[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of South Whitehall 7-7-2010 by Ord. No. 919; amended in its entirety 10-19-2022 by Ord. No.
1067. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "South Whitehall
Township Police and Fire Emergency Alarm Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to encourage alarm users throughout
the Township to maintain operational reliability and properly use
alarm systems in a manner which will reduce false and nuisance alarm
responses by the Police Department and Fire Department(s), thereby
reducing and preventing the misuse of police and fire resources at
taxpayer expense.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and enforcement of this chapter:
An indication of the existence of a condition that requires
an immediate response.
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 other data required by the
South Whitehall Township Police Department.
A system or portion of a combination system consisting of
components and circuits arranged to monitor and annunciate the status
of an alarm or supervisory signal-initiating devices and to initiate
the appropriate response to those signals.
January 1 through December 31.
The initiation or transmission of a signal, message or other
notification of an event or fire when no such danger exists.
Any company, corporation, or individual which has contracted
to engage or has engaged in the act of installing fire, intrusion,
water alarm, medial systems, etc., 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.
An alarm caused by a mechanical failure, malfunction, improper
installation or lack of proper maintenance, or an alarm activated
by a cause that cannot be determined.
Any institution directly funded by public taxation.
A facility that receives signals from an alarm system and
at which personnel are in attendance at all times to respond to these
signals.
South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
A.Â
Every owner or lessee of an alarm system shall register same with
the Township. Such registration shall include but not necessarily
be limited to the following information:
(1)Â
The name, residence address and telephone number of the owner or
lessee.
(2)Â
The address where the device is installed in the Township and the
telephone number of that address.
(3)Â
The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least two persons
other than the owner/lessee, who are authorized to gain entry into
the protected premises, who are available to respond within 30 minutes
of notification, and who are qualified to silence and/or reset the
alarm.
(4)Â
The name, address, and telephone number of an alarm system serving
contractor.
B.Â
All information furnished pursuant to these sections shall be kept
confidential and shall be for the use of the South Whitehall Township
Police Chief and/or Fire Commissioner.
Alarm systems installed in the Township that transmit to a supervising
station shall meet the following requirements:
A.Â
No more than two calls shall be made to the Lehigh County Communication
Center because of a single activation of the automatic protection
device.
B.Â
The sensory mechanisms used in conjunction with an alarm system 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, rattling
or vibrating of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises by the
passing of vehicles, weather extremities or any other similar force
not related to emergencies requiring protection.
C.Â
All components comprising an alarm system must be maintained by the
owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum eligibility of operation.
D.Â
Each owner or lessee shall be required to provide external visible
and legible identification of a twenty-four-hour emergency telephone
number where someone can be reached to deactivate the system.
Each installer of an alarm system in the Township shall furnish
to the owner or lessee a set of operating instructions; a circuit
diagram; a maintenance manual; and written information as to how service
may be obtained.
The owner or lessee of an alarm system shall be responsible
for having any device rendering a nuisance alarm repaired within 24
hours of the commencement of the first such alarm.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational
requirements set forth in any section of this chapter are received
by the Lehigh County Communication Center, the device sending such
messages shall be disconnected to relieve the emergency service providers
from responding to false alarms. The Township Chief of Police is hereby
authorized to demand that the owner or lessee of the device, or their
representative, disconnect the device until it complies with the operational
requirements hereof. This section is not applicable to fire alarm
systems.
An alarm user and/or property owner shall implement verified
response for a fire alarm system installed in a residential or commercial
property within one year of the effective date of this section.
A.Â
Alarm verification. An alarm company shall not re-transmit a fire
alarm signal to emergency responders until an attempt is made to verify
the accuracy of a fire alarm signal originating from a residential
or commercial property. Verification shall be made within 90 seconds
of receipt of a fire alarm signal. If the alarm user or other properly
identified person on site at the property is contacted and can confirm
that no emergency condition exists, then the alarm signal shall not
be retransmitted. In all other situations, the alarm signal shall
be immediately retransmitted.
B.Â
Alarm verification exceptions. Waterflow alarms and manual pull station
alarms shall be immediately retransmitted without alarm verification
when they can be distinguished by the alarm company from other fire
alarm systems on the protected premises.
A.Â
An alarm will not be considered false or a nuisance if it is determined
that the alarm was caused by:
(1)Â
A natural or man-made catastrophe, or other "Act of God" such as
tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, or other similarly violent conditions.
(2)Â
Vandalism causing physical damage to property.
(3)Â
Attempted entry of a location causing visible, physical, or other
evidence of damage to the location which has caused the alarm to sound.
(4)Â
Severe weather or failure of electrical power not caused by property
owner.
The Township Board of Commissioners may establish reasonable
registration fees for installations permitted hereafter.
A.Â
Each residential and commercial property owner or lessee utilizing
any alarm system shall be charged a fee for service by the Township
for the third and each subsequent false or nuisance alarm which occurs
within a calendar year. The police and fire response service fees
shall be determined annually by resolution by the South Whitehall
Township Board of Commissioners. There will be no charge for the first
and second alarm of either type or combination thereof.
B.Â
The Township will issue invoices for service fees on a quarterly
billing cycle.
C.Â
Upon notification of a false or nuisance alarm, a written report
shall be submitted within 14 days by the owner or lessee to the Township
Chief of Police and/or Township Fire Commissioner or their designee(s)
and shall contain what steps are being taken to eliminate future false
or nuisance alarms.
D.Â
If any property owner desires to appeal from the imposition of any
fee for service, the appeal shall be directed, in writing, to the
Township Manager within 30 calendar days of the date the fee is assessed
or imposed on an appeal form provided by the Township. The Township
Manager or their designee shall be responsible for the reviewing and
the rendering of a decision on any appeal as it pertains to this chapter.
E.Â
The service fee shall be paid to the Township within 30 calendar
days of the date set forth on the correspondence remitted to the user
by the Township which communicates the fee to be assessed. If the
payment is not received within 30 calendar days, appropriate legal
action may be taken.
F.Â
The Township may proceed to collect unpaid alarm service fees as
a municipal claim including the filling and enforcement of a lien
against the property.
G.Â
The status of an alarm system activation is to be determined by the
South Whitehall Township Police Department and/or Fire Commissioner,
and the decision shall be final.
A.Â
Citation fines. Any person, firm or corporation who shall fail, neglect
or refuse to comply with any of the terms or provisions of this chapter,
or of any regulation or requirement pursuant hereto and authorized
hereby is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction by
a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine of:
B.Â
Each false alarm in excess of three within a calendar year shall
constitute a separate violation and shall be deemed a separate offense.
C.Â
Payment of any citation fine or other penalty shall not eliminate
the required payment of any service fee which has been previously
assessed and remains due.
D.Â
Restitution. The Magisterial District Judge may order the violator
upon conviction to make restitution where appropriate, to pay the
Township's costs of collection/citation proceedings and to pay
the Township reasonable attorneys' fees associated with the prosecution
of the same.
E.Â
Remedies for violation. In the event a violation of this chapter
occurs, in addition to such other remedies as may be available under
existing law, the Township may institute an action in equity to prevent,
restrain, correct, abate, or enjoin such violation.
Any and all liability and consequential damage resulting from
the failure of the Township Police Department and/or Fire Department(s)
to respond to an alarm dispatch request is hereby disclaimed and full
governmental immunity as provided by law is retained.
