Fort Lauderdale, FL, Cites 69 High-Rises with Weak Radio Signals

Radio signal dead zones can create a potentially dangerous situation for emergency responders, yet dozens of high-rises in Fort Lauderdale have them, city officials say.

That means police and firefighters could lose radio communication inside those buildings despite a state law meant to prevent that.

The end result: A firefighter or police officer in need of backup won’t be able to reach emergency dispatchers. And dispatchers can’t reach them.

Out of a grand total of 484 high-rise buildings in Fort Lauderdale, the city has cited 69 buildings — or one out of seven — for a weak radio signal, records show. The 69 cited buildings are a mix of condos, hotels and office towers.

Buildings in cities across the region have been cited for the same reason. Pompano Beach, home to 120 high-rise buildings, has cited 26 towers with weak radio signals. Hollywood, home to 83 high-rise buildings, has cited 18.

On Wednesday, Fort Lauderdale launched an education campaign to alert high-rise buildings about state law related to emergency radio signal coverage, hosting an informational webinar to explain the requirements and answer any questions.

Under state law, buildings with a weak radio signal are required to install what’s known as a BDA or “bi-directional amplifier system” to ensure first responders can communicate inside concrete buildings, where signals are often blocked.

The problem can be caused by reinforced concrete, energy-efficient glass, impact windows and fire-rated walls that block or weaken radio signals.

A radio booster system would fix the problem, but they can cost $250,000 or more.

Some buildings in need of a radio booster system may have put off buying one because they are reluctant to assess their residents, said Bill Brown, a retired fire chief who heads the Central Beach Alliance neighborhood association.

“They have special assessments for their milestone inspections as a result of the Surfside collapse,” Brown said. “They have assessments for mandatory reserve funds. And then there’s the high cost of condo insurance. It’s a tidal wave of increased costs and assessments. It comes to a point where it’s a balancing act to have your condo fees still be affordable.”

A smaller building with fewer residents is going to take a bigger hit, Brown added.

“If a condo has 250 unit owners and the cost comes to $250,000, that’s $1,000 per unit owner,” Brown said. “If they have 25 unit owners, that’s $10,000 per unit owner.”

But as chair of the city’s Fire-Rescue Advisory Committee, Brown is well aware of the importance of fixing the problem. Without a strong radio signal, first responders are at risk — and so are residents, he said.

“Say there’s a fire on the 10th floor and you’re a resident trapped on the 11th floor,” Brown said. “You can’t get down the hallway, so you call 911. The dispatcher tells the firefighters on the scene, but the firefighter in the building can’t receive that message.”

Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose own condo was among the 69 towers cited for a deficient radio signal, argues the city should foot the bill for the radio booster systems.

“We’re telling these buildings (they have to pay) and they’re now freaking out because they’re being told they have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a (booster) system,” Glassman said.

But under state law, the buildings with weak radio signals are required to pay for their own radio booster systems.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan compared it to a sewer pipe breaking inside the building.

“If the sewer pipe breaks inside the building, it’s not the city’s challenge,” Gollan said. “It’s the building’s challenge. Radio communications are really no different. The communication system has to endure a worst-case incident. When we need the radio to work is in the worst case, when the building is on fire. It has to meet certain standards.”

BDA systems capture strong radio signals through a donor antenna, typically located on the roof, amplify them, and redistribute them inside the building using antennas placed in areas with weak or no signal.

Glassman’s district includes the barrier island, home to several buildings that wound up on the list of towers with dead zones.

Some buildings passed one year and failed the next and have no idea why, according to Glassman.

“How do you pass something for 10 or 15 years and all of a sudden you don’t pass. That’s what all the buildings are asking,” Glassman said. “One building failed because they put in high-impact windows. … You install impact glass to make your building more resilient but now you’re being told you need to spend $200,000 because our radios aren’t communicating with each other. It’s really a crazy catch-22.”

Most condo towers will have no choice but to assess unit owners to pay for what will likely be a costly radio booster system, Glassman said.

During a commission meeting, Vice Mayor John Herbst suggested the city pay for the booster systems using money from building permit fees. The fees are paid by developers and are typically based on a percentage of total construction cost.

City officials are currently researching whether that would be a legal use of the money.

Glassman praised the idea.

“I don’t understand why the onus is on the building,” Glassman said. “I believe it is the responsibility of the city. I don’t see how we pin that on unit owners in condo buildings. They’re already paying taxes and fire fees.”

State law establishes the foundation for minimum radio signal strength requirements for emergency responder communications in new and existing buildings that are more than 12,000 square feet. Exempt buildings include apartments and public lodging establishments under three stories with direct exterior access; one- and two-family dwellings; buildings with less than 12,000 square feet and no underground areas; and wood-frame apartment buildings under a certain size.

The nationally recognized standards ensure that first responders have reliable radio coverage throughout a building during an emergency.

“Buildings are inspected annually by fire inspectors and if their radios fail to operate as designed during the fire inspection, then the building is cited for minimum radio signal strength,” City Manager Rickelle Williams wrote in a recent memo to the commission.

Buildings that fail to meet minimum radio signal strength requirements must install a radio booster system. The system must provide 99% radio coverage in critical areas (fire command centers, elevator shafts, stairwells) and 90% coverage in general building areas.

High-rise condo buildings were required to apply for permits by Jan. 1, 2024. The deadline to be fully compliant: Jan. 1, 2025.

Several condo buildings on Galt Ocean Mile were among those cited by Fort Lauderdale for having a weak radio signal, said Fred Nesbitt, president of the Galt Mile Community Association.

Nesbitt’s own condo, Playa Del Mar at 3900 Galt Ocean Drive, also made the list.

“I was told they have to rewire our whole building,” said Nesbitt, who is also president of the Playa Del Mar Condo Association. “I don’t know how the entire building could be dead. I asked the manager of the building how much it would cost (to put in a booster system). He said $275,000. We are already assessing the residents but they haven’t started the work yet.”

Buildings that fail to come into compliance can face fines, Gollan said. But that, he added, is not the city’s goal.

“No building on that list has been fined,” Gollan said. “Our goal is for compliance. Our goal is not to fine the building.”

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