Station Radio Telemetry Standard
Date: July 2011
Front of station cal points for the public (street fire
alarms – SFA’s) are by no means standard and in
Background
some instances, although fit ed do not work.
Consistency of approach here would assist in
Station radios have the ability to send/receive up
some standardisation.
to 16 status messages. These can be used for a
number of purposes but primarily they are used
for turn out, priority and routine cal ing and
Options
monitoring of certain station parameters.
Refer to at ached table for recommended
Some telemetry should be considered
al ocations.
mandatory and some optional. Regardless
of whether it is mandatory or not, all
telemetry should be implemented and
processed in a standard manner nationally.
Issue
Operational communications/Turnout is of
Although some al ocations (such as station turn
paramount importance at all times.
out) are standard, many are variously applied
throughout the country. This non standardisation
Station fire and security alarm monitoring are
means that there is inconsistency both at the
not considered operational communications
station and how they are handled at the Comcen.
and could be managed through the same
third party providers that any other business
There is lit le processing of many of the telemetry
would use e.g. AFA.
signals at the Comcen end with the majority of the
signals being presented to the operator as a line
Station Cal Points (SFA’s) are able to be
of text in the “pending events screen". Any
connected back to the Comcen via the LMR
processing is entirely dependent on the operator
and are to create a STRU event at the
seeing this text and taking appropriate action.
station, and are also to initiate local turnout if
Under high workload it is easy to overlook this
applicable ( siren or local paging)
screen.
Development work to process the Pager
One important example is the “power fail” and
acknowledgements so that it alerts the
“low battery”: indication, which if unattended could
dispatcher by exception has been
mean that within the next 8 hours the station could
completed and implemented in ICAD. On
under the Official Information Act 1982
ef ectively die and we would have no means of
this basis the pager ack should be
turning it out. (In this instance, Flex paging would
reinstated for all stations as it provides the
stil work)
first automated response to a successful
alert via paging.
Also topical at the moment is the treatment of
station security and fire alarms. Some stations are
Until such time as automated alerting of
connecting fire and security alarms to the
“power fail” and “low battery” is available,
telemetry system. In some instances these alarms
the Comcen implement a standard
are also connected to local alerting such as
response for these notifications.
station paging and sirens. (Although an
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understandable local approach, this has
ramifications regarding public perception of PFA
workarounds and personal safety if crew run into
a burglary in process at a station).
agreed national SOP for responding to
Mains Fail and Low Bat ery alarms. Note:
Policy
The Comcen Managers have agreed that
this wil be a pager notification to a
The Fire Region Managers (meeting November
nominated pager for each region.
2010) have directed that Station Cal Points be
disconnected and that monitoring of both fire and
security alarms be undertaken by the
Communications Centres.
The fol owing standards are to be applied during
maintenance visits or during the digital radio
instal ations at al stations.
(a) Front of Station Cal Point (AKA Street Fire
Alarms) wil be removed from al stations
and disconnected from the Turn out
Console (TOC) completely. For clarity –
this includes local siren and paging which
wil no longer be activated by the cal point.
(b) Station fire alarm connections directly to the
Comcen via the LMR wil
be
removed and
disconnected from the Turn Out Console
(TOC) completely. Any monitoring of fire
alarms from NZFS premises required under
the act or requested by the brigade are to
be connected through an approved
automated fire alarm service provider.
(c) Station security alarm connections directly
to the Comcen via the LMR may be made
provided it is ful y understood that any
response by the Comcen wil be on a best
endeavour basis. Any such response by
the Comcen is to be standardised as much
as possible across the three centres These
connections wil provide a notification to the
Comcen only and wil not be connect to
siren, pagers or lighting at the station.
(d) On any stations where either remote
unlocking of access doors or opening of
under the Official Information Act 1982
appliance bays doors is used, the key
cabinet must not be unlocked by the turn
out system.
(e) Where a Paging Data Terminal (PDT) or
Satel ite paging is at the station then the
pager acknowledgement (pager ack) is to
be connected to the TOC for telemetry back
to the comcen.
(f)
Al TOC power supplies are to have a
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“Mains Fail” and “Low Battery” alarms
connected to the TOC for telemetry back to
the Comcen. The Comcen must have an
Comcen to Station Telemetry
Station to Comcen Telemetry
under the Official Information Act 1982
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