City council has heeded calls from the Burnaby’s fire and police departments to create a bylaw that ensures emergency radios work properly in new highrises.
The new bylaw requires most new buildings taller than 12 metres with construction permits over $1 million, and that use building materials that obstruct or dampen the strength of radio signals – including reinforced concrete or structural steel; metal cladding, studs and flooring; and reflective or low-emissivity glass – to install signal boosters throughout the building.
The fire and police departments presented a request earlier this year for a bylaw that would require amplification of radio signals because emergency responders have difficulty communicating between those on the ground and on upper floors of new buildings when attending a fire or police incident, says Burnaby fire chief Joe Robertson. And the new bylaw turned out just the way he wanted.
“Similar bylaws exist in other municipalities, and we just wanted to have something that was roughly the same that would protect our people, and also help us serve help serve the public better,” he told the NOW. “It protects the safety of the residents, and for the firefighters and paramedics and police that are attending events that are in these buildings.”
Existing buildings, and those under construction, won’t be subject to the law, but Robertson hopes developers will opt to install the amplifiers voluntarily.
“It would be nice if developers that have projects on the go now, or have them already approved or have them started, it would be nice if they would also consider putting these systems in their buildings,” he said. “If we can communicate if we’re up in the middle floors of a 30-story building … I think it’s a selling feature for a building.”
