[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
West Brandywine 9-16-1993 by Ord. No. 93-03.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as "The West Brandywine Township Automatic
Protection Device Ordinance."
A.
An increasing number of residents of West Brandywine
Township have purchased and installed automatic protection devices in their
homes and businesses. An increasing number of false alarms have been reported
as a result of these automatic protection devices. Frequently, false alarm
signals are sent to the West Brandywine Township Police, as well as to the
Chester County Department of Emergency services, resulting in the unnecessary
expenditure of public resources and the endangerment of Township residents
due to the Police and Fire Departments responding to false alarms.
B.
Further, a number of automatic protection devices emit
audible alarms which signal indefinitely, thereby creating a nuisance to the
owners of properties surrounding the property where the prolonged audible
alarm is being transmitted.
A.
Owners or lessees of audible alarm protection devices
shall not key such alarms to the West Brandywine Township Police Radio Network,
Chester County Department of Emergency Services, or to the Pennsylvania State
Police Radio Network.
B.
Audible alarms on location and not keyed to the Department
of Emergency Services may be installed by Township residents and businesses
so long as they are registered and comply with regulations.
C.
Audible alarm protection devices on location must be
equipped with a timing device which will disconnect the alarm after a maximum
of 15 minutes. Audible alarms without such a device will be unlawful in the
Township and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee.
A.
No automatic protection device shall be keyed to the
West Brandywine Township Police Radio Network or to the Pennsylvania State
Police Radio Network.
B.
All existing automatic protection devices that transmit
messages to the West Brandywine Township Police Radio Network or the Pennsylvania
State Police Radio Network shall be keyed to the Chester County Department
of Emergency services.
C.
Automatic protection devices shall be keyed to the Chester
County Department of Emergency Services. Such devices, however, must first
be keyed to an authorized professional alarm equipment supplier holding a
valid permit from the Township. Then the alarm is to be keyed to the Department
of Emergency Services by the alarm company only.
D.
No person or business except an alarm equipment supplier
holding a valid permit from the Township shall install any automatic protection
device keyed to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
It is permissible for owners or lessees of automatic protection devices
to key alarms to a telephone or radio which is available to them or to a private
agency so long as they register with the Chief of Police and comply with Township
regulations, set forth in this chapter.
A.
Every automatic protection device supplier who has keyed
an automatic protection device in the Township to a Police Radio Network shall
furnish to the Chief of Police a current list of such installations which
shall include the following information:
(1)
The name, address, and telephone number of the owner
or lessee.
(2)
The name and address where the device is installed and
the telephone number of that address.
(3)
The name, address, and telephone number of a central
station protective system or any other person or firm who is authorized to
respond to an emergency and gain access to the address where the device is
installed.
(4)
The name and telephone number of any person, firm, or
corporation, if any, other than the alarm equipment supplier who is responsible
for maintenance and repair of the automatic protection device.
B.
By the fifth working day of each month following the submission of the initial list, every automatic protection device supplier shall furnish the Chief of Police with a supplemental list of any additional Township installations he has keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network, along with any corrections or deletions from lists previously furnished. An automatic protection device supplier who enters into the business shall furnish a list containing the information specified in § 53-7A by the fifth working day of the month following a first installation and shall thereafter furnish supplemental lists as required by this section.
C.
All information furnished pursuant to these sections
shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the Township.
Automatic protection devices installed in the Township that are keyed
to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services shall meet the following
requirements:
A.
The type and content of recorded messages must be intelligible
and in a format approved, prior to the installation, by the Chief of Police.
B.
No more that one call shall be made to the Chester County
Department of Emergency Services as a result of a single activation of the
automatic protection device.
C.
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall
not exceed 15 seconds.
D.
Recorded messages may be repeated during one call, but
the interval between each recorded message shall be no less than eight seconds
nor more than 12 seconds.
E.
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic
protection device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or
intrusion, so that the device will not be actuated by impulses due to fleeting
pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the rattling or vibrations
of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises caused by the passing of
vehicles or any other force not related to genuine alarms.
F.
All components comprising such a device must be maintained
by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability of operation.
A.
Each automatic protection device supplier who sells or
leases an alarm in the Township which is keyed to the Chester County Department
of Emergency Services shall furnish operating instructions, a circuit diagram,
and maintenance manual to the buyer or lessee.
B.
Each automatic protection device supplier, referred to in § 53-9A, shall furnish operating instruction, circuit diagram, and maintenance manual for each type of automatic protection device he deals in and installs in the Township to Township officials. If the instructions are not clear, the automatic protection device supplier may be required to revise the instructions to said Township officials and to the buyer or lessee of the automatic protection device.
A.
Each automatic protection device supplier who sells or
leases an automatic protection device in the Township which is keyed to the
Chester County Department of Emergency Services shall make service available
directly or through an agent on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis, seven days
a week, to repair such device or to correct any malfunction that may occur.
Such service shall be made available for any person using an automatic protection
device supplied at such user's selection and expense.
B.
At the time of installation, any automatic protection
device supplier shall furnish to any buyer or lessee using a repair service,
written information as to how service may be obtained at any time including
the telephone number of the automatic protection device supplier or agent
responsible for the service. The buyer or lessee and the automatic protection
device supplier or agency supplying a service shall be responsible for having
the device disconnected or repaired as quickly as possible after the notice
that the automatic protection device is not functioning properly.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational requirements set forth in § 53-8 are received by the Township and the Township concludes that the automatic protection device sending such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve the Township Police Department of the burden of responding to false alarms, it is authorized to demand that the owner or lessee of the device, or his representative disconnect the device until it is made to comply with the operational requirements.
Automatic protection device suppliers must conform to the requirements
contained in the National Electrical Code as it pertains to inspections and
tests.
For the purpose of enforcing this chapter and as a condition to installing
and maintaining an automatic protection device, the owner or lessee thereof
shall execute a consent in such form as may be prescribed by the Township,
which will authorize the Police Chief and/or Township Fire Marshal to enter
upon a lessee's or owner's premises within the Township at such
reasonable times and upon reasonable notice, to inspect the installation and
operation of an automatic protection device.
A.
For the purpose of assuring the safety of police officers
and/or fire fighters who answer alarms and for the purpose of maintaining
an element of surprise, the owner or lessee thereof shall authorize police
officers and/or fire fighters of the Township to enter upon a lessee's
or owner's premises within the Township in whatever manner necessary,
including forcible entry, when answering an alarm only.
B.
If the device is to be leased or rented from, or is to
be serviced pursuant to a service agreement by, a person other than the person
making application for an alarm device permit, the name, address, and telephone
number of that person must be stated in the application. In addition, each
person submitting an application for an alarm device permit shall submit a
signed statement in the following form:
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"I (We) the undersigned applicant(s) for an alarm device permit, intending
to be legally bound hereby, agree with West Brandywine Township that neither
I (We), nor anyone claiming by, through, or under me (us) shall make any claim
against West Brandywine Township, its officials, or agents, for any damages
caused to the premises at which the alarm device, which is the subject of
this application, is or will be located, if such damage is caused by forced
entry to said premises by employees of West Brandywine Township in order to
answer an alarm from said alarm device at a time when said premises are or
appear to be unattended or when in the discretion of said employees the circumstances
appear to warrant a forced entry."
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C.
The Police Department shall furnish forms which any person
wishing to apply for an alarm device permit shall submit with his application.
No person shall conduct any tests or demonstrations of an automatic
protection device without first obtaining permission from the Township. Where
the equipment is not keyed to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services,
no such permission is necessary.
Automatic protection device suppliers and installers shall furnish at
or prior to the time of contracting, and at their expense, a copy of this
chapter to owners, lessees, or users of the equipment or services to be supplied.
A.
For the purpose of defraying unnecessary costs to the
Township of responding to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an automatic
protection device which is keyed to the Chester County Department of Emergency
Services shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation of
such equipment or service, execute a consent in such a form as will be prescribed
by the Township that the owner or lessee shall pay the Township as follows:
(1)
Intentional false alarms. No permit holder or person
shall create an intentional false alarm.
(2)
Accidental false alarms. Any person or permit holder
causing accidental false alarms for any reason shall pay to West Brandywine
Township a charge for each and every false alarm to which the Police and/or
Fire Departments respond, in each calendar year, as follows: (Example)
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RESIDENTIAL:
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Alarms sounded after first month of installation:
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1st to 2nd alarm each year
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No charge
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3rd to 10th alarm each year
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$25.00 per alarm
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For each alarm thereafter add
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$50.00 per alarm
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BUSINESS:
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Alarms sounded after first month of installation:
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1st to 2nd alarm each year
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No charge
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3rd to 10th alarm each year
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$ 50.00 per alarm
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For each alarm thereafter add
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$100.00 per alarm
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(3)
When a false alarm occurs, the Police Department, within
10 days from the date of the false alarm, shall notify the permit holder of
the alarm device from which the false alarm emanated or other person causing
said false alarm that a false alarm charge is due and the amount thereof.
Such notice shall be in writing and mailed to the permit holder or person
causing said false alarm at this last known address by regular mail, postage
prepaid.
[Amended 2-6-1997 by Ord. No. 97-01[1]]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Every day that a violation of this chapter, § 53-17A, continues shall constitute a separate offense.
