[Adopted 5-25-2005 by Ord. No. 1289-2005]
The purpose of this Article is to establish standards and regulations to provide rapid entry into certain locked buildings within the city in case of emergency by way of installation of a secure key box repository for access by municipal emergency services, to provide immediate access to entrance keys, as well as other vital keys for the building. The delay in gaining entry can result in substantial property damage, the potential for rapid fire extension, increased danger for firefighters as well as the potential for delayed emergency medical treatment.
This Article shall apply to:
A. 
All buildings within the City of Perth Amboy having an automatic alarm system, or equipped with an automatic fire suppression system except one (1) and two (2) family dwellings.
B. 
Multi-family residential apartment and condominium dwelling complexes that have restricted access and a common corridor for access to the living units.
C. 
All high rise buildings and those having floors at or above forty (40) feet.
D. 
Commercial and industrial buildings identified by the Fire Department as difficult to access during emergencies.
E. 
All new construction subject to this Article shall have the key box repository installed and operational prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
F. 
All structures defined in this section that are in existence on the effective date of this Article shall have twelve (12) months from the effective date of this Article to have the key box repository in place and operational.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALARM SYSTEM
A device or an assembly of equipment which emits an audible response, which is intended to alert persons inside or outside a structure to the existence of a hazard or emergency or which is intended to alert emergency agencies by automatically dialing an emergency agency or which is connected to a business which offers the service of receiving emergency signals, monitoring said signals and relaying them to an emergency agency.
AUTOMATIC FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM
A system or assembly of piping, valves, controls and sprinklers which are designed and installed to comply with the NFPA Standards, which utilizes water, foam, CO2, or other gas to automatically react to suppress fire.
FIRE DEPARTMENT KEY BOX REPOSITORY
A highly secure vault like box as specified by the Fire Chief for the purpose of securing building entrance keys as well as keys to any other vital areas of the building for Fire Department access in time of emergency within the building.
A. 
The owner of applicable buildings as described in Section 227-14 of this Article shall provide and install, or cause to be installed a key box repository of adequate size, consistent with the type specified by the Fire Chief. A physical description of the applicable type of approved repository boxes, as well as ordering information shall be supplied by the Fire Department.
B. 
The key box repository shall be installed on the front of the building near the main entry door and between six (6) and eight (8) feet above the ground unless approved at a higher or lower level or alternate more prudent location by the Fire Chief or his designee.
C. 
Upon completion of the key box repository installation, the building owner is responsible for notifying the Fire Department to schedule a time for securing the box.
D. 
While not required under the provisions of this Article, the key box repository should be connected to the building burglar alarm system. The cost of connection to be the responsibility of the building owner.
Once installed, the key box repository shall contain current keys at all times to allow for Fire Department access to:
A. 
All exterior entrance doors to the building.
B. 
Room(s) containing fire alarm or suppression systems.
C. 
Electrical and mechanical rooms or closets.
D. 
Special keys to reset pull station or other fire protection devices.
E. 
Elevator keys if applicable.
F. 
Master key to any living units.
G. 
Roof hatch or door locks.
H. 
Gate locks.
I. 
Stairwell door locks.
J. 
Others as designated by the Chief.
All keys shall be provided, marked and identified by the owner in a manner so as to be easily identifiable in the field by the Fire Department.
It shall be the responsibility of the building owner to contact the Fire Department to open the key box repository to update building keys as needed, to insure that all keys within the key box repository are current and up to date.
Security and distribution for access keys to all key box repository units shall be provided and controlled by the Fire Chief.
The provisions of this Article shall not apply to any building or structure having on site 24-hour personnel who readily have access to keys to the building areas specified in Section 227-17.
A. 
The City of Perth Amboy shall be under no duty or obligation whatsoever for the installation or connection of the key box repository to the building or structure.
B. 
The City of Perth Amboy shall not be liable for any failure of such key box repository.
C. 
The Perth Amboy Fire Department shall not be liable for the failure or neglect of any owner or person in control of a building or facility required to have a key box repository to provide access to the unit.
D. 
The City of Perth Amboy shall not be liable for the security of any property required to have a key repository unit due to access to the repository unit to any person.
The Department of Code Enforcement, Fire Department and Police Department are authorized to issue summons for violation of any and all provisions of this Article.
[Amended 12-10-2018 by Ord. No. 1898-2018]
Any person failing to comply with the provisions of this Article shall be fined two hundred dollars ($200). Continued failure to comply with the provisions of this Article may be subject to fines up to two thousand dollars ($2,000).