[Adopted 9-27-2016 by Ord. No. 18-2016]
The provisions of this article shall apply to any person who operates, maintains or owns any alarm device designed to summon emergency personnel to any location in response to an alarm signal. Any person having a premises protected by an alarm device shall still be responsible for the registration thereof in accordance with §
82-4.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ALARM DEVICE
Any type of alarm system actuating equipment in an alarm
panel providing warning of intrusion or fire.
ALARM INSTALLATION
Any alarm device or combination of devices installed for
one or more buildings.
ALARM INSTALLATION AND/OR MONITORING COMPANY
A private company which customers subscribe to for alarm
installation and/or monitoring services for any type of alarm device
or combination of devices to residential and commercial structures.
ALARM SITE
A single fixed premises or location served by an alarm system
or systems. Each unit, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi-unit
building or complex, shall be considered a separate alarm site.
ALARM SYSTEM
A device or series of devices, including, but not limited
to, hardwired systems and systems interconnected with a radio frequency
method such as cellular or private radio signals, which emit or transmit
a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating
an alarm condition and intended to summon an emergency personnel response,
including local alarm systems. "Alarm system" does not include an
alarm installed in a vehicle.
ALARM USER
Any person, who (which) has contracted for monitoring, repair,
installation or maintenance service from an alarm installation company
or monitoring company for an alarm system, or who (which) owns or
operates an alarm system which is not monitored, maintained or repaired
under contract.
EMERGENCY CONTACT
An individual capable of reaching and having access to the
alarm site, the code to the alarm system, and the authority to approve
repairs to the alarm system.
FALSE ALARM
Any alarm actuated by inadvertence, negligence, unintentional
or intentional act of someone other than an intruder or by fire, including
alarms caused by malfunctioning of the alarm device or other relevant
equipment, whereby police or fire personnel are dispatched to the
alarm site and find no evidence of an actual or attempted criminal
offense or real fire threat or similar hazard.
LOCAL ALARM SYSTEM
Any alarm system, which is not monitored, that annunciates
an alarm only at the alarm site.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization
or similar entity.
The central station shall notify the police dispatch center
on a dedicated alarm telephone line of an alarm activation. The station
will supply its company information, operator name or number, type
of alarm activation and subscriber information when the call is placed.
The central station shall also be responsible for making initial notification
to the subscriber or subscriber designee.
In the interest of public safety, all information contained
in and gathered through the alarm registration applications and records
relating to specific alarm activations shall be held in confidence
by all employees or representatives of the Township with access to
such information.
Alarm registration is not intended to, nor will it, create a
contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, or a response.
Any and all liability and consequential damage resulting from the
failure to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed, and governmental
immunity as provided by law is retained. By applying for an alarm
registration, the alarm user acknowledges that a response by emergency
personnel may be influenced by factors such as: the availability of
police and/or fire units, priority of calls, weather conditions, traffic
conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels and prior response
history.
It shall be a further condition precedent to the issuance of
an alarm registration that each permittee, alarm contractor and licensee
agree, in writing, to indemnify and save harmless the Township of
Mendham, its agents, volunteers, servants and employees, including
the members of the Police Department of the Township, from and on
account of any and all damages arising from or as a result of any
forced entry into unattended premises occurring during an alarm response.
The Township Committee may from time to time promulgate rules
and regulations supplementing this article in order to provide for
recordkeeping and efficient management of said system.
The elementary school and the middle school shall each be allowed
five false alarms per calendar year, at no cost to the Board of Education.
After a particular school has exceeded the number of no-cost false
alarms permitted above, the Board of Education shall pay an administrative
fee of $50 per false alarm for that facility. The Board of Education
shall not be required to appear in Municipal Court to pay any fines
assessed, and to the extent any dispute arises regarding a false alarm
violation, the Board of Education and the Township Committee, or their
designees, shall resolve the issue.
The provisions of this article are severable. If a court determines
that a word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection, section,
or other provision is invalid or that the application of any part
of the provision to any person or circumstance is invalid, the remaining
provisions and the application of those provisions to other persons
or circumstances are not affected by that decision.
[Adopted by Ord. No. 15-1991 (Sec. 28-2 of the 1998 Revised General Ordinances)]
[Amended 6-9-2003 by Ord. No. 12-2003; 5-12-2014 by Ord. No. 6-2014]
No owner of a structure within the Township of Mendham used or intended for use for residential purposes by not more than two households shall sell, lease or otherwise permit a new occupancy for residential purposes without first obtaining from the Township Fire Official a certificate evidencing compliance with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.1 for smoke-sensitive alarm devices within the structure. A fee as provided in Chapter
160, Fees, shall be paid to the Township of Mendham to cover the inspection and issuance of the certificate by the Township Fire Official. In the event that a reinspection shall be necessary, an additional fee shall be paid. All fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of the certificate.
[Added 5-12-2014 by Ord.
No. 6-2014]
Each structure, other than a seasonal rental unit, shall also
be equipped with at least one portable fire extinguisher in conformance
with rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Community
Affairs pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, P.L. 1968, c.
410 (N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq.).
[Added 5-12-2014 by Ord.
No. 6-2014]
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER
An operable portable device, carried and operated by hand,
containing an extinguishing agent that can be expelled under pressure
for the purpose of suppressing or extinguishing fire, and which is:
A.
Rated for residential use consisting of an ABC type;
B.
No larger than a ten-pound rated extinguisher; and
C.
Mounted within 10 feet of the kitchen area, unless otherwise
permitted by the enforcing agency.
SEASONAL RENTAL UNIT
A dwelling unit rented for a term of not more than 125 consecutive
days for residential purposes by a person having a permanent residence
elsewhere, but shall not include use or rental of living quarters
by migrant, temporary or seasonal workers in connection with any work
or place where work is being performed.
[Amended 5-12-2014 by Ord. No. 6-2014]
An owner who sells, leases, rents or otherwise permits to be
occupied for residential purposes any premises subject to the provisions
of this article, when the premises does not comply with the requirements
of this article, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500
in the case of a violation for an alarm device, or a fine of not more
than $100 in the case of a violation for a portable fire extinguisher,
which may be collected and enforced by the local enforcing agency
by summary proceedings pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement Law of
1999, P.L. 1999, c. 274 (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.).