[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Upper Merion Township 6-28-1976
by Ord. No. 76-358. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 67.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 87.
Fees — See Ch. A173.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Upper Merion Emergency
Police and Fire Alarm Ordinance."
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement
of this chapter:
Any person, firm or corporation who sells or leases and/or installs
automatic protection devices.
A service whereby trained employees in attendance at all times receive
prerecorded voice messages from automatic protection devices reporting an
emergency at a stated location and have the duty to relay immediately by live
voice only such emergency message over a designated or direct trunk line to
the communications center of the Police 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 designed 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 line 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 intrusion.
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 protection 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 trunk line to the communications
center of the Police or Fire Department.
The Chief of Police of the Upper Merion Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of the Police
or Fire Department that is for the primary purpose of handling emergency messages
which originate from automatic protection devices and are transmitted directly
or indirectly through an intermediary.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any audible
alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given the police or fire
communications center to which police or firemen respond, which is not the
result of a fire, burglary, robbery or similar emergency.
The Montgomery County communications center servicing the Fire Department.
The Upper Merion Township Fire Department.
The Fire Marshal of Upper Merion Township.
A central station protective system or an answering service, as herein
defined.
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a message
either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
The Manager of Upper Merion Township.
Written permission duly granted to a qualified applicant by the township upon payment of the required fee as provided for in Chapter A173, Fees.
[Amended 5-11-1981 by Ord. No. 81-422; 2-22-1988
by Ord. No. 88-529]
The police communications room and other rooms which house auxiliary
communication equipment.
The Upper Merion Township Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of the Police
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.
Upper Merion Township, 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.
No automatic protection device installed after the effective
date of this chapter shall be keyed to a primary trunk line.
B.
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 trunk line.
C.
Within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter,
existing automatic protection devices in the township shall be disconnected
from primary trunk lines.
D.
Automatic protection devices disconnected as provided in Subsection C above may be keyed to a designated trunk line.
E.
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 Upper Merion Township.
A.
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 or Fire Department.
B.
The relay of messages by authorized intermediaries shall
be over a designated trunk line.
C.
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.
Requirements; change of information.
[Amended 11-4-1999 by Ord. No. 99-697]
(1)
A person may not attach or use an automatic protection
device in the township without doing all of the following:
(a)
Obtain prior written approval from the Upper Merion Township
Police Department to use the automatic protection device to alert the public
safety agency of an alarm condition. The township and/or Police Department
shall not be responsible for any costs for the installation and maintenance
of any dedicated telephone line or equipment associated with the alarm termination.
(b)
Disclose to the Upper Merion Township Police Department
a current list of such installations, which shall include:
[1]
The telephone number of the owner or lessee.
[2]
The 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.
(2)
The Police Department shall be informed of any change
in the information required by this subsection as soon as practicable.
B.
By the fifth working day of each month following the submission of the initial list, every alarm equipment supplier shall furnish the Police Department and the Fire Department with a supplemental list of any additional installations he has keyed to the designated trunk lines, along with any corrections to or deletions from lists previously furnished. An alarm equipment supplier 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.
All information furnished pursuant to this section 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 trunk lines shall meet the following requirements:
A.
The type and content of recorded messages must be intelligible
and in the format approved prior to installation by the Chief of Police or
the Fire Marshal as appropriate for the type of emergency.
B.
No more than one call shall be made over a designated
trunk line to the Police Department or Fire Department 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 four 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 activated by impulses due to fleeting
pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the rattling or vibrating
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 alarm equipment supplier who sells or leases an
automatic protection device in the township after the effective date of this
chapter which is keyed to a designated trunk line shall furnish operating
instructions, a circuit diagram and maintenance manual to the buyer and lessee.
B.
Each alarm equipment supplier referred to in Subsection A shall furnish operating instructions, circuit diagram and maintenance manual for each type of automatic protection device he deals in and installs in the township to the Chief of Police and to the Fire Marshal. If the instructions are not clear, the alarm equipment supplier may be required to revise the instructions to the Chief of Police and the Fire Marshal and all buyers and lessees of the particular automatic protection device.
A.
Each alarm equipment supplier who sells or leases an
automatic protection device in the township which is keyed to a designated
trunk line 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.
B.
At the time of installation, an alarm equipment 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 alarm equipment supplier or agent responsible for service. The buyer
or lessee and the alarm equipment supplier or agent supplying a service shall
be responsible for having the device disconnected or repaired as quickly as
possible after notice that the automatic protection device is not functioning
properly.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational requirements set forth in § 63-7 are received by the Police Department or the Fire Department and the Board of Supervisors concludes that the automatic protection device sending such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve the particular Department of the burden of responding to false alarms, the Board 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. If disconnection of the defective device is not accomplished promptly and the Board of Supervisors determines that the malfunctioning device is repeatedly sending false alarms without any intermittent valid alarms, the Board may then take any steps necessary to disconnect the defective automatic protection device.
[Amended 2-22-1988 by Ord. No. 88-529]
Alarm equipment suppliers must conform to the requirements contained
in Chapter 67, Building Construction, as amended.
For the purpose of enforcing this chapter and as a condition of 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 Manager,
which will authorize the Building Official, the Chief of Police and the Fire
Marshal to enter upon a lessee's or owner's premises within Upper
Merion Township, at such reasonable times and upon reasonable notice, to inspect
the installation and operation of an automatic protection device.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of an automatic protection
device without first obtaining permission from the Police and Fire Departments.
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 the Fire Department.
Alarm equipment suppliers, installers of audible alarms and intermediaries
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 63-15, Consent to pay civil
penalty to be executed; failure to comply, was repealed 11-4-1999 by Ord.
No. 99-697.
[Amended 12-31-1991 by Ord. No. 91-593]
A.
Failure of any person to comply with the requirements of written notice of a violation of any provision hereof within three days of receipt of such notice, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, shall constitute an offense punishable by a fine or penalty as set forth in Art. III, General Penalty Provisions, of Ch. 1, General Provisions. Costs of prosecution shall be collectible before any District Justice as like fines and penalties are now by law collectible. Such notice shall continue in force and effect until full compliance with the requirements stated therein, and each and every failure to comply with such notice within 24 hours after the three days allowed for compliance shall constitute a separate offense.
B.
False alarm violations. In accordance with
state law, a person who owns, uses or possesses an alarm device or automatic
protection device may not, after causing or permitting three false alarms
to occur in a consecutive twelve-month period, cause or permit a subsequent
false alarm to occur in the same consecutive twelve-month period. A person
that violates this subsection commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction,
be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300, plus costs of prosecution,
to be collectible before any District Justice as like fines or penalties are
now by law collectible. This provision shall supercede any general penalty
provision of the Upper Merion Township Code.
[Amended 11-4-1999 by Ord. No. 99-697]
