The following definitions shall apply in the
interpretation and enforcement of this chapter.
ALARM SUPPLIER
The business by an individual, partnership, corporation or
other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing,
altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing
any alarm system to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired,
altered, replaced, moved or installed, in or on any building, structure
or facility.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical, electrical, or battery-operated,
arranged to signal the occurrence of a police, fire, hazard or medical
emergency requiring urgent attention and to which police or fire units
are expected to respond.
ANSWERING SERVICE
A service where trained employees, in attendance at all times,
receive prerecorded voice, code or signal messages from automatic
dialing devices reporting an emergency at a stated location, where
such employees have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any
such emergency message over a trunk line to the communications center
of the Police or Fire Department.
AUDIBLE ALARM
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building, structure or facility and emits
a warning signal audible outside the building, structure or facility
and is designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal
act or other emergency requiring Police or Fire Department response.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and
is programmed to transmit a signal by a voice or coded message or
signal that indicates that an emergency condition exists and the need
for an emergency response is required.
CENTRAL STATION PROTECTIVE SYSTEM
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which accepts recorded
messages or signals from automatic dialing devices at a central station
having operators and guards in attendance at all times who have the
duty to take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal or message,
indicating the relaying of messages to the communications center of
the Police or Fire Department.
DESIGNATED TRUNK LINE
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department or Fire Department that is for the primary purpose
of handling emergency messages that originate from automatic protection
devices and are transmitted directly or indirectly through an intermediary.
EMERGENCY
A police, fire, hazard or medical emergency.
FALSE ALARM
A.
An alarm activated in the absence of an emergency,
whether willfully or by inadvertence, negligence, equipment malfunction
or unintentional act, to which the Police Department or Fire Department
responds and which is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery
or a similar emergency. If doubt exists as to the cause of the false
alarm, the Chief of Police, or his designee, or the Fire Marshal,
or his designee, shall make a decision regarding the circumstances
of the activation.
B.
The definition of a false alarm also includes
the intentional activation of a holdup alarm for other than a holdup
in progress, the intentional activation of a burglary alarm for other
than a burglary, the intentional activation of a medical alarm for
other than a medical emergency or the intentional activation of a
fire alarm for other than a fire or hazard.
HAZARD EMERGENCY
An explosion or leak of toxic gas, liquid or solid, or a
potential explosion or leak.
INTERMEDIARY
A central station protective system or an answering service
as herein defined.
KEY
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a
message, either directly or indirectly, by an automatic dialing device.
PERMIT
Written permission duly granted to an applicant by the Township
upon payment of the required fee.
POLICE EMERGENCY
An incident requiring prompt response by the Police Department.
POLICE AND FIRE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
The police and fire communication rooms and other rooms housing
communications equipment and the police and fire radio dispatchers
which provide dispatch service to Whitemarsh Township.
TRUNK LINES
A telephone line leading into the communications centers
of the Police and Fire Departments that is for the purpose of handling
calls on a person-to-person basis and which is identified by a specific
listing among the white pages in the telephone directory issued by
the telephone company.
USERS
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity that
owns, leases or otherwise possesses an alarm system for use on any
property in Whitemarsh Township.
On and after the effective date of this chapter,
owners or users of audible alarms must equip such audible alarms with
a timing mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum
of 15 minutes. Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall
be unlawful in the Township and must be disconnected by the owner
or user within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter. The
following shall be excepted from the provisions of this section:
A. Audible fire alarm signals provided for the evacuation
of occupants of industries, institutions and other similar premises.
B. Audible signals provided to indicate water flow in
an automatic fire sprinkler system.
On and after the effective date of this chapter,
all automatic dialing devices that transmit recorded messages directly
to the Police Department or Fire Department shall be keyed to the
designated trunk line and shall not under any circumstances be keyed
to the Emergency 911 line.
Each alarm supplier who, after the effective
date of this chapter, sells or leases in the Township an alarm system
shall furnish operating instructions and a manual to the buyer or
lessee.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of any alarm system without first notifying the Dispatch Center of
the Township Police or Fire Radio Network, as applicable.
Alarm suppliers and installers shall furnish,
at their own expense, at or prior to the time of contracting, a copy
of this chapter to owners, lessees or users of the equipment or services
to be supplied.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational requirements set forth in §
37-8 are received by the Fire Department or the Police Department, and the Police Chief and/or Fire Marshal conclude that the alarm system sending such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve the particular Police/Fire Department of the burden of responding to false alarms, they are authorized to demand that the user of the device, or his representative, disconnect the device until it is made to comply with the operational requirements. If disconnection of the defective alarm system is not accomplished promptly and the Chief of Police and/or Fire Marshal determine that the malfunctioning alarm system is repeatedly sending false alarms without any intermittent valid alarms, they may then take any steps necessary to disconnect the defective alarm system. Any expenses so incurred by the Township shall be promptly reimbursed by the owner or lessee of the defective alarm system.
Users shall pay such permit, connection and
annual fees as the Board of Supervisors shall set by resolution from
time to time. The Board of Supervisors may set permit fees and adopt
regulations to implement this chapter from time to time.