[Adopted 4-14-1997 by Ord. No. 2029]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as "Whitehall Township Police and Fire Emergency Alarm Ordinance."
The following definitions shall apply in the
interpretation and enforcement of this article:
Any siren, bell, horn or other device which is attached to
the interior or exterior of a structure and emits a warning signal
audible outside the structure or transmits a prerecorded voice alarm
or other signal and is designed to attract attention, or transmits
a message to an Emergency Communication Center, whether that of Whitehall
Township or otherwise, when activated by a criminal act or other emergency
requiring police or firemen to respond.
Documentation pertaining to any alarm system, other than
a residential sensory device, which identifies the owner or lessee
of the system, the address of the property which is protected by the
system, the identity of individuals authorized to respond to the alarm
in order to gain access to the property and deactivate the system,
the identity of the firm or individual who installed the system and
can provide emergency repair service and any other data required by
the Whitehall Township Police of Fire Chief.
An electrically operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus
and related hardware which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice
alarm or other similar message over telephone line, by direct or indirect
connection to an Emergency Communication Center, upon receipt of a
stimulus from sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force
or other stimulus inherently characteristic of a fire or intrusion.
A protection system or group of such systems, operated privately
for customers or publicly by a person, firm, corporation or governmental
entity which maintains, supervises or accepts recorded messages from
automatic protection devices at a central station having operators
that have the duty to take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal
or message.
Any alarm or signal activated by an automatic protection
device, or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given to an
Emergency Communication Center, or any signal given from a residential
sensory device, to which police or firemen respond, which is not the
result of weather extremes, burglary, fire, robbery or similar emergency.
Any company, corporation or individual which has contracted
to engage or engaged in the act of installing fire, intrusion, water
alarm or medical systems, where the system is designed to require
a response from any emergency service.
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a
message either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
A device attached to the interior of a residential structure
which is not tied to an Emergency Communication Center nor intended
to be audible on the exterior of the structure to which it is attached.
The Township of Whitehall, County of Lehigh, Pennsylvania.
A.Â
Within 60 days from the effective date of this article,
every owner and lessee of an alarm, other than a residential sensory
device, shall register same with the Police Department of Whitehall
Township. Such registration shall include, but not necessarily be
limited to, the following information:
(1)Â
The name, residence and 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 names, address and telephone numbers of at least
two persons who are authorized to respond to an alarm and gain access
to the address where the device is installed.
(4)Â
The name, address and phone number of the installer
which installed the alarm.
B.Â
After the enactment of this article, all alarms (other
than residential sensory devices) shall be equipped with timing mechanisms
that will disengage the alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes
from the time that the alarm is engaged. Alarms (other than residential
sensory devices) without such timing mechanism shall be unlawful in
the Township and must be equipped with a timing mechanism or disconnected
within 60 days from the effective date of this article. All alarms
and the installation thereof shall:
C.Â
Within 60 days after the effective date of this article
all persons owning or operating existing or new automatic protection
device that transmits recorded message directly to an Emergency Communication
Center shall contact the Whitehall Township Emergency Communication
Center for the proper transmission procedure.
D.Â
All information furnished pursuant to these sections
shall be kept confidential and shall be solely for the use of the
Whitehall Township Police Department.
Alarms installed in the Township that are keyed
to an assigned truck line in the Lehigh County Emergency Communication
Center or alarms installed in the Township that provide communication
with the Whitehall Township Communications Center, with or without
an intermediary, shall meet the following requirements:
A.Â
No more than two calls shall be made to the Lehigh
County Emergency Communication Center as a result of a single activation
of the automatic protection device.
B.Â
The sensory mechanism used in conjunction with an
automatic protection device must be adjusted to suppress false indications
of fire or intrusion, so that the device will not actuated 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, weather extremes
or any other similar force not related to emergencies requiring protection.
C.Â
All components comprising an automatic protection
device must be maintained by the owner or lessee in good repair to
assure maximum reliability of operation.
D.Â
Each owner or lessee of premises in which an automatic
protection device is installed shall be required to provide external
visible and legible identification of the installer on the protected
structure on or near the main entrance. This identification shall
include a twenty-four-hour emergency telephone number where someone
can be reached to deactivate the system.
Each installer who sells or leases an automatic
protection device in the Township after the effective date of this
article which is keyed to an Emergency Communication Center or intermediary
shall furnish to the owner or lessee: operating instructions, a circuit
diagram, a maintenance manual and written information as to how service
may be obtained, including the telephone number of the installer or
agent responsible for service.
A.Â
Each installer who installs an automatic protection
device in the Township shall make service available to the owner or
lessee of same, directly or through an agent, within 24 hours of a
request by such owner or lessee for repair or service. Such service
shall be made available to such owner or lessee at his/her election
and expense.
B.Â
The owner or lessee of an automatic protection device
shall be responsible for having any device rendering a false alarm
disconnected or repaired within one hour of the commencement of the
first such false alarm.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with
the operational requirements set forth in any section of this article
are received by the Whitehall Township or Lehigh County Emergency
Communications Center, the automatic protection device sending such
message shall be disconnected in order to relieve the particular emergency
service from responding to false alarms.
A.Â
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate
any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not less than $75 or more than $1,000 plus costs
and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 8-8-2005 by Ord. No. 2578]
B.Â
In the event that more than three false alarms, as defined in § 13-70 hereof, are received within any given six consecutive months from any automatic protection device, alarm or residential sensory device, the owner, lessor or user of such device or alarm shall, upon conviction before a magistrate, District Justice or court, be fined such amount as set forth in the Whitehall Township fee schedule, as amended from time to time, for each offense (residential establishment) and such amount as set forth in the Whitehall Township fee schedule, as amended from time to time, for each offense (nonresidential establishment). Each false alarm in excess of three within six consecutive months shall constitute a separate violation and shall be deemed a separate offense.
C.Â
The provisions of this section shall be waived for
a period of 15 days from the date that the Township receives written
notice of the initial installation of an alarm, automatic protection
device or residential sensory alarm.
Fees for installation permits and registration
are as set forth in the Whitehall Township Fee Schedule, as amended
from time to time.
