Rethink Fire Alarm Monitoring in Public Safety DAS Networks

For public safety communications, Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) are no longer optional. When first responders enter high-rise buildings, transit tunnels, stadiums, or sprawling corporate campuses, their radios must work. No exceptions.

Yet even as DAS becomes a standard part of life safety infrastructure, one crucial element is still lagging: real-time monitoring.

You know what's at stake. You're probably already deploying DAS for government facilities, transportation networks, and utilities. However, as the NFPA mandates monitoring for DAS components alongside traditional fire systems, some are asking:

"Why isn't anyone monitoring this equipment properly - and what can we do about it?"

DAS Systems Are Under-Monitored and Misunderstood

We spoke recently with a systems integrator who works extensively in RF-driven environments - from maritime tracking buoys to high-density campus Wi-Fi, and, most notably, in-tunnel communications for metro rail systems. His team is frequently down on the tracks - not just installing fiber and RF repeaters, but actively solving infrastructure-level problems for DAS coverage and resilience.

And yet, like many in the industry, he's noticed something troubling:

"Nobody understands what we do, and nobody's monitoring our systems properly."

NFPA 72 explicitly requires that public safety DAS infrastructure be continuously monitored for faults, failures, and degradation - just like any other part of a life safety system. That includes:

• Donor antennas
• Bi-directional amplifiers (BDAs)
• Backup power systems (batteries, UPS)
• Signal boosters
• Fiber links and RF signal paths

Despite these clear requirements, many jurisdictions don't enforce them, or do so inconsistently. This leaves a blind spot where mission-critical equipment might be broken - and nobody will know until it's needed most.

Traditional Monitoring Methods Are Failing

For years, monitoring DAS equipment was a cobbled-together affair. Most systems were siloed, proprietary, or only lightly integrated into broader fire alarm infrastructure.

That might have been acceptable five years ago, but it's not acceptable now.

The problems with this approach are clear:

• Fragmented alerts: One vendor's gear reports battery faults via SNMP, another through contact closure. Integration gets messy.
• Inconsistent compliance: Some installers don't even realize DAS monitoring is a code requirement.
• No centralized visibility: Facilities managers often can't tell at a glance whether DAS components are functioning or degraded.
• Lack of actionable data: Even when alerts are triggered, they often lack timestamps, event history, or contextual detail.
• Limited diagnostics: It's hard to distinguish between an equipment failure and a communication problem in these patchwork setups.

This puts you in a tough spot as an integrator. You've installed a system designed to help first responders, and if it fails and goes unnoticed, you're held responsible.

Create Centralized, Reliable, Compliant & Monitoring for Public Safety DAS

To be the most successful, you'll want a system that combines RF expertise and fire code compliance.

With this system, every DAS component is monitored continuously, from donor antenna to final distribution amplifier. Faults are logged, timestamped, and sent via industry-standard protocols to a central management platform. The system is easy to configure, easy to install, and approved for use in fire alarm systems. And (most importantly) it's proven in the field.

This ideal monitoring system for DAS infrastructure would offer:

Universal Alarm Inputs

Support for contact closures, analog values, and serial communications (including Modbus or SNMP) to accommodate the wide range of commercial DAS gear.

Web-Based Management

Accessible configuration and diagnostics via secure web interface (proprietary software or confusing toolkits required).

Code Compliance

UL 864-listed hardware designed for fire alarm applications ensures compliance with NFPA 72 and related standards.

Alarm Forwarding

Send alerts via dry contacts, SNMP, or relay outputs. Send those alerts to fire panels, building management systems, and/or remote operations centers.

Time-Tested Design

Use rugged hardware with proven deployments in transit tunnels, high-rise buildings, and mission-critical government facilities.

This isn't wishful thinking - this is exactly what modern monitoring platforms like Digitize's Prism LX already give you.

Digitize Monitoring Systems Enhance Public Safety DAS

Digitize has decades of experience building fire alarm monitoring systems for high-security and high-complexity environments. And while many know Digitize for traditional fire panel monitoring, the company's capabilities have evolved well beyond that.

Today, Digitize equipment monitors DAS components across major public transit systems.

These systems are resonating with integrators in RF-driven fields because they offer:

Hardware Designed for Infrastructure Monitoring

Digitize systems can monitor both fire alarms and auxiliary systems - like pumps, ventilation, and DAS infrastructure. That's mission-critical in transit systems and underground networks, where different systems operate side by side.

Compatibility With RF Equipment

Whether your DAS system uses BDAs, signal boosters, or donor antenna feeds, you can monitor it through a combination of dry contacts, serial telemetry, and analog alarms. Digitize devices can even translate proprietary signals into standard IP protocols or contact closures.

Factory Training for Integrators

Digitize offers free factory training to systems integrators. This helps them get up to speed fast, and enables them to add new revenue streams through installation, configuration, and long-term maintenance contracts.

Real-Time Fault Detection

Digitize's Prism LX units log events with timestamps and full diagnostics. This makes it easier to distinguish between cable damage, power loss, equipment fault, or loss of RF coverage.

Reliable Reputation in Metro Systems

Digitize has extensive deployments in transit systems where RF coverage is essential, including inside tunnels, stations, and maintenance facilities. If your team is already certified to work trackside, you can easily add DAS monitoring to your offering.

What Does This Mean for RF Integrators?

For integrators who already have the skills to design, install, and support RF systems, especially those with tunnel access qualifications, the opportunity is clear.

You're already laying fiber, installing signal boosters, running coverage tests, and talking to local AHJs (Authorities Having Jurisdiction). Adding Digitize monitoring hardware to your DAS designs is a natural extension - and one that closes a major compliance gap.

Even better, it helps prepare your infrastructure for the future:

• Avoid failed inspections due to unmonitored DAS systems
• Prove system health with logs, alerts, and documented test results
• Add value with long-term support and diagnostics services
• Simplify integration with the building's fire alarm system
• Boost credibility with AHJs and facility owners alike

Find a Better Way to Support Public Safety

If you're deploying DAS in public safety environments (or supporting clients with critical communication needs), now is the time to bring monitoring into the conversation.

Digitize is ready to help, with:

• Case studies from major transit deployments
• Product documentation and hardware specs
• Factory training (free) for systems integrators
• Consulting support to scope and quote projects

No matter who you're working with, Digitize can help you provide complete, code-compliant monitoring for fire and public safety RF systems.

Ready to Expand Your Monitoring Capabilities?

Let's talk about your next project. Whether you need a centralized system for DAS fault alarms, pump status, or traditional fire panel supervision, Digitize is ready to partner with you.

Call us at 1-800-523-7232
Or email info@digitize-inc.com

If you're already qualified to work trackside or underground, that's half the battle. Let Digitize help you add the missing piece: total visibility over your fire alarms and other public safety alerts.