Pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 66.0301, the Village of
Trempealeau has entered into an intermunicipal cooperation agreement
with the Towns of Caledonia and Trempealeau to create a board of directors
(the "Fire Board") to govern efforts to provide fire protection services
for the residents of the Village. Pursuant to the intermunicipal
cooperation agreement, the Fire Board has entered into a separate
agreement with Trempealeau Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., a Wisconsin
nonprofit corporation (the "Department") organized at the direction
of the Village Board, pursuant to which the Fire Board is responsible
for administering the budget for, and general oversight and management
of, providing fire protection services and the Department is responsible
for providing those fire protection services. The Fire Board has
adopted bylaws, rules and regulations to govern the operation and
administration of the fire protection services provided by the Department.
The annual budget of the Fire Board is subject to the review
and approval of the Village Board and the Village Board shall provide
such funding to the Fire Board as it may deem expedient and necessary
to maintain efficiency and to protect life and property properly from
fire.
[Added 11-2-2017 by Ord. No. 12-2017; amended 6-7-2018 by Ord. No. 12-2017A]
A. Purpose. The Board of the Village of Trempealeau determined that
the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Village of
Trempealeau are promoted by requiring certain structures to have a
key lock box installed on the exterior of the structure to aid the
Trempealeau Fire Department in gaining access to or within a structure
when responding to calls for an emergency service, and to aid access
into or within a building that is secured or is unduly difficult to
gain entry due to being either unoccupied or the occupants are unable
to respond.
B. Key lockbox system. Property owners shall ensure that:
(1) The following structures shall be equipped with a key lock box at
or near the main entrance or such other location as required by the
Fire Department Chief.
(a)
Commercial and industrial structures, including storage facilities
for hazardous chemicals and flammable materials.
(b)
Multifamily residential structures that have restricted access
through locked doors for access to the living units or mechanical
or electrical rooms.
(c)
Schools, whether public or private.
(d)
Governmental structures and nursing care facilities unless the
building is staffed or open 24 hours.
(e)
Structures operated by nonprofit corporations where communal
gatherings are common, including but not limited to churches, community
centers, and clubs.
(2) All new construction subject to Subsection
B(1) shall have a lock box installed and operational prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit. All structures in existence on the effective date of this section and subject to Subsection
B(1) shall have six months from adoption of this section amendment to have a key lock box installed and operational.
(3) The type of key lock boxes to be implemented within the Village shall
be a Knox-Box® brand system.
C. Installation. Owners of property subject to this section shall ensure
that:
(1) All Knox-Boxes® shall be installed
to the left side of the main business door.
(2) All Knox-Boxes® shall be mounted 60
inches from the ground at the approximate center of the entry if possible.
(3) In the event that the rapid entry box system cannot be installed
at the aforesaid location and/or height, the Chief of the Trempealeau
Fire Department may designate, in writing, a different location and
installation specifications.
(4) All realty and/or property with an electronic security gate shall
have the Knox-Box® installed outside
the gate.
(5) Any changes in the installation of a Knox-Box® after its initial installation is completed are subject to advance
approval by the Chief of the Trempealeau Fire Department.
(6) The Chief of the Trempealeau Fire Department must be notified by
the property owner prior to any change in the installation of a Knox-Box® after its initial installation is completed.
D. Maintenance. The owner of a building subject to this section shall
immediately notify the Trempealeau Fire Department Chief and provide
the new keys when a lock is changed or rekeyed. The key to such lock
shall be secured in the Knox-Box®.
E. Contents of lock box. The contents of each lock box are to be as
follows:
(1) Keys to locked points of ingress or egress, whether on the interior
or exterior of such buildings.
(2) Keys to all mechanical rooms.
(3) Keys to all locked electrical rooms.
(4) Keys to elevators and their control rooms.
(5) Keys to the fire alarm panels.
(6) Keys (special) to reset pull stations or other fire protective devices.
(7) Keys to storage rooms for hazardous chemicals or flammable materials.
(8) Keys to any other areas as requested by the Chief of the Trempealeau
Fire Department.
F. Fire Department responsibilities.
(1) No Fire Department personnel shall carry a Knox-Box® key.
(2) All Knox-Box® access keys shall be
installed in a Knox-Box® Sentra-Loc
system installed in the fire apparatus and shall be accessible only
to Trempealeau Fire Department members via their personal identification
code.
G. Exceptions to requirement to install a key lock box system. The following
structures are exempt from the mandate to install a key lock box system:
(1) A one-time exemption to this section will be granted to all current
property owners that at the time of enactment would otherwise be required
to install a Knox-Box
® under Subsection
B(1)(a) if the business/property does not have a security system that calls 911 for fire-related reasons. If this exemption is taken and the property changes ownership and the new owners have a security system that calls 911 for fire-related reasons, the new owner will be required to install a Knox-Box
® within six months of change in ownership per Subsection
B of this section.
(2) Single-family structures and multifamily structures that do not meet the definition set forth in Subsection
B(1)(b).
(3) Structures that have twenty-four-hour 365-day on-site security personnel.
(4) Businesses that are open and staffed 24 hours, 365 days per year
(which may include, but are not limited to, nursing homes, hospitals,
police stations, etc.).
(5) Rental storage facilities where there is a single lock on the separate
storage pods that are renter supplied; provided, however, that the
entry security gates(s) will require a Knox-Box® if locked or electronically controlled.
H. Penalties. Any violation of this section shall be punishable by a
forfeiture of not less than $100 plus costs recoverable by the Village
under § 814.65, Wis. Stats. Each day the violation exists/continues
shall be considered as a separate offense.