An Emergency Responder Communications Enhancement System (ERCES) is a life-safety building requirement designed to ensure that fire, police, and EMS personnel can communicate inside a structure during an emergency. Modern building materials, such as low-E glass, concrete, and metal, often block the outdoor radio signals used by emergency services.
How it Works:
- Signal Source: The signal to be amplified and redistributed can originate from a donor antenna which receives municipal radio signals off-the-air, or a direct feed such as fiber.
- BDA (Bi-Directional Amplifier): This is the heart of the system. It takes the outside signal, boosts it, and prepares it for distribution. The BDA is accompanied by a BBU (Battery Backup Unit) to provide power for continued operation when commercial power is interrupted.
- DAS (Distributed Antenna System): A network of smaller antennas throughout your building’s interior distributes the signal throughout the building, including hallways, stairwells, and elevators.
- The Result: First responders have clear, two-way communication anywhere in your building, meeting NFPA and IFC code requirements.