[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Nanticoke
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-19-2023 by Ord. No. 3-2023]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "City of
Nanticoke Knox Box System Ordinance".
The purpose of this article is to protect the health, safety,
and welfare of persons and property within the City of Nanticoke by
requiring certain structures to have a Knox Box installed on the exterior
of the structure. A Knox Box will allow the Nanticoke City Fire Department
to gain access to a structure when responding to a call for emergency
service. The implementation of a Knox Box system by the City will
eliminate forced entries into structures, thereby avoiding costly
and time-consuming efforts by the Fire Department to gain access to
locked structures during an emergency.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any structure intended for shelter, housing or enclosure
of persons, animals, or property.
A building where an occupation, employment, or enterprise
is carried by the owner, lessee, or licensee. The use includes, but
is not limited to, retail sales, offices, warehouses, services, and
the sale of goods or services.
The fire department designated by the City of Nanticoke to
provide fire protection within the City of Nanticoke. The fire department
designated by the City at the time of adoption of this article is
the Nanticoke City Fire Department and mutual aid departments designated
by the Fire Chief.
The Fire Chief of the fire department designated by the City
of Nanticoke to provide fire protection within the City of Nanticoke.
The Fire Chief at the time of the adoption of this article means the
Fire Chief, or the Fire Chief's designee, of the City of Nanticoke.
A use engaged in the processing, manufacturing, or warehousing
of goods, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment,
packaging, storage, sales, or distribution of goods.
A use which provides medical, educational, social, health,
governmental, or rehabilitative services.
A small, wall-mounted safe that holds building keys for fire
departments, emergency medical services, and sometimes police to retrieve
in emergency situations. Local fire departments hold master keys to
all Knox Boxes in their response area, enabling them to quickly enter
buildings in their area without having to force entry or find individual
keys held in deposit at the station.
Each individual person who holds record title to the real
estate as of the date of the offense and, if the real estate is not
owned by individual person(s), with respect to corporations, means
the chief executive officer of the corporation, and with respect to
partnerships and joint ventures, means each partner or joint venturer,
except that in limited partnership situations, the word "owner" shall
mean managing partners(s) and shall exclude limited partners unless
they are also managing partners.
Includes any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation,
or other legal entity.
The person owning the property or structure and charged with
the responsibility for the use or occupancy of the structure. In the
event that the structure is tenant occupied, the responsible party
shall be the landlord or owner of the structure.
Any man-made object, the use of which requires an ascertainable
stationary location on land, whether or not it is affixed to the land.
A.
All new commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings under
construction and requiring permitting, as such that are protected
by an automatic alarm system or automatic suppression system, or such
structures that are secured in a manner that restricts access during
an emergency shall be equipped with a Knox Box at or near the main
entrance or such other location required by the Fire Chief.
B.
The following structures, which currently exist or result from a
change of use, shall be equipped with a Knox Box at or near the main
entrance or such other location as required by the Fire Chief:
(1)
Multifamily residential structures that have restricted access through
locked doors but have a common corridor for access to the living units;
(2)
Schools, whether public or private;
(3)
Governmental structures and nursing care facilities, unless the building
is staffed or open 24 hours;
(4)
Facilities storing bulk hazardous materials as defined by 49 CFR
171.8. These include quantities exceeding 119 gallons of wet product,
882 pounds of dry product, or 1,000 pounds of a gas product;
(5)
Commercial properties with restricted access due to the installation
of a gate and/or fence.
The responsible party of any use not required to participate in the Knox Box system under § 263A-4 above may voluntarily participate in the Knox Box system with consent of the Fire Chief.
All Knox Boxes shall contain:
A.
Labeled keys indicating each unit number when a building has more
than one unit.
B.
Labeled keys identifying locked points of ingress and egress, whether
in the interior or exterior of the structure.
C.
Labeled keys to locked mechanical rooms.
D.
Labeled keys to any other areas that may be designated or required
by the Fire Chief.
E.
Emergency contact information.
F.
Keys to fire alarm panels.
G.
Elevator keys.
H.
Keys to reset pull stations.
The following regulations shall apply to a responsible party
participating in the Knox Box system:
A.
All newly constructed structures subject to this article under § 263A-4 above shall have the Knox Box installed and operational prior to the issuance of any occupancy permit by the Building Code Official.
B.
The type of lock box used by a responsible party shall be a Knox
Box brand system. All costs associated with the purchase of the Knox
Box will be at the expense of the responsible party.
C.
All Knox Boxes shall be installed near the main business doors. The
final mounting location shall be approved by the Fire Chief.
D.
All Knox Boxes shall be mounted 60 inches from the ground to the
center of the entry, if possible.
E.
In the event that the Knox Box cannot be installed at the aforesaid
location and/or height, the Fire Chief may designate, in writing,
a different location and installation specifications.
F.
All realty and/or property protected by a locked fence or security
gate shall provide the Nanticoke City Fire Department with the access
code, key or any other means for entry to the property.
G.
The Fire Chief must approve any changes in the installation.
The following structures are exempt from the mandate to install
a Knox Box:
A.
Single-family structures and multifamily structures that do not meet the definition set forth in § 263A-4B(1) of this article.
B.
Structures that have 24 hours, 365 days per year on-site security
personnel or have other personnel on site. The owner must certify
and demonstrate to the Fire Chief that the structure qualifies for
this exception.
C.
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.). The owner must certify and demonstrate to
the Fire Chief that the structure qualifies for this exception.
D.
Rental storage facilities where there is a single lock on the separate
storage pods that are renter supplied; provided, however, the entry
security gate(s) will require the facility owner to provide the Fire
Department with an entry code if electronically controlled. The owner
must certify and demonstrate to the Fire Chief that the structure
qualifies for this exception.
E.
In the event that a structure previously qualified for an exemption
pursuant to this section has its use altered so as to no longer qualify
for the exemption specified herein, such structure shall have a Knox
Box installed within 60 days of such alteration of use.
A.
The District Justice shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings
brought under this article.
B.
This article may be enforced by the Code Enforcement Officer, the
Building Code Official, or Fire Chief by either civil enforcement
or summary enforcement as set forth below.
C.
Any responsible party who has violated or permitted the violation
of any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof
in a summary proceeding, be subject to a fine of not more than $300
or imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days, or both, at the
discretion of the court. Each day that a violation continues shall
constitute a separate offense.
The provisions of this article are severable and if any section,
sentence, clause, revision, part or other portion hereof shall be
held to be unconstitutional, illegal, invalid or otherwise ineffective,
the validity of the remaining provisions shall be unaffected thereby.
It is the intention of the Council of the City of Nanticoke that this
article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal,
invalid, or otherwise ineffective section, sentence clause, or provision,
part or other portion not been included herein.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of the City of Nanticoke
in conflict with this article to the extent of such conflict, and
no further, are hereby repealed.
This article shall become effective as provided by the City
of Nanticoke Home Rule Charter.
