[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Hatfield 11-4-1982 by Ord. No. 362 (Ch. 13, Part 1, of the
1994 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 184.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Hatfield Township Emergency Alarm Ordinance."
The following definitions shall apply in the
interpretation and enforcement of this chapter:
Any person who engages in the altering, installing, leasing,
maintaining, repairing, replacing, selling or servicing of emergency
police and fire alarm systems (automatic protective devices).
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all
times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic protective
devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and who have the
duty to relay immediately by live voice only such emergency message
over a designated or direct trunkline to the communications center
of the Police Department or Fire Department.
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible
outside the building and designated to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police to respond.
An electrically operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus
and related hardware which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice
alarm over regular telephone lines by direct or indirect connection
to the Police Department or Fire Department, upon receipt of a stimulus
from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition
inherently characteristic of a fire or an intrusion.
The Building Inspector of Hatfield Township.
A protective system or group of such systems, operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which maintains supervisors
and accepts recorded messages from automatic protective devices at
a central station having trained operators and guards in attendance
at all times that have the duty to take appropriate action upon receipt
of a signal or message including the relaying of messages by designated
or primary trunkline to the communications center of the Police Department
or Fire Department.
The Chief of Police of the Hatfield Township Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department that is for the primary purpose of handling
emergency messages which originate from automatic protective devices
and are transmitted directly or indirectly through an intermediary.
The Fire Department, Police Department and/or any emergency
agency or provider operating within the Township of Hatfield.
[Added 8-22-2018 by Ord.
No. 680]
Any of the following:
[Amended 8-22-2018 by Ord. No. 680]
INADVERTANT, ETC. ALARM SYSTEM ACTIVATIONAny activation of an alarm system by inadvertence, negligence or intentional or unintentional acts or means to which the emergency services responds where it is determined that the alarm was not the result of a crime in progress, fire, medical or other similar emergency necessitating a response by the aforementioned emergency service.
MISDIALA call or contact received by any emergency service that is the result of the caller attempting to dial any other number, or which was mistakenly placed using preprogrammed speed dial, contact lists, smart phones, text message, email, fax machine or any other mechanical or electronic activation, or other means of erroneously calling such emergency service without the need for emergency response.
HANG-UP CALLA call or contact received by any emergency service that is the result of the caller disconnecting after mistakenly calling or contacting the emergency service without the need for an emergency response.
PRANKSA call or contact received by any emergency service that is the direct result of the caller/contactor intentionally disclosing false information, that is made as a joke, that is placed by a minor as the result of a lack of parental supervision, or other means of calling or contacting any emergency service without the need for an emergency response.
The North Penn Fire Alarm Center servicing fire departments,
plus the Bucks County and Montgomery County radio systems.
The fire companies servicing Hatfield Township.
The Fire Marshal of Hatfield Township.
A central station protective system or answering service
as herein defined.
To use telephone lines and equipment for transmitting a message
either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
Written permission duly granted to a qualified applicant
by the Township upon payment of the required fee.
The police communication room and other rooms which house
auxiliary communication equipment.
The Hatfield Township Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department or Fire Department that is for the purpose of
handling emergency calls on a person to person basis and which line
is identified by a specific listing among the white pages in the telephone
directory issued by the Bell Telephone Company.
The Township of Hatfield, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
After the enactment of this chapter, owners
or lessees must equip audible alarms with a timing mechanism that
will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes.
Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall be unlawful in
the Township and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee within
60 days from the effective date of this chapter.
A.Â
No automatic protection device installed after the
effective date of this chapter shall be keyed to a primary trunkline.
B.Â
After the effective date of this chapter, all automatic
protection devices that transmit recorded messages directly to the
Police Department or Fire Department shall be keyed to a designated
trunkline.
C.Â
Within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter,
existing automatic protection devices in the Township shall be disconnected
from primary trunklines.
D.Â
Automatic protection devices disconnected, as provided in Subsection C above, may be keyed to a designated trunkline.
E.Â
After the effective date of this chapter, a valid
permit shall be required from the Township to install any automatic
protection device or audible alarm within the confines of Hatfield
Township.
A.Â
Any person who has an automatic protection device
in the Township may arrange to have such device keyed to an intermediary
authorized to relay emergency messages to the Police Department or
Fire Department.
B.Â
The relay of messages by authorized intermediaries
shall be over a designated trunkline.
C.Â
Automatic protection devices keyed to an authorized
intermediary may also be keyed to another telephone which the owner
or lessee of the automatic protection device has available to himself
or his representative at some other location.
A.Â
Within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter,
every alarm equipment installer who has keyed an automatic protection
device in the Township to the designated trunkline shall furnish to
the Chief of Police and to the Fire Marshal a current list of such
installations which shall include:
(1)Â
The telephone number of the owner or lessee.
(2)Â
The address where the device is installed and the
telephone number of that address.
(3)Â
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)Â
The name and telephone number of any person, firm
or corporation, if any, other than the alarm equipment installer who
is responsible for maintenance and repair of the automatic protection
device.
B.Â
By the fifth working day of each month, following the submission of the initial list, every alarm equipment installer shall furnish the Police Department and the Fire Department with a supplemental list of any additional installation he has keyed to the designated trunklines, along with any corrections to or deletions from lists previously submitted. An alarm equipment installer who enters into the business after the effective date of this chapter shall furnish a list containing the information specified in Subsection A by the fifth working day of the month, following a first installation, and shall, thereafter, furnish supplemental lists as required by this section.
C.Â
All information furnished pursuant to these sections
shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the designated
personnel of the Police Department and the Fire Department only.
Automatic protection devices installed in the
Township that are keyed to designated trunklines shall meet the following
requirements:
A.Â
The type and content of recorded messages must be
intelligible and in a format approved prior to installation by the
Chief of Police.
B.Â
No more than one call shall be made over a designated
trunkline to the Police Department as a result of a single activation
of the automatic protection device.
C.Â
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall
not exceed 15 seconds.
D.Â
Recorded messages may be repeated during one call
but the interval between each recorded message shall be no less than
four seconds.
E.Â
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 activated by impulses
due to fleeting pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of
light, the rattling or vibration of doors and windows, vibrations
to the premises caused by the passing of vehicles or any other force
not related to genuine alarms.
F.Â
All components comprising such a device must be maintained
by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability
of operation.
For the purpose of enforcing this chapter and
as a condition of installing and maintaining an automatic protective
device, the owner or lessee thereof shall obtain an emergency alarm
permit at a fee set by resolution and execute a consent in such form
as may be prescribed by the Chief of Police which will authorize the
Chief of Police and/or the Fire Marshal to enter upon a lessee's or
owner's premises within the Township of Hatfield, at such reasonable
times and upon reasonable notice, and in the presence of the owner,
lessee, user or his authorized agent to inspect the installation and
operation of an automatic protective device.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of an automatic protective device without first obtaining permission
from the Police Department and/or Fire Department. Where the equipment
is keyed through an intermediary, no such permission is necessary
unless the alarm or signal is to be relayed to the Police Department
or Fire Department.
A.Â
Anyone engaged as an alarm installer within the Township
shall, within 30 days after the effective date of this chapter, apply
to the Chief of Police for a license to operate such business within
the Township. Application shall be made on such forms as shall be
furnished by the Chief of Police and applicant shall pay such license
fees as shall be set from time to time by resolution.
[Amended 12-8-2004 by Ord. No. 536]
B.Â
Applicants already doing business within the Township
on the effective date of this chapter may continue to do business
while their license applications are being processed.
[Amended 9-28-1994 by Ord. No. 420; 8-22-2018 by Ord. No. 680]
A.Â
No person shall knowingly or unintentionally cause the making of
a false alarm.
B.Â
For the purpose of defraying the costs to the Township of responding to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an automatic protective device and persons using the service of intermediaries, and users of audible alarms, the users of any other kind of direct or indirect connection with an emergency service, except persons using two-way live voice communications by telephone, shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation of such equipment or service, execute a consent in such form as may be proscribed by the Chief of Police that such owner, lessee or user shall pay the Township a fee which shall be set by resolution from time to time. These sums shall be civil claims by the Township, and do not affect the penalty provisions prescribed by § 71-13 hereof.
C.Â
Any such owner, lessee or user who fails to execute the consent described in Subsection B within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter shall, within the ninety-day period, disconnect the alarm, automatic protective device or any other kind of direct or indirect connection with the emergency service communications center and shall discontinue using the service of any intermediaries.
Every user shall be required to obtain a permit,
and shall pay such connection and annual fees as the Township shall
set by resolution from time to time. The Township may set permit fees
and adopt regulations to implement this chapter from time to time.
[Amended 9-28-1994 by Ord. No. 420; 8-22-2018 by Ord. No. 680]
A.Â
Any person who shall violate any provisions of this chapter shall,
upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
$600 plus costs of prosecution and, in default of payment thereof,
shall be subject to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days.
Each day that a violation of this chapter continues shall constitute
a separate offense.
B.Â
False alarm violations. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, the following provisions shall apply to all false alarm violations:
(1)Â
First offense. Upon the occurrence of the first false alarm, the
responding officer shall issue the offender/caller a false alarm notice
outlining the penalties regarding subsequent false alarms.
(2)Â
Second and subsequent offenses. Upon the occurrence of the second
false alarm which occurs within 60 days of the first offense or a
subsequent false alarm which occurs within 60 days of the prior false
alarm, the owner, lessee or user found guilty of such false alarm
shall be liable for a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $600
plus costs of prosecution for each and every false alarm, to be collectible
before any Magisterial District Justice as like fines and penalties
are now by law collectible.
