[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Nanticoke
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-2-1999 by Ord. No. 13-1999 (Ch. 13, Part 1, of
the 2004 Code of Ordinances)]
A.
ACCIDENTAL FALSE ALARM
ALARM
ALARM DEVICE
(1)
(2)
(3)
CENTRAL RECEIVING STATION
DIRECT ALARM DEVICE
FALSE ALARM
FIRE DEPARTMENT
INDIRECT ALARM DEVICE
INTENTIONAL FALSE ALARM
PERSON
POLICE DEPARTMENT
TELEPHONE DIALER DEVICE
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
Any false alarm which is not an intentional false alarm as
defined herein or not when an intrusion, crime, fire or other emergency
has actually occurred.
A communication to the Nanticoke City Police or Fire Department
that a crime, fire or other emergency situation warranting immediate
action by the Nanticoke City police, fire or other emergency services
department has occurred or is occurring.
[Amended 7-18-2007 by Ord. No. 19-2007]
A mechanical device designed to automatically transmit an
alarm by wire, telephone, radio or other means:
To the Nanticoke City Police Department through the Luzerne
County Communications Center.
To a person who is instructed to notify the Nanticoke City Police
Department of the alarm.
To activate a bell or sounding device to be heard outside of
a building which is intended to alert police or others to the existence
of a crime, fire or other emergency situation warranting police action.
The Luzerne County Communications Center, also known as the
"9-1-1 Center."
An alarm device, other than a telephone dialer alarm device,
designed to transmit an alarm directly to the Luzerne County Communications
Center.
An alarm to which the Nanticoke City Police or Fire Department
responds resulting from the activation of an alarm device when a crime,
fire or other emergency warranting immediate action by the Nanticoke
City Police or Fire Department has not in fact occurred.
Nanticoke City Fire Department.
An alarm device designed to transmit an alarm to a person
who is instructed to notify the Luzerne County Communications Center,
the Nanticoke Police Department or the Nanticoke Fire Department of
the alarm.
A false alarm resulting from the intentional activation of
an alarm device by an individual under circumstance where that individual
has no reasonable basis to believe that a crime, fire or other emergency
warranting immediate action by the Police Department or Fire Department
has occurred or is occurring.[1]
An individual, corporation, partnership, incorporated association
or other similar entity.
Nanticoke City Police Department.
An alarm device designed to automatically transmit a recorded
message over regular telephone lines directly to the Luzerne County
Communications Center, the Nanticoke Police Department or the Nanticoke
Fire Department or to a person who is instructed to notify the Police
Department of the alarm.
[1]
Editor's Note: The definition of "permit holder," which immediately
followed this definition, was repealed 12-19-2012 by Ord. No. 19-2012.
B.
In this article, the singular shall include the plural; the plural
shall include the singular; and the masculine shall include the feminine
and the neuter.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original § 13-102, Permits required,
as amended 12-1-2004 by Ord. No. 16-2004, which immediately followed
this section, was repealed 7-18-2007 by Ord. No. 19-2007.
A.
If an alarm device is designed to transmit a recorded message directly
to the Luzerne County Communications Center, the duration of such
recorded message shall not exceed 60 seconds. The contents of the
recorded message shall be intelligible and in a format approved by
the Police Department.
B.
A direct alarm device shall be designed to dial only specific telephone
numbers designated by the Police Department, Fire Department or the
Luzerne County Communications Center.
[Amended 12-19-2012 by Ord. No. 19-2012]
C.
A direct alarm device shall be designed so that it interfaces with
the Luzerne County Communications Center or any other receiving station
maintained by the Police or Fire Department.
D.
If an alarm device is designed to cause a bell, siren or sound-making
device to be activated on or near the premises on which the alarm
device is installed at the time it gives an alarm, said alarm device
shall be designed to deactivate the bell, siren or other sound-making
device after 30 minutes of operation. Preexisting units must be modified
for a thirty-minute device unless said unit cannot be modified without
replacement.
E.
All alarm devices shall meet the applicable standards of Underwriters'
Laboratories and/or the National Fire Protection Association and/or
other recognized industry standards and shall be permitted under this
article if in conformity thereto. An alarm device which does not meet
any of the above standards or for which there is no recognized industry
standard shall require the submission of evidence of the reliability
or suitability of the alarm device. Any such an alarm device which
does not conform to the recognized standard shall be subject to satisfactory
performance of said alarm device after installation. A person may
be required to submit subsequent evidence of the reliability and suitability
of the alarm device.
[Amended 12-19-2012 by Ord. No. 19-2012]
F.
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an alarm device must
be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusions, so
that the alarm device will not be activated by impulses due to transient
pressure change in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind noises
such as the rattling of vibrating of doors or windows, vehicular noise
adjacent to the premises, or other forces unrelated to genuine alarm
situations.
[Amended 12-1-2004 by Ord. No. 16-2004]
A.
Intentional false alarms. No person shall create an intentional false
alarm.
[Amended 12-19-2012 by Ord. No. 19-2012]
B.
Accidental false alarms. Should any alarm system cause a false alarm
for any reason, the owner of said system shall pay to the City of
Nanticoke a graduated service charge for each and every false alarm
to which the police, fire or other emergency services department responds
in each alarm year (July 1 to June 30), pursuant to a schedule as
follows or subsequently established from time to time by resolution
of City Council.
[Amended 7-18-2007 by Ord. No. 19-2007]
C.
A false alarm shall be any emergency alarm which is actuated by inadvertence,
negligence or unintentional act to which the Police or Fire Department
responds, including alarms caused by the malfunction of the alarm
system, except that the following shall not be considered false alarms:
(1)
Alarms caused by the malfunction of the equipment in the Luzerne
County Communications Center.
(2)
Alarms caused by the testing, failure or repair of telephone equipment
or lines.
(3)
Alarms caused by an act of God, such as earthquakes, flood, windstorm,
thunder or lightning.
(4)
Alarms caused by an attempted illegal entry or of any other crimes
of which there is visible or reasonable evidence.
(5)
Alarms followed by a call to the Luzerne County Communications Center
with proper coded identification canceling the alarm prior to the
arrival of the Police or Fire Department.
D.
At the end of each alarm year (July 1 to June 30), the Police or
Fire Department shall notify the person of the number of false alarms
which occurred during the year and the amount of the charge that is
due. Such notice shall be in writing and mailed to the person at his
last known address by regular mail.
[Amended 12-19-2012 by Ord. No. 19-2012]
E.
A false alarm charge shall be due and payable at the office of the
Police or Fire Department 30 days from the date of the mailing of
the notice of assessment of the charge.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection F, which referenced a repealed
section and which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed
12-19-2012 by Ord. No. 19-2012.
No person shall conduct a test of any alarm device without first
obtaining permission from the Police or Fire Department.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 13-106, Liability of the
City, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 12-19-2012
by Ord. No. 19-2012.
Administration and enforcement of this article shall be functions
of the City of Nanticoke and shall include the following:
A.
[1]Authority to order the disconnection of an alarm device
until such device is made to comply with operational standards set
forth herein, but only when evidence of failure to comply with said
standards imposes a burden upon the City of Nanticoke as a result
of false alarms.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 13-107A, regarding
the City's authority to accept, reject or revoke a permit application,
which immediately preceded this subsection, was repealed 7-18-2007
by Ord. No. 19-2007.
B.
Authority, at reasonable times and upon written notice, to enter
upon any premises within the City of Nanticoke to inspect the installation
and operation of an alarm device.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original § 13-108, Right to appeal,
which immediately followed this section, was repealed 12-19-2012 by
Ord. No. 19-2012.
[Amended 12-1-2004 by Ord. No. 16-2004]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs or to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 90 days, or both. Each day that a violation of this
article continues shall constitute a separate offense.
[Adopted 2-19-2014 by Ord. No. 1-2014]
The City Council of the City of Nanticoke desires to establish
standards for carbon monoxide alarms and impose penalties.
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings given to them in this section, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
A room or suite of two or more rooms, occupied or leased
for occupation, or intended or designed to be occupied, as a domicile.
The term includes:
A single- or multiple-station carbon monoxide alarm listed as
complying with the approved American National Standard for Single-
and Multiple-Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms (ANSI/UL2034) or a carbon
monoxide detector listed as complying with the approved American National
Standard for Gas and Vapor Detectors and Sensors (ANSI/UL2075), installed
in accordance with this article.
A device that may be combined with a smoke alarm or smoke detector
if the combined smoke alarm or detector meets all of the following:
Complies with either of the following:
The approved American National Standard for Single- and Multiple-Station
Carbon Monoxide Alarms (ANSI/UL2034) for carbon monoxide alarms and
the approved American National Standard for Single- and Multiple-Station
Smoke Alarms (ANSI/UL217) for smoke alarms.
The approved American National Standard for Gas and Vapor Detectors
and Sensors (ANSI/UL2075) for carbon monoxide detectors and the approved
American National Standard for Safety for Smoke Detectors for Fire
Alarm Systems (ANSI/UL268) for smoke detectors.
Emits an alarm in a manner that clearly differentiates between
detecting the presence of carbon monoxide and the presence of smoke.
A carbon monoxide detection system that includes carbon monoxide
detectors and audible notification appliances that are installed and
maintained in accordance with the National Fire Alarm and Signaling
Code (NFPA 72) and the Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide
(CO) Detection and Warning Equipment (NFPA 720) and are in compliance
with the approved American National Standard for Gas and Vapor Detectors
and Sensors (ANSI/UL2075).
Coal, kerosene, oil, wood, fuel gases and other petroleum
or hydrocarbon products which emit carbon monoxide as a by-product
of combustion.
A carbon monoxide alarm that is hard-wired into the electrical
wiring, directly plugged into an electrical outlet without a switch,
other than a circuit breaker, or, if the alarm is battery-powered,
attached to the wall or ceiling of a residential building, an apartment
or a multifamily dwelling, in accordance with the Standard for the
Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and Warning Equipment
(NFPA 720).
Any house or building, or portion thereof, that is intended
or designed to be occupied or leased for occupation, or occupied as
a home or residence for three or more households living in separate
apartments and doing their cooking on the premises.
Working and in service.
Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and multiple
single-family dwellings which are not more than three stories in height
with a separate means of egress, which includes accessory structures.
A.
Residential building. Upon the sale of a residential building, the
seller shall disclose information regarding the installation of carbon
monoxide detectors on the property disclosure statement required by
68 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 73 (relating to seller disclosures).
B.
Multifamily dwellings. Each apartment in a multifamily dwelling which
uses a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, fireplace or an attached
garage must have an operational, centrally located and approved carbon
monoxide alarm installed in the vicinity of the bedrooms and the fossil
fuel-burning heater or fireplace within 18 months of the effective
date of this article.
A.
Owner responsibilities. The owner of a multifamily dwelling having
a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, fireplace or an attached
garage used for rental purposes and required to be equipped with one
or more approved carbon monoxide alarms shall:
(1)
Provide and install an operational, centrally located and approved
carbon monoxide alarm in the vicinity of the bedrooms and the fossil-fuel-burning
heater or fireplace.
(2)
Replace, in accordance with this article, any approved carbon monoxide
alarm that has been stolen, removed, found missing or rendered inoperable
during a prior occupancy of the rental property and which has not
been replaced by the prior occupant before the commencement of a new
occupancy of the rental property.
(3)
Ensure that the batteries in each approved carbon monoxide alarm
are in operating condition at the time the new occupant takes residence
in the rental property.
B.
Maintenance, repair or replacement. Except as provided in Subsection A, the owner of a multifamily dwelling used for rental purposes is not responsible for the maintenance, repair or replacement of an approved carbon monoxide alarm or the replacement of batteries while the building is occupied. Responsibility for maintenance and repair of carbon monoxide alarms shall revert to the owner of the building upon vacancy of the rental property.
C.
Occupant responsibilities. The occupant of each multifamily dwelling
used for rental purposes in which an operational and approved carbon
monoxide alarm has been provided must:
(1)
Keep and maintain the device in good repair.
(2)
Test the device.
(3)
Replace batteries as needed.
(4)
Replace any device that is stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable
during the occupancy of the building.
(5)
Notify the owner or the authorized agent of the owner, in writing,
of any deficiencies pertaining to the approved carbon monoxide alarm.
The Code Enforcement Officer of the City of Nanticoke shall
be empowered to enforce this article.
Willful failure to install or maintain in operating condition
any approved carbon monoxide alarm required by this article, or failure
to adhere to any other provisions of this article, is a summary offense
punishable by a fine of up to $200 and/or imprisonment of up to 90
days.
