City of Bangor, ME Chapter 81 Building Code

[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Bangor 10-23-2006 by Ord. No. 06-341.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 81, Building Code, adopted 7-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-220.

Article I Adoption of Standards

[Amended 11-22-2010 by Ord. No. 11-010]

§ 81-1 Adoption of standards by reference.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

In accordance with 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3003, as the same may be amended from time to time, the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference as the minimum standard for the construction, alteration, addition, repair, removal, demolition, use, location, occupancy, and maintenance of all buildings and structures and their service equipment, both existing and proposed, located within the City of Bangor.

§ 81-2 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

BUILDING CODE

The Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code.

Article II Emergency Service Systems

[Added 10-15-2008 by Ord. No. 08-298]

§ 81-3 Emergency service radio amplification systems.

A. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following term has the following meaning:

CITY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

A communications center established or authorized by the City that provides police, fire, and emergency medical dispatch services and any emergency command post established by the City to support emergency services response to any natural or man-made disaster or a mass gathering.

B. Scope. This section applies to:

(1) Large new buildings. This section shall apply to any newly constructed building receiving a building permit after the date this section goes into effect that is greater than 40,000 square feet and classified for use and occupancy under the version of the International Building Code adopted in § 81-1 of the Code of the City of Bangor as:

(a) Assembly Group A: A-1, A-2, A-3, or A-4;

(b) Business Group B: all;

(c) Educational Group E: all;

(d) High Hazard Group H: all;

(e) Institutional Group I: I-2 or I-3;

(f) Mercantile Group M: all; or

(g) Residential Group R: R-1.

(2) Large existing buildings. Upon the modification, alteration, or repair of an existing building designated in one of the classes listed under Subsection B(1) of this section that is greater than 40,000 square feet or will be greater than 40,000 square feet upon completion of the modification, alteration, or repair, this section shall apply to the entire building if:

(a) Alterations or repairs are made within a twelve-month period at a cost of 50% or more of the assessed value of the building prior to modification; or

(b) The usable floor area is expanded or enlarged by more than 50% within a twelve-month period; or

(c) The usable floor area is expanded or enlarged by more than 40,000 square feet within a twelve-month period.

(3) Buildings with a large basement occupant load. This section shall apply to the basement of a building designated in one of the classes listed under Subsection B(1) of this section in which the occupant load below street level is greater than 100 persons, regardless of the actual occupancy, provided that:

(a) The building is newly constructed, receiving a building permit after the date this section goes into effect;

(b) Alterations or repairs are made to the building within a twelve-month period at a cost of 50% or more of the assessed value of the building prior to modification; or

(c) Alterations or repairs are made to the building within a twelve-month period which result in the occupant load below street level of the building increasing by more than 50% or 100 persons.

(4) Sublevel parking structures. This section shall apply to the sublevel portion of any parking structure in which the area below street level is greater than 10,000 square feet, provided that:

(a) The parking structure is newly constructed, receiving a building permit after the date this section goes into effect;

(b) Alterations or repairs are made to the parking structure within a twelve-month period at a cost of 50% or more of the assessed value of the parking structure prior to modification; or

(c) Alterations or repairs are made to the parking structure within a twelve-month period which result in the area below street level increasing by more than 50% or 10,000 square feet.

C. Radio coverage.

(1) Prohibition. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person may not erect, construct, or modify a building or structure or any part thereof that is subject to this section in accordance with Subsection B above if that building or structure fails to support adequate radio coverage for firefighters, police officers, or emergency medical services personnel.

(2) Frequency range. The Chief of Police and Fire Chief or their designee or designees, in consultation with the appropriate police, fire, and emergency medical services personnel, shall determine the frequency range or ranges that must be supported under this section.

(3) Adequate radio coverage. For purposes of this section, obtaining "adequate radio coverage" means performing a successful communications test meeting the requirements of Subsections D and E as outlined in Subsection I.

D. Required radio field strength inbound to the building or structure.

(1) Required minimum average radio field strength. Except as provided in Subsection D(2), for inbound communications, a minimum average radio field strength of one microvolt for analog systems and five microvolts for digital systems is required throughout 85% of the area of each floor of the building when transmitted from the City communications center, or, alternatively, a designee of the Chief of Police or Fire Chief must determine that 85% of the area of each floor of the building or structure meets a minimum signal level of DAQ 3.5 (delivered audio quality) as set forth in the following chart:

Delivered Audio Quality Definitions
DAQ (Delivered Audio Quality)	Subjective Performance Description
1	Unusable, speech present but unreadable
2	Understandable with considerable effort; frequent repetition due to noise/distortion
3	Speech understandable with slight effort; occasional repetition required due to noise/distortion
3.5	Speech understandable with repetition only rarely required; some noise/distortion
4	Speech easily understood; occasional noise/distortion
4.5	Speech easily understood; infrequent noise/distortion
5	Speech easily understood

(2) Exception. If the radio field strength outside the building or structure where the receiving antenna system is located is less than one microvolt for analog systems and five microvolts for digital systems and less than 85% of the area of each floor of the building or structure meets a minimum signal level of DAQ 3.5 (delivered audio quality), the minimum average radio field strength for inbound communications must be equal to or greater than the radio field strength that is delivered to the receiving antenna of the building or structure.

E. Required radio strength outbound from building or structure. For outbound communications transmitted to the City communications center, a minimum average radio signal strength of one microvolt for analog systems and five microvolts for digital systems is required, or, alternatively, a designee of the Chief of Police or Fire Chief must determine that 85% of the area of each floor of the building or structure meets a minimum signal level of DAQ 3.5 (delivered audio quality) as set forth in the chart in Subsection D(1) above.

F. Amplification; authorization required. If amplification is used in the communications system of a building or structure, all necessary authorizations from the Federal Communications Commission must be obtained prior to the use of the system. Copies of such authorizations must be available to the City communications center on request.

G. Enhanced amplification systems.

(1) Enhancements. If, in order to achieve adequate radio signal strength under this chapter, a building or structure must enhance its communications systems, the building or structure may use any of the following:

(a) A radiating cable system or systems;

(b) An internal multiple antenna system or systems;

(c) A voting receiver system or systems; or

(d) Any other system approved by the Chief of Police and Fire Chief or their designee or designees.

(2) Battery. If any part of the enhanced amplification system installed to achieve adequate radio signal strength under this chapter contains an electrically powered component, the system must be capable of operating on an independent battery or generator system for a period of at least eight hours without external power input or maintenance. Any independent battery system used pursuant to this subsection must automatically charge in the presence of external power. The building owner, controller, or occupant shall check the status of the battery backup at the same time as required by the Fire Prevention Code for checking the emergency lighting battery backup.

(3) Environmental controls. Amplification equipment installed pursuant to this section must meet applicable heating, ventilation, cooling, and humidity requirements as stipulated by the manufacturer's installation instructions.

(4) Physical location of equipment. The control box for amplification equipment installed pursuant to this section must be clearly marked "Emergency Communications" and physically located in an area that:

(a) Is free of hazardous materials, including but not limited to fuel; and

(b) Is accessible at all times to City emergency personnel.

(5) Provision of information to City communications center. The owner of a building or a structure subject to this chapter shall provide the following to the City communications center:

(a) A building or structure plan indicating the location of the amplification equipment and associated antenna systems, including a view showing routes(s) of access to the equipment; and

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

(b) Schematic drawings of the electrical equipment, backup power equipment, antenna system, and any other equipment associated with the amplification equipment.

H. Ground system.

(1) Single point; internal tie. The communications system, including any amplification systems, cable, and antenna systems, of a building or structure subject to this chapter must be grounded with a single-point ground system of five ohms or less. The ground system must include an internal tie point within three feet of any amplification equipment.

(2) Protection. System transient suppression and grounding protection are required for the telephone circuits, alternating-current circuits, and radio frequency cabling in communications systems of buildings and structures subject to this chanter.

I. Testing.

(1) Testing procedure. Tests of the communications systems pursuant to this chapter must be coordinated with the City communications center. Such testing must be conducted on actual emergency services frequencies authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.

(2) Measurement guidelines. Measurements for testing communications equipment pursuant to this chapter must be in accordance with following guidelines:

(a) Measurements must be made with a service monitor using a unity gain antenna on a small ground plane;

(b) Measurements must be made with the antenna held in a vertical position at three to four feet above the floor;

(c) A calibrated service monitor may be used to conduct testing;

(d) Where simultaneous measurements for purposes of verifying the accuracy of the measurements are made, a variance of three decibels between instruments is permissible;

(e) If varying measurements in one location are obtained, the measurement for that location is the average of those varying measurements;

(f) Signal strength must be measured in stairwells and parking areas;

(g) The building or structure must be divided into fifty-foot grids, and measurements must be taken as close as possible to the center of each grid.

(3) Initial test. The initial test of the communications system of a building or structure subject to this chapter must be conducted, at no expense to the City communications center, in the presence of a designee of the Chief of Police or Fire Chief.

(4) Annual test. A designee of the Chief of Police or Fire Chief shall conduct annual tests of the communications system of the building or structure, at no expense to the building owner.

(5) If the communications system of a building or structure fails to demonstrate adequate radio coverage, the owner of the building or structure shall remedy the problem and restore the functioning of the communications system consistent with the requirements of this chapter. In such instances, a designee of the Chief of Police or Fire Chief may retest the communications system at no expense to the building owner.

J. Violations and penalties. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100 for each offense. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.