[Added 12-22-2008 by Ord. No. 1062]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AFFECTED STRUCTURE
Any building or structure located in the Township of Little Falls, whether privately or publicly owned, including, without limitation, any building owned by the Township of Little Falls, the Little Falls Board of Education, or any other public, quasi-public, or private entity or person, including but not limited to the following:
A. 
Any industrial or warehouse building or structure;
B. 
Hotels, motels or multiple dwellings which have locked main entrances at any time during the day or night or which have locked boiler rooms, electrical rooms, basements, sprinkler control rooms or elevator control rooms;
C. 
All educational and day-care buildings or structures;
D. 
All mercantile buildings and structures including shopping centers;
E. 
All office buildings and structures;
F. 
All buildings and structures of public assembly including churches, restaurants and movie theaters.
FIRE OFFICIAL
A person holding a valid Fire Official's Certification issued by the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety and appointed by the Mayor.
[Amended 7-26-2021 by Ord. No. 1418]
HAZMAT CABINET
A UL-listed Knox Box HazMat cabinet approved by the Fire Chief that meets the requirements and uses the same security key code adopted by the Fire Department.
KNOX BOX
A UL-listed Knox Box Rapid Entry Key Box System approved by the Fire Official that meets the requirements and uses the same security key code adopted by the Fire Department.
MASTER KEY
The key or other instrument used to gain access to the various Knox Boxes to be utilized as a result of the provisions of this article.
RESPONSIBLE PARTY
The person(s) charged with the responsibility for the occupancy, building or business owner.
VAULT
A UL-listed Knox Vault approved by the Fire Official that meets the requirements and uses the same security key adopted by the Fire Department.
The following buildings or structures shall be exempt from the terms and provisions of this article:
A. 
Any building or structure staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
B. 
Any one- or two-family residential dwelling;
C. 
Any storage shed, pump station, recycling trailer, recreation field building or other similar type accessory building.
A. 
Every affected structure within the Township of Little Falls shall be equipped with a Knox Box. The Knox Box shall be installed at a location and in a manner approved by the Fire Official. The Knox Box shall be of a UL type approved by the Fire Official.
B. 
The location on the outside of the affected structure where the Knox Box is to be located must be, as nearly as possible, uniform among similar-type structures in order to promote quick accessibility upon arrival of fire personnel at the scene of an emergency. Given differing structural characteristics of different types of structures and buildings, the location of the Knox Box on the exterior of each affected structure shall be submitted to be approved by the Fire Official.
C. 
Contents of Knox Box.
(1) 
The Knox Boxes shall contain the following:
(a) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to locked points of egress, whether in the interior or exterior of such buildings;
(b) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to the locked mechanical rooms;
(c) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to the locked elevator rooms;
(d) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to the elevator controls;
(e) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to any fence or secured areas;
(f) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to fire protection equipment;
(g) 
Keys or access or swipe cards to any other areas, that may be required by the Fire Official;
(h) 
Elevator emergency door release keys or drop keys. If these items are too large to place in the Knox Box, the responsible party shall supply a copy of all such keys in to the custody of the Fire Official;
(i) 
A card containing the emergency contact people and phone numbers for such building;
(j) 
If required by the Fire Official, all current information of hazardous materials stored in the building or facility. If the volume of material is too large to place in the Knox Box, the responsible party shall file the material with the Fire Official.
(2) 
In addition to the foregoing, floor plans of the rooms within the building may be required, in the sole discretion of the Fire Official.
(3) 
Each key or access card shall be individually tagged and labeled so as to be easily identified and shall be kept current. There shall be no more than one (1) key or access card per key ring.
D. 
Where a building contains a business that is required to prepare or have available a materials safety data sheet or an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form under Subtitle B, Sections 311 and 312 of Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA Title III), the Fire Official may require that the responsible party also install a HazMat cabinet or vault as determined by the Fire Official.
E. 
The HazMat cabinet or vault shall contain the following information for emergency response personnel:
(1) 
A current list of facility management personnel knowledgeable about safety procedures of materials on site, complete with telephone numbers for such personnel in the event of an incident after normal business hours;
(2) 
A current emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form and a binder containing the material safety data (MSD) sheets or, in the event that the volume of the MSD sheets is too great to keep practically in the HazMat cabinet, shall give the location of the onsite MSD sheets and the MSD sheets shall be readily available for use by emergency response personnel.
(3) 
A facility site plan to include the following:
(a) 
The location of storage and use of hazardous materials on site;
(b) 
The location of on-site emergency fire-fighting and spill clean-up equipment;
(c) 
A diagram of the complete sewer system and the water system, showing fire hydrant and water main locations and sizes;
(d) 
A copy of the local fire department's preplan for the facility;
(e) 
Any building floor plan deemed necessary by the Fire Official.
F. 
The Fire Official may require the installation of tamper switches to connect the key lock box or vault box to the building's alarm system.
G. 
The cost of purchasing and installing, along with any cost associated with implementation of the program at a specific affected structure, will be borne by the responsible party.
All existing affected structures shall comply with this article within 12 months from the effective date. All newly constructed affected structures, not yet occupied, or affected structures currently under construction, and all affected structures or businesses applying for a certificate of occupancy or continued certificate of occupancy, shall immediately comply with the terms and provisions of this article.
Any responsible party in violation of any provision hereof shall receive written notice of the violation(s) and be provided 30 days to correct the violation(s). Any responsible party, after receiving written notice by the Fire Official and failing to correct the violation within the thirty-day period, shall be subject to a fine of up to $500 for each and every day of noncompliance. Continued noncompliance may result in the revocation of the certificate of occupancy.
Following the installation by a responsible party of a lock box, all keys currently in the possession of the Fire Department shall be returned to the responsible party.
The Township of Little Falls Fire Department shall establish a system of security and procedures to limit access to any master key(s) to authorized personnel in times of emergency. The Fire Department shall, to the extent feasible and practical, use the latest technological advances available to preserve and enhance the security of the master key(s).
The Township of Little Falls and the Township of Little Falls Fire Department assume no liability for any defects in the operation of the Knox Box, the keys contained in the Knox Box, any information stored within the key lock box or otherwise provided to the Fire Official, or the security of any property required to have a Knox Box due to access to the Knox Box by any person.