The purpose of this article is to regulate and control the installation,
operation and maintenance of private alarm systems within the Borough
in order to insure that the quality of alarm services rendered to
the public will be maintained at a high level and to alleviate conditions
otherwise leading to an unnecessary drain on the manpower of the Police
and Fire Departments of the Borough of Hightstown.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ALARM BUSINESS
Any business operated by a person, partnership, corporation,
etc., for profit, which engages in the activity of altering, installing,
leasing, maintaining, repairing, replacing, selling, servicing, or
responding to a fire or burglar alarm system, or which causes any
of these activities to take place. Excluded from this definition,
however, are retail establishments that sell alarm systems over the
counter.
ALARM DEVICE
Any type of alarm-activating equipment which provides warning
of burglary, intrusion, fire, flood or like peril causing potential
for harm to life or property.
ALARM SYSTEM
The installation in a building or structure of one or more
alarm devices for the express purpose of giving visual, audible and/or
electronic warning of an emergency such as burglary, intrusion, fire,
flood or like peril.
ALARM USER
Any person, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind of control of any building, structure
or facility wherein an alarm device is operated.
FALSE ALARM
An alarm signal eliciting a response by police or firefighters
or other public officials when a situation requiring a response by
police or firefighters or other public officials does not in fact
exist (but excluding an alarm signal caused by violent conditions
of nature, such as, but not limited to, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes,
or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control
by the alarm business or alarm user).
INDEPENDENT SMOKE, FIRE, OR CO DETECTOR
A device giving an audible alarm indicating smoke, fire or
carbon monoxide within a structure and not connected to an alarm system
or to any external warning device.
All information submitted in compliance with this article shall
be held in the strictest confidence and shall be deemed a record exempt
from public disclosure pursuant to state statute. Any violation of
confidentiality shall be deemed a violation of this article.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to any alarm system installed on property occupied by any borough, county, state or federal government agency or office, or to an independent smoke/fire/CO detector as defined in §
3-18-2, nor to any medical alert system.