DAS Property Responsibilities Overview
Properties in King County with public safety DAS must maintain them in working order to meet both the fire code and radio frequency usage legal requirements at their own expense which involves the following four main responsibilities related to PSERN:
Hire a DAS Vendor
Unless a property has qualified staff, it will need to hire a DAS vendor to:
- Support DAS Shutdown: Provide instructions and demonstrate to the Building Engineer or Building Manager how to disable DAS on the assigned Shutdown Date so that the PSERN Project can confirm the radio system is ready for first responders to use it.
- Conduct DAS Assessment: Assess the DAS equipment and configuration to determine what changes are necessary to become compliant with PSERN. Also, to identify if there are any DAS impairments, such as depleted UPS batteries or fire alarm integration issues.
- Perform Needed Updates: Perform needed updates to the equipment and configuration to meet PSERN technical requirements.
Recommended criteria for selecting DAS vendors and a list of DAS vendors can be found here.
Conduct DAS Assessment
Regardless, if a property has already completed its annual confidence testing, it will need to have a DAS vendor assess its DAS to determine what steps will be necessary to become compliant with PSERN. This assessment will be based on the PSERN technical criteria that have been provided to DAS vendors and generally include the following three steps: 1) a radio signal test to determine if a DAS will be necessary with PSERN, 2) a physical review of the equipment to determine if it needs to be upgraded or replaced, and 3) an analysis of what software reprogramming will need to be done for needed DAS to operate with PSERN. This assessment can be done prior to, on, or after the property’s assigned DAS Shutdown Date, however, it is recommended to assess DAS as far in advance of the DAS Shutdown Date because once the DAS Shutdown Dates begin, the limited amount of DAS vendors will be balancing their time between assessments and migrating DAS to PSERN.
Complete the DAS Migration Process
Properties with public safety DAS in King County are required to disable their DAS on their assigned DAS Shutdown Date and then take steps to become compliant with the new digital PSERN. Properties will be assigned a DAS Shutdown Date based on when first responders in their area will begin using PSERN and the priority level the Fire Marshal designates for the property. See the DAS Migration Process for more details.
Maintain DAS to Prevent Interference with PSERN
Properties must maintain their DAS to prevent interference with PSERN. If a property’s public safety DAS, at any time, is found to be causing interference with PSERN and the first responder’s emergency radio communications, the property will be notified to disable their DAS immediately and take steps to become compliant.
If you have any questions regarding DAS Property responsibilities, please contact DAS-PSERN@kingcounty.gov.