Annual BDA testing, from the building side

Two model documents describe the annual test, and your jurisdiction adopts one or both, often with its own changes:

• The International Fire Code (IFC), section 510. The model fire code published by the International Code Council. States and cities adopt it by edition, often with local amendments.
• NFPA 1225 (2022). The National Fire Protection Association standard that took over NFPA 1221 in 2021. Its first edition "consolidates NFPA 1061 ... and NFPA 1221 ... into a single standard" (NFPA 1225, Origin and Development).

Florida uses its own Florida Fire Prevention Code, which is built on NFPA documents. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's current test checklist says it is "Based on NFPA 1221 2019 Ed, Florida Fire Prevention Code - Eighth Edition." So the edition matters: the numbers below can differ in your building. Your fire marshal has the final word, and you can look up local rules on ERRCSCheck's requirements hub.

The model fire code lists four parts to the annual test (IFC 510.6.1):

During the annual inspection, test equipment such as a spectrum analyzer is also used "to ensure spurious oscillations are not being generated by the subject signal booster" (IFC 510.5.4 item 7). Oscillation is feedback between the outdoor and indoor antennas, and it can jam the very radio system the BDA is meant to help.

The model code's procedure (IFC 510.5.4):

• Each floor is divided into 20 roughly equal test areas.
• The test uses a calibrated portable radio of the type the agency uses, talking through the agency's own system.
• More than one failed area fails the floor. If exactly two areas fail, the floor may be re-divided into 40 areas, and it passes if no more than two non-adjacent areas fail.
• One test spot near the center of each area represents the whole area. Trying again a few feet away is not allowed.
• Voice quality is checked with two radios keyed at the same time on different channels, one within 10 feet of an indoor antenna and one as far from any antenna as possible.

NFPA 1225's guidance describes a similar 20-cell grid, with cells between 20 and 80 feet across, and splitting floors over 128,000 square feet into sectors (NFPA 1225 A.20.3.10).

Critical areas under NFPA 1225 include the fire command center, fire pump room, exit stairs, exit passageways, elevators, elevator lobbies, standpipe cabinets and sprinkler sectional valve locations, plus any area your fire marshal adds (18.8.3). Miami-Dade also treats elevator shafts as critical in buildings of six stories or more, and in shorter buildings that lack signal in areas other than the elevator shaft (Miami-Dade County Code Sec. 14-69(D), quoted in the MDFR guideline).

DAQ (delivered audio quality) is a 1 to 5 scale of how well speech comes through. DAQ 3 means "speech understandable with slight effort. Occasional repetition required" (NFPA 1225 A.20.3.10).

From the checks above, a test fails when a floor has more failed grid areas than allowed, a critical area such as a stairwell or elevator lobby has no usable signal, the battery cannot carry the load for the hour, the gain has drifted from the accepted value, or the booster is oscillating. Our page on common BDA failures walks through the causes and fixes.

Two to four weeks ahead:

• Find the last annual report and the acceptance test report with the original gain values. Send both to the tester.
• Confirm the tester's credentials meet your fire marshal's rules.
• List every construction project since the last test: new walls, ceilings, roof work, window replacement, tenant build-outs.
• Check the annunciator and fire alarm panel for any open BDA trouble, and fix it first.

The week of the test:

• Arrange access to every area: stairwells, roof, elevator machine rooms, pump room, electrical and telecom closets, parking levels, locked tenant spaces. Miami-Dade, for example, requires on-site staff "with access to all areas/doors/elevators" who know the floor plan.
• Tell your fire alarm monitoring company that BDA trouble signals are expected during the battery test.
• Have elevators available for the tester.

Use our printable inspection checklist to keep track.

• Get the full written report, not just a pass or fail. It should include the grid results per floor, the gain readings and the battery test.
• Make sure the report reaches the fire marshal. Under the model code the owner's side is responsible for submitting it (IFC 510.6.1).
• If anything failed, get a written repair scope and a retest date.
• File the report with your other records and log the date in your BDACheck reminder so next year's reminder is right.

The model code also requires a test "where structural changes occur, including additions or remodels that could materially change the original field performance tests" (IFC 510.6.1). In Florida, the fire marshal may require a coverage assessment every 3 or 5 years depending on the building, and sooner after a Level III alteration, reconstruction or a reported radio failure (F.S. 633.202(18)(c)2). Details: Florida re-test schedule.

Confirm the schedule and pass criteria with your fire marshal (AHJ) before you book the test.