[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Athens 4-15-2002 by Ord. No. 573, approved 4-15-2002 (Ch. 32 of
the 1977 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Borough recognizes that housing facilities
in the Borough at the present time utilize automatic dialing devices
and said facilities have had an undue number of false alarms causing
great unnecessary and expense to the Borough of Athens Fire Department.
As used in this chapter, the following words
and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
A communication to a public safety agency indicating that
a crime, fire or other emergency warranting immediate action by that
public safety agency has occurred or is occurring.
A device designed to automatically transmit an alarm:
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and
preprogrammed to transmit the coded signal of an alarm to a dedicated
telephone trunk line or to dial a predetermined telephone number to
send an alarm to a public safety agency.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
A telephone line or lines which serve a public safety agency
which is dedicated to receiving transmissions from an automatic dialing
device.
The activation of an alarm device to which a public safety
agency responds when a crime, fire or other emergency has not occurred.
An individual, corporation, partnership, incorporated association
or other similar entity.
The Pennsylvania State Police or any municipal police or
fire department.
A.
This is for any
false alarm, including false alarms caused by automatic dialing devices.
B.
Should any automatic
dialing device cause a false alarm to occur in a consecutive twelve-month
period or cause or permit a subsequent false alarm to occur in the
same consecutive twelve-month period, then a graduated civil penalty
shall be levied against the owner of said system in accordance with
the following schedule dating the twelve-month period:
|
Number of False Alarms
|
Penalty
|
|---|---|
|
0 to 3
|
$0
|
|
4 to 9
|
$100 for each violation
|
|
10 or more false alarms
|
$200 for each violation
|
C.
A false alarm
shall be any emergency alarm which is actuated by malfunction, inadvertence,
negligence or unintentional act to which the Borough Fire department
responds, including alarms caused by the malfunction of an automatic
dialing device system, except that the following shall not be considered
false alarms:
(1)
Alarms caused
by the testing, failure, or repair of telephone equipment or lines.
(2)
Alarms caused
by an act of God, such as earthquakes, flood, windstorm, thunder or
lightning.
(3)
Alarms caused
by an attempted illegal entry or any other crime of which there is
visible or reasonable evidence.
(4)
Alarms followed
by a drop in water pressure due to a hydrant being flushed or by some
other activity by the Water Company that causes the alarm to malfunction.
The civil penalty shall be payable by the individual,
establishment, partnership, corporation, entity, or concern within
30 days of notice of the charge from the Borough Fire Department.
After the false alarm, the Borough Fire Department shall send a notice
to the property owner indicating that a false alarm was received by
that property owner or by an individual responsible for said property.
Said notice will advise the individual that the property was in violation
of this chapter causing a false alarm which resulted in the Borough
Fire Department responding. In the event that individual does not
present evidence of the aforesaid exceptions, then it will be presumed
that a violation occurred and this false alarm violation will be accumulated
with other false alarm violations under the penalty provisions of
this chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, the year or
current year shall be intended to mean a consecutive twelve-month
period where a subsequent fire alarm occurs during said twelve-month
period.
The municipality shall, if it deems necessary,
have the right to inspect the connection, operation and maintenance
of the system and make reasonable charges for such inspections under
the Borough Electrical Code.
Any individual, establishment, partnership,
corporation, entity or concern installing an automatic dialing system
or a fire alarm system described in the definition section of this
chapter shall be required to obtain a permit from the Borough Building
Official prior to installation of the system. The cost of this permit
shall be as set forth on the fee schedule established for the Borough.
Any person who violates this chapter shall be
subject to the penalty provisions as set forth in the chapter ranging
from $100 per violation to $200 per violation pending on the number
of violations that have occurred during a twelve-month consecutive
period.
A civil prosecution for violation of this chapter
shall not preclude the Borough from also filing a criminal prosecution
under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 7511, Control of alarm devices and
automatic dialing devices, which calls for a violation of a summary
offense and upon conviction to pay a fine of not more than $300.
