The Borough Council of the Borough of Homestead has determined
that the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the Borough
of Homestead are promoted by requiring certain structures to have
a key lockbox installed on the exterior of the structure to aid the
Homestead Volunteer Fire Department in gaining access to or within
a structure when responding to calls for an emergency service and
to aid access into or within a building that is secured or is unduly
difficult to gain entry into due to being either unoccupied or having
occupants who are unable to respond.
The operator of the building shall immediately notify the Volunteer
Fire Department Chief and provide the new keys when a lockbox is changed
or rekeyed. The key to such lockbox shall be secured in the Knox-Box®.
The contents of the lockbox are as follows:
1. Keys to locked points of ingress
or egress, whether on the interior or exterior of such buildings.
2. Keys to all mechanical rooms.
3. Keys to all locked electrical
rooms.
4. Keys to elevators and their control
rooms.
5. Keys to the fire alarm panels.
6. Keys (special) to reset pull stations
or other fire protective devices.
7. Keys to any other areas as requested
by the Borough of Homestead Volunteer Fire Department Chief.
All Knox-Box® master keys are
carried in a secured environment within the fire apparatus. Firefighters
will inform County Dispatch when entering the Knox-Box® to retrieve the keys and when returning the keys.
The following structures are exempt from the mandate to install
a key lockbox system:
1. Single-family structures and multifamily structures that do not meet the definition set forth in §
7-202.
2. Structures that have twenty-four-hour,
three-hundred-sixty-five-day on-site security personnel or have other
personnel on site.
3. Businesses that are open and staffed
24 hours, 365 days per year (which may include but are not limited
to nursing homes, hospitals, police stations, etc.).
4. Rental storage facilities where
there is single lock on the separate storage pods that are supplied;
provided however, the entry security gate(s) will require a Knox-Box® if electronically controlled or locked with a
master key issued by the landlord to all tenants.
5. Any facility not having an automatic
alarm system.