City of Minneapolis – Procurement Office 505 Fourth Ave S, Room 310

Minneapolis, MN 55415

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Addendum #1 Issued Date: July 1, 2026 Event #0000004196 RFI Title: IT - MFD Fire Station Alerting System

Change(s) to RFP

Change in Response Due Date Change in Terms and Conditions Change to Scope of Services

Responses to Questions Received Other

Please Note the Following Addition(s)/Change(s)/Clarification(s):

Questions and Answers

# Question Answer 1 What is your current CAD system? CentralSquare Enterprise

Should zones be dynamically assignable from shift to shift, or statically assigned permanently? Zones shall be dynamically assignable from shift to shift

3 Are there any requirements for day/night mode for radio chatter?

Each area of the station has it's own subset of chatter speakers controlled by its own on/off volumn control for that area.

Available 24X7. Currently sourced by dispatch radio and seperate amp.

Are speakers designated for chatter audio, or would chatter audio play across the entire station's PA system?

Each area of the station has it's own subset of chatter speakers controlled by its own on/off volumn control for that area.

Available 24X7. Currently sourced by dispatch radio and seperate amp.

4.1 If there are speakers designated for chatter audio, do they have their own power amplifier or dedicated audio input?

Currently dispatch radio with seperate amp, not sure how new alert system will be dispatched yet.

5 What existing radio communications are used from Dispatch Center to stations?

All overhead alert and chatter are sourced by main dispatch channel. A seperate RF system (Zetron) is used to open and close stations through CAD interface.

5.1 Will these remain the primary communications?

We don't know what the new Fire Alerting Systems offer yet, or how they may or may not tie into our dispatch radio channel.

6 Is this system expected to comply with NFPA 1550? Yes

6.1 If yes, is automated text-to-speech a requirement? Strongly preferred

What is the current CAD system that the City utilizes and would like the Fire Station Alerting System to integrate with? CentralSquare Enterprise

8 Which vendor provides the radio system for MFD?

All Radios are provided "In House" through the Minneapolis Radio Shop. Currently using the ARMER System TGs for dispatch. A seperate stand alone dual site conventional 800Mhz system is used for Fire Alerting DATA. We use the ARMER system paging to open stations as a redundancy to CAD and Zetron systems.

Should the system include alternate/redundant connectivity methods (e.g., radio, cellular)? Yes, we want to see what options exist.

10 Who is responsible for third-party interface fees (e.g., CAD integrations)?

CentralSquare Enterprise, City Radio Shop and selected vendor.

Does MFD cooperate with mutual aid agencies, and if so, is interoperability a requirement

Currently, MFD has a cooperative mutual aid relationship with the City of Saint Paul. Interoperability is not required, but is strongly desired with the new alerting system.

What specific KPIs and reporting metrics are expected? Could MFD provide an example?

MFD is targeting the NFPA 1710 standards, which ask for 90% of incidents to meet a 60 second turnout time for EMS, and 80 second turnout time for Fire.

What data outputs or dashboards are required vs. handled by CAD/RMS systems?

Could MFD provide an example?

Data outputs/dashboards desired include at a minimum:

Address, Nature of Incident, Running Time of Incident

Has MFD identified any potential risks or limitations associated with cloud-based alerting in a mission-critical fire environment?

The City would need to fully understand the communication protocols, security standards and redundancy options.

Radio Infrastructure - What is your current radio console for over the air dispatching at your PSAP? Make and model of console? MCC7500E

15.1 What are the current radio channels used for your over the air dispatching (i.e.

800 MHz, VHF, UHF) ? Are there any legacy analog channels using Motorola Quick Call two tones? 800 MHz P25. No quick call two tones.

15.2 What functionalities will be needed, e.g., switching channels on the fly, utilizing talk groups, etc.?

Depends on how the new system is setup and what options are available. Currently, we use one channel for main runs and additional channels for tactical and other major incidents.

15.3 Are your base station radios in each of the stations consistent and what are the make and models currently in place? Motorola APX6500 which is consistent throughout all stations.

Local Installation - Would you please provide a list of City of Minneapolis approved local low voltage installers?

We have a variety of installers approved by the City depending on the system. The City Radio Shop handles all of our radio equipment and interfaces.

Bunk Room Zoning & Station Drawings - Is bunk-room zoning anticipated at all 19 fire stations? If so, please provide the station numbers and the number of bunk rooms or sleeping zones anticipated at each station.

The engineering design consultant's package has identified zones within dorm rooms & groupings of individual sleeping rooms at all 19 fire stations. The quantity of zones varies with some instances in smaller stations containing 1 zone within dorm rooms with the capacity to add a 2nd zone in the future and with larger fire stations containing 4 or 5 zones. In every station these zones are controlled by Captains Rooms, which also contain their own zones for flexibility. The engineering design consultant's package will be included in a future Fire Alerting RFP, which will be issued after this current RFI process.

17.1 Will the City of Minneapolis engineering design consultant be providing the marked station drawings that would include the fire station alerting equipment and bunk room zones to be bid?

Yes, the engineering design consultant's station design & specifications package will be included in a future Fire Alerting RFP, which will be issued after this current RFI process.

Existing Infrastructure - Will the City require vendors to utilize existing station speaker or lighting infrastructure for dispatch audio and visuals, or should vendors assume replacement of all existing equipment?

Vendors shall assume replacement of existing equipment to support the new alerting system. The engineering design consultant has coordinated with MFD & the City 's Electrical Foreman for a design strategy that would connect the new system's alerts to fire station light fixtures within the Apparatus Bays & Select Exterior Red Warning Lites only. It is to be determined if existing station radio speakers would remain in place or if the radio system would utilize the new system's speakers, pending the input gathered from this RFI.

City of Minneapolis – Procurement Office