[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Bern 2-7-2012 by Ord. No. 275-2012.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Emergency management — See Ch. 13.
Fire company — See Ch. 15.
Police Department — See Ch. 31.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 46,
Alarm Systems, adopted 7-2-1984 by Ord. No. 81.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Bern Township
Emergency Alarm Ordinance."
The Board of Supervisors of Bern Township has determined that
false alarms cause unnecessary costs and response risks and hereby
declares the policy of Bern Township to set forth this chapter, which
shall apply to the control and regulation of alarm systems, within
the boundaries of Bern Township.
The following words, terms, phrases, and their derivations shall
have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context,
words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural
number include the singular and words in the singular number include
the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
Any person, firm or corporation which installs automatic
protection devices, including the owner, lessee or user.
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all
times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic protection
devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and who have the
duty to relay immediately, by live voice only, such emergency message
over a designated or primary trunk line to the communications center
of the Police or Fire Department.
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible
outside the building and designed to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police to respond.
An electrically operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus
and related hardware which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice
alarm over regular telephone line by direct or indirect connection
to the Police Department or Fire Department upon receipt of a stimulus
from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition
inherently characteristic of a fire or intrusion.
The Building Inspector of Bern Township.
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which maintains supervisors
and accepts recorded messages from automatic protection devices at
a central station having trained operators and guards in attendance
at all times that have the duty to take appropriate action upon receipt
of a signal or message, including the relaying of messages by designated
or primary trunk line to the communications center of the Police or
Fire Department.
The Chief of Police of the Bern Township Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police or Fire Department that is for the primary purpose of handling
emergency messages which originate from automatic protection devices
and are transmitted directly or indirectly through an intermediary.
The Berks County Emergency Communications Center.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any
audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given
the police or fire communications center to which police or firemen
respond which is not the result of an electrical service interruption,
fire, burglary, robbery or similar emergency.
The Greenfields Fire Department serving Bern Township.
The Fire Marshal of Bern Township.
A central station protective system or answering service,
as herein defined.
To use telephone line and equipment for transmitting a message,
either directly or indirectly, by an automatic protection device.
The Township Manager of Bern Township.
The Township of Bern.
The Bern Township Police Department.
Any separate building or structure owned or leased by the
owner or lessee of the alarm. When two or more individual alarm owners
or lessees occupy separate sections of the same building or structure,
each section shall be defined as a separate premises.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police or Fire Department that is for the purpose of handling
emergency calls on a person-to-person basis and which line is identified
by a specific listing among the white pages in the local telephone
directory.
A.
New installation.
From the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for
any alarm system to be installed within Bern Township without first
registering such system with the Police Department and paying the
required fee as prescribed by this chapter.
B.
Existing
installation. Within 180 days from the effective date of this chapter,
every alarm system located within the Township shall be registered
with the Police Department. Registration and payment of the required
fee shall be the responsibility of the owner, user or lessee of such
system.
C.
Application.
(1)
Application forms for the registration of an alarm system shall be
made available by the Police Department and shall require the following
minimum information:
(a)
The name, address and telephone number of both the alarm user
and the property owner.
(b)
The address where the alarm system is installed, and the telephone
number at that location.
(c)
The name, address and telephone number of the alarm equipment
installer.
(d)
The name, address and telephone number of a person or firm who
is authorized to respond immediately to an emergency or false alarm
and to gain access to the alarm system and who is available on a twenty-four-hour-a-day
basis, seven days a week, to respond for servicing and maintenance
and to correct malfunctions as they occur.
(e)
The type of system (i.e., holdup, burglary, fire or medical
emergency).
(f)
Any other information which shall be required by the Police
Department.
(2)
The police department shall forward the registrations of fire alarm
systems to the Fire Department.
There shall be no fee associated with the registration of any
alarm system installed within the Township.
A.
Automatic protection devices installed in the Township that are keyed
to designated trunk lines shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
No more than one call shall be made over a designated trunk line
to the Police Department or the Fire Department as a result of a single
activation of the automatic protection device.
(2)
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall not exceed
15 seconds.
(3)
Recorded messages may be repeated during one call, but the interval
between each recorded message shall be no less than four seconds.
(4)
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic protection
device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of file or intrusion
so that the device will not be activated by impulses due to fleeting
pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the raffling
or vibrating of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises caused
by the passing of vehicles or any other force not related to genuine
alarms.
(5)
All components comprising such a device must be maintained by the
owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability of operation..
B.
Any new commercial installation shall be equipped with a designated
trunk line.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of an automatic
protection device without first notifying the Central Station monitoring
company, Emergency Call Center, Fire Department or Police Departments
with the date and time of such testing to occur;
A.
A. For the purpose of defraying the cost to the Township of responding
to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an automatic protection device
and persons using the service of intermediaries and users of audible
alarms and users of any other kind of direct or indirect connection
with the Police or Fire Department communications center, except persons
using the two-way live voice communication by telephone, shall, as
a condition to installation and continued operation of such equipment
or service:
(1)
Pay the Township $35 for each and every false burglary, robbery,
intrusion or similar alarm in excess of three in number dining a period
of 90 days originating from the premises..
(2)
For any false fire, water flow, smoke, heat or similar alarm in excess
of three per calendar year but fewer than five in number, shall pay
the Township $50 per alarm originating from the premises.
(3)
For any false fire, water flow, smoke, heat or similar alarm in excess
of six in number per calendar year but fewer than 10 in number, shall
pay the Township $100 per alarm originating from the premises.
(4)
For any false fire, water flow, smoke, heat or similar alarm in excess
of 10 in number per calendar year, shall pay the Township $300 per
alarm originating from the premises..
B.
The Chief of Police shall have discretion on determining false alarm
status and fines for burglary, robbery, intrusion or similar alarms
and shall submit such false alarms and fine amounts to the Board of
Supervisors for approval.
C.
The Fire Marshal shall have discretion on determining false alarm
status and fines for fire, water flow, smoke, heat or similar alarms
and shall submit such false alarms and fine amounts to the Board of
Supervisors for approval.
A.
General. Citations and other enforcement actions concerning this
chapter may be taken and/or issued by the Bern Township Police Department
or Bern Township Fire Marshal for violations.
B.
Summary offense. Whoever violates any provision of this chapter shall,
upon conviction, be guilty of a summary offense and be fined not less
than $300 and not more than $1,000 and the cost of prosecution. Each
day's violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute
a separate offense.
