[Adopted 3-11-2014 by Ord. No. 2304-2014]
The purpose of this article is to provide a lock box system
to improve the health, welfare and safety of the residents and business
owners of the Borough of Fair Lawn, by providing the Fire Department
and Police Department with immediate access to all necessary rooms
and areas to investigate the cause of a fire alarm activation in order
to locate, confine, control and extinguish any hazardous conditions
and for any residential calls for medical emergencies, welfare checks
or for residents listed on the Borough's Special Needs Registry;
to request the installation of lock boxes to certain buildings within
the Borough; to provide the location of the lock box, its contents,
installation, applications and compliance with this article; and to
provide for severability, repealer, and penalties.
As used in this article, the following terms have the meaning
set forth in this section:
A high-security key vault system approved by the Fire Marshal
of the Borough of Fair Lawn for secure containment of access keys
and pertinent site information which may assist Fire and Police Department
personnel in an emergency response.
A lock box approved by the Fire Marshal of the Borough of Fair
Lawn shall be installed and maintained as directed in N.J.A.C. 5:70-3,
506.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Section 506 of the International Fire
Code 2006.
Property owners shall obtain an authorization order form from
the Fire Marshal and submit the completed form with remittance to
the Fire Marshal for approval. The order form and remittance shall
be forwarded to the lock box vendor. The property owner shall be responsible
for the cost to purchase, install and maintain the lock box.
The location of the lock box shall be approved by the Fire Marshal
of the Borough of Fair Lawn.
No lock box shall be installed, voluntarily or otherwise, without
first obtaining the approval of the Fire Marshal of the Borough of
Fair Lawn.
A.
An application for installation of a lock box shall be submitted
to the Fire Marshal of the Borough of Fair Lawn by the owner or occupant
of the building/site.
B.
Buildings that choose to connect a lock box to an NFPA 72A fire alarm
system can only obtain lock box installation authorized through licensed
fire alarm contractors.
The lock box shall contain keys that are labeled and identified
to open all doors/rooms that are specified by the Fire Marshal of
the Borough of Fair Lawn and other pertinent information that is specified
by the Fire Marshal.
All new or remodeled structures must comply with the requirements
of this article prior to occupancy. Required approvals and specifications
shall be obtained during the plan review process.
Master lock box keys shall be held by the Fire Department. The
Police Department shall maintain sub-master key(s) to residential
lock boxes.
A.
The Fire Department shall maintain the master key for the lock box
in a secure key box. The master key in the secure key box can only
be opened by authorized personnel with a pin number. The secure key
boxes are maintained on all apparatus within the Fire Department.
The Fire Chief shall authorize the list of personnel with pin numbers
on an annual basis.
B.
The Fire Marshal has the option of maintaining his master key without
the secure key box. The fire marshal may assign his master key to
a responsible Fire Prevention Bureau staff member for the purpose
of maintaining the lock box, updating the building's keys, or
verifying the correctness of keys in the box.
C.
The Police Department shall maintain the sub-master key for the lock
box in a secure key box. The sub-master key in the secure key box
can only be opened by authorized personnel with a pin number. The
secure key boxes are maintained in certain police vehicles within
the Department, as determined by the Chief of Police or his/her designee.
E.
Downloading of opening key boxes shall be done, when necessary in
an investigation.
All violations of the forgoing shall be handled procedurally
in accordance with the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code. Penalties for
unabated violations of the foregoing shall be imposed in accordance
with the New Jersey Uniform Fire Code.
The Borough assumes no liability for any of the following:
A.
Any defects in the operation of the lock box unit or of any of the
keys contained within such lock box unit or any information stored
within the lock box unit or otherwise provided to the Borough.
B.
The failure or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of an
alarm from an alarm system.
C.
The failure or neglect of any owner or person in control of a building
or facility required to have a lock box unit to provide access to
the lock box unit.
D.
The security of any property required to have a lock box unit due
to access to the lock box unit by any person.
