[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Allamuchy 5-21-2002 by Ord. No. 03-02 (Ch. 78, Art. III, of
the 1981 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 160.
The purpose of this article is to alleviate conditions which
lead to an unnecessary drain on the manpower, time, space, facilities
and finances of the Township of Allamuchy, the Fire Department and
emergency personnel, and deterioration of the quality of services
to persons subscribing to alarm services.
The provisions of this article shall apply to any person, other
than the Township, who operates, maintains or owns any alarm device
designed to summon the Fire Department or other municipal agency to
any location in response to any type of alarm signal. Excluded from
the provisions of this article are interior sound, battery-operated
smoke alarms. The terms of this article shall in no way prohibit alarm
companies from providing services by private source to other offices
within or without the Township so long as such activity is not connected
to the alarm panel or telephone at the Fire Department headquarters.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any type of alarm-activating equipment which provides warning
of intrusion, fire, smoke, burglary, flood or like peril.
The installment in one or more buildings of one or more alarm
devices for the express purpose of giving visual or audible warning,
or both, of an emergency such as burglary, intrusion, fire, smoke,
flood or like perils.
An alarm device that employs an automatic dialing system
with an automatic cutoff, precoded to connect with a telephone in
the Warren County Dispatchers' Headquarters ("911") rather than to
the control panel.
The activation of an alarm system by causes other than those
for which the alarm system was designed or intended to respond.
Any mechanism that constitutes, in whole or in part, an alarm
system that may or may not be designed to activate an annunciator
control panel in Fire Department headquarters or at a private company
at a location other than the property of the Township of Allamuchy.
Local alarms also include any alarm device or alarm system that provides
warning signals only at the property location.
A.
All components of alarm systems, alarm devices, dial alarms, and
local alarms shall be maintained by the owners or users thereof in
good repair. When evidence exists that there has been a failure by
such owner or users to properly maintain the alarm devices, the Chief
of the Fire Department is authorized to demand that such devices be
disconnected until such time as appropriate repairs and/or modifications
are made.
B.
All local alarms shall be equipped with a time relay or battery to
limit the sounding of alarms to 30 minutes or less.
C.
All local alarms shall be registered with the Township of Allamuchy
Fire Department. A local alarm shall be deemed registered when the
occupant of the building in which it is installed shall have filed
with the Allamuchy Fire Department a registration form which shall
include, among other data, the location of the device, the installer
of the device, the type of device, provisions relating to false alarms
and testing procedures, a list of the names and telephone numbers
of the persons to be contacted in the event of alarm, the names of
the persons or company maintaining the alarm system and any other
information as may be required by the Allamuchy Fire Department.
D.
No person shall maintain or operate any alarm except in conformance
with this article.
A.
No dial alarm shall be permitted unless:
(1)
It shall first have been approved by the Chief of the Fire Department
after proof has been submitted that said dial alarm has been approved
by the Federal Communications Commission and the performance of a
test alarm conducted by the applicant.
(2)
It shall first have been registered with the Fire Department as hereinafter
required.
(3)
The applicant consents to the inspection of the premises where the
alarm is located during working hours or other mutually agreeable
times.
(4)
The applicant maintains at Fire Department headquarters the names,
telephone number and address of a relative, neighbor or other third
party who can be contacted by the Fire Department in case of an alarm.
B.
All dial alarms shall be coded to dial a special number of Allamuchy
Township Fire Department headquarters when designated or provided
by the Chief.
C.
All dial alarms shall be capable of being disconnected by the owner
or his designee to permit a call to the Fire Department in the event
that a false alarm occurs.
D.
The owner of each dial alarm system shall pay to the Allamuchy Township
Fire Department an annual fee of $25 to cover the cost of registration
and testing and to amortize the cost of the special telephone line
or lines which may be required in Fire Department headquarters, along
with ancillary tape devices necessitated by these systems and additional
records that should be maintained.
E.
The owner of dial alarms shall be governed by the false alarm procedures
and penalties set forth in this article.
F.
If any person has a dial alarm in existence at the time of the passage
of this article, he shall have 60 days in which to program the equipment
to comply with the terms of this article.
G.
No dial alarm shall dial a telephone number other than the number
designated for dial alarms as specified by the Chief of the Fire Department.
H.
The taped contents of any recorded message from a dial alarm must
be intelligible and in a format approved by the Chief of the Fire
Department. No such message shall be transmitted more than three times
to the Fire Department as a result of a single stimulus of the mechanics.
I.
The sensory mechanism of dial alarms shall be adjusted so as to suppress
false indications and not to be actuated by impulses due to, among
other things, pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light,
wind, noises, rattling or vibration of doors or windows or other forces
unrelated to general alarms.
J.
All components of dial alarms shall be maintained by the owner or
his designee in good repair. When evidence exists that there has been
failure to comply with the operation requirements of this article,
the Chief of the Fire Department is then authorized to demand that
such device be disconnected until such time as compliance with such
requirements is reestablished, and any person violating the operation
or registration requirements of this article shall be subject to the
penalties set forth herein.
K.
A dial alarm must provide an automatic line-seizure feature in the
event that the line is busy with an incoming or outgoing call.
A.
Investigations. In the case of a false alarm which summons the Fire
Department to investigate, the Fire Department Chief shall cause an
investigation to be made and shall keep a record of such false alarm
on file.
B.
Penalties for false alarms. In any twelve-month period, the following
penalties shall apply:
(1)
For the first, second and third false alarms, a warning shall be
issued.
(2)
For the fourth, fifth and sixth false alarms, a fine of $25 shall
be imposed for each such false alarm.
(3)
In the event of a seventh or subsequent false alarm, an investigation
shall be conducted by the Fire Department. Where the investigation
of the Department discloses continued abusive or negligent operation
or maintenance of an alarm device and a disregard to the taking of
remedial steps to avoid false alarms, the Fire Chief may require disconnection
of the device for a limited or permanent period.
C.
Penalties for intentional false alarms. Any individual intentionally, willfully or maliciously destroying or injuring any of the posts, alarm boxes or other alarm apparatus owned by Allamuchy Township or intentionally, willfully or maliciously interfering with the operations intended to be accomplished thereby or who intentionally causes or assists in causing a false alarm or fire or other emergency to be given in any manner shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalty set forth in Chapter 1, Article II, General Penalty.[1]
D.
For purposes of this section, each twenty-four-hour period during
which a violation occurs shall be deemed a separate offense.
