[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
West Conshohocken 5-9-1995 by Ord. No. 95-432, approved 5-9-1995. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
All new commercial, industrial and apartment building (four
or more dwelling units) structures shall be required to install a
Knox-Box rapid entry system with tamper switch. Said regulations are
as follows:
A.
The
Knox-Box shall be located at or near the recognized public entrance
of the structure, the specific location to be determined by the Fire
Marshal.
B.
The
specific model of the Knox-Box which is selected by the property owner
must have a tamper switch and the model must be approved by the Fire
Marshal.
C.
The
Knox-Box must be connected with an alarm system which has been approved
by the Fire Marshal.
D.
A
use and occupancy permit will not be issued until the Knox-Box has
been installed and inspected by the Fire Marshal.
All existing commercial, industrial and apartment building (four
or more dwelling units) structures shall be required to install a
Knox-Box Rapid Entry System with tamper switch. Said regulations are
as follows:
A.
The
Knox-Box shall be located at or near the recognized public entrance
of the structure, the specific location to be determined by the Fire
Marshal.
B.
The
specific model of the Knox-Box which is selected by the property owner
must have a tamper switch and the model must be approved by the Fire
Marshal.
C.
The
Knox-Box must be connected with an alarm system which has been approved
by the Fire Marshal.
D.
A
use and occupancy permit will not be issued until the Knox-Box has
been installed and inspected by the Fire Marshal.
E.
Owners
of existing structures must comply with this chapter within 18 months
of its adoption.
It is the duty and responsibility of the Fire Marshal to maintain
all records and forms pertaining to the Knox-Box rapid entry systems.
A.
The
Fire Marshal and Fire Chief shall hold a Knox-Box key. The Knox-Box
keys shall be turned over to acting personnel only if both the Fire
Chief and the Fire Marshal are unavailable.
B.
The
George Clay Fire Company shall hold three keys placed on three separate
apparatus. The Fire Marshal will be notified as to which apparatus
contains the keys. If, for any reason, the apparatus is out of service,
the keys shall be placed on another available apparatus. If there
is no available apparatus, the keys will be returned to the Fire Marshal.
C.
The
Fire Chief shall be responsible for the placement of the keys on the
apparatus.
The West Conshohocken Fire Marshal shall place all building
keys within the Knox-Box. The Fire Marshal shall follow the regulations
as outlined by the Knox-Box manufacturer when ordering keys and boxes.
In the Fire Marshal's absence, the Deputy Fire Marshal shall
perform these duties.
A.
No
member or police officer, other than the Fire Marshal and/or the Fire
Chief, may gain entry to a Knox-Box unless there is an alarm activation
or other emergency to the life and/or safety of the building occupants.
B.
Upon
activation of an alarm which is connected to a Knox-Box, the Fire
Chief, Fire Marshal or any other line officer of the fire company
shall enter the box to secure a key for entry into the building. When
all fire company activity is complete at the designated location,
it shall be the responsibility of the Fire Chief, Fire Marshal or,
in their absence, the officer in charge, to ensure that the keys to
the building have been placed in the box and the box is secure.
C.
No
member or officer of the fire company, including the Fire Chief and
the Fire Marshal, may enter a Knox-Box to allow a building owner or
a company representative, contractor or any other person, including
any Borough official or employee, access to the structure.
D.
No
member or officer of the fire company and no other Borough official
or employee shall duplicate any access key to a Knox-Box.
E.
Structures
requiring the service of more than one Borough agency shall be equipped
with boxes that are dual locking and which allow separate agency access.
The box shall contain the following:
A.
Keys.
Keys shall be labelled so as to be easily identified in the field.
The following keys shall be included:
(1)
The main entrance door.
(2)
Alarm room (if one exists).
(3)
Mechanical rooms and sprinkler control rooms.
(4)
Fire alarm control panel.
(5)
Electrical rooms.
(6)
Special keys to reset pull-stations or other fire protection devices.
(7)
Elevator keys, if required.
(8)
All other rooms as directed by the Fire Marshal.
B.
Hazardous
materials and chemical information. In buildings that contain hazardous
material or chemicals, the following shall apply:
(1)
A current list of key facility personnel knowledgeable about safety
procedures of materials on site, complete with telephone numbers of
such personnel in the event of an incident after normal hours of operation.
(2)
A current emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form and a binder
containing the material safety data (MSD) sheets, or in the event
that the volume of MSD sheets is too great to keep practically in
the repository container, shall give the location of the on-site MSD
sheets and the MSD sheets shall be readily available for use by emergency
response personnel.
(3)
A facility site plan to include the following:
(a)
The location of storage and use of hazardous materials on site.
(b)
The location of on-site emergency firefighting and spill cleanup
equipment.
(c)
A diagram of the complete sewer system and the water system, showing
fire hydrant and water main locations and sizes.
(d)
Any building floor plan deemed necessary by the Fire Marshal.
Methods of opening gates or areas for emergency access must
be one of the following:
[Added 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-14, approved 10-12-2010]
Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the provisions detailed in Chapter 53A of the Code of the Borough of West Conshohocken.
