength
requirements until January 1, 2022. However, an existing high-rise building must have applied
for the appropriate permit for installation of equipment meeting the local authority’s standards by
December 31, 2019. Existing high-rise apartment buildings are not required to comply until
January 1, 2025, and must apply for permits to reach compliance by December 31, 2022.
A 2018 declaratory statement from the Department of Financial Services clarified that the
compliance timeframes provided in s. 633.202(18), F.S., apply only to high-rise buildings and do
not apply to buildings less than 75 feet in height.
18
Thus, compliance with minimum radio signal
strength requirements for non-high-rise buildings is controlled by s. 11.10 of the Florida Fire
Code, which provides no grace periods or acceptable timeframes for compliance.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 633.202(18), F.S., to provide that two-way radio communication
enhancement systems may be used to comply with a local authority’s minimum radio signal
strength requirements, but may not be required by local fire authorities for apartment buildings
that are 75 feet or less in height.
Section 2 provides that the bill takes effect July 1, 2022.
13
Florida Fire Prevention Code (7th ed.) s. 11.10.1. The “authority having jurisdiction” is typically the designated head fire
and rescue officer of the county, municipality, or special district with fire safety responsibilities over an area.
14
Florida Fire Prevention Code (7th ed.) s. 11.10.2.
15
Florida Fire Prevention Code (7th ed.) s. 11.10.3.
16
Chapter 2016-129, s. 27, Laws of Fla. At the time of its enactment, the subsection was s. 633.202(17), F.S.
17
NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, 2015 edition - Ch. 3.29.6.
18
Department of Financial Services Declaratory Statement, In the Matter of Charles B. Parks, Chief Florida Fire Code
Official of Broward County, (April 18, 2018), available at https://www.doah.state.fl.us/FLAID/DFS/2018/DFS_217787-17-
DS_12042019_013047.pdf (last visited Jan. 12, 2022). BILL: SB 1190 Page 4
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
Apartment building owners may see positive impact from being able to utilize less costly
improvement options to meet radio strength standards in certain buildings.
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends section 633.202 of the Florida Statutes. BILL: SB 1190 Page 5
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.