Township of Birmingham, PA Alarm Systems

Any device which emits an audible warning signal outside the building, whether by wire or otherwise, and designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal act or other emergency requiring emergency personnel to respond.

AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE

Any instrument which automatically transmits any form of alarm or signal, including but not limited to a prerecorded voice alarm, from the premises to the Chester County Police Radio Network or similar agency upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic of intrusion or fire.

AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE SUPPLIER

Any person, firm or corporation who sells or leases and/or installs automatic protection devices.

FALSE ALARM

Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given to the police or fire department to which police or firefighters respond which is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or similar emergency but erroneously indicates that such an incident has occurred.

KEY

To tie a telephone or recording equipment into the system to transmit a message either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.

PERMIT

Written permission, duly granted to an applicant by the Township upon payment of the required fee.

TOWNSHIP

The Township of Birmingham, County of Chester, Pennsylvania.

§ 41-3 Direct keying of automatic protection devices.

After the enactment of this chapter, owners or lessees of audible and visible automatic protection devices may not key such automatic protection devices to the Pennsylvania State Police Radio Network.

Automatic protection devices installed after the effective date of this chapter shall be keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network, unless keyed as per Subsection C.

Audible automatic protection devices on location and not keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network may be installed by Township residents and businesses and may be keyed to a telephone or radio which is available to them or to a private agency so long as they register with the Chief of Police and comply with Township regulations set forth in this chapter.

Audible and visible automatic protection devices on location must be equipped with a timing device which will disconnect an audible alarm after a maximum of 30 minutes, but a light alarm (silent) signal outside the building may continue to flash the alarm for 60 minutes. Audible alarms without such a device will be unlawful in the Township and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter.

§ 41-4 Current list of installations required.

Within 90 days from the effective date of this chapter, every automatic protection device supplier who has keyed an automatic protection device in the Township to a police radio network shall furnish to the Chief of Police a current list of such installations which shall include the following information:

(1)

The name, address and telephone number of the owner or lessee.

(2)

The name and address where the device is installed and the telephone number of that address.

(3)

The name, address and telephone number of a central station protective system or any other person or firm who is authorized to respond to an emergency and gain access to the address where the device is installed.

(4)

The name and telephone number of any person, firm or corporation, if any, other than the automatic protection device equipment supplier, which is responsible for maintenance and repair of the automatic protection device.

Every automatic protection device supplier shall, on an annual basis, furnish the Chief of Police with a list of all Township installations that have been keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network, which shall include any corrections, additions or deletions from lists previously furnished. An automatic protection device supplier who enters into the business after the effective date of this chapter shall furnish a list containing the information specified in Subsection A by the fifth working day of the month following the first installation and shall thereafter furnish lists annually as required by this section.

All information furnished pursuant to these sections shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the Township.

§ 41-5 Registration requirements.

All automatic protection device suppliers shall register their firms' name and address with the Birmingham Township Police Department and shall pay a registration fee in accordance with the Township of Birmingham Fees Resolution.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: The Fees Resolution is on file and available for examination in the Township offices.

§ 41-6 Permit requirements.

No automatic protection device shall be installed without a permit. Application for a permit to install an automatic protection device shall be made to the Police Department of the Township. A person seeking approval of an automatic protection device shall provide the following information on the application: the name, address and telephone number of the owner, lessee or person in possession and control of the premises where the automatic protection device is to be installed; the telephone number of the person to be contacted if the automatic dialing device is activated; and such other information as the Police Department deems relevant to be able to effectively respond to an alarm. All applications shall be made on the form supplied by the Police Department. A separate permit shall be required for each separate installation of an automatic protection device. Upon proper application being made and upon payment of the fee required, the Police Department shall issue a permit for the installation of an automatic protection device. After issuance of the permit, if any of the information requested on the application for permit changes, the applicant shall immediately notify the Police Department of such new information.

[Amended 10-4-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]

The permit for the automatic protection device shall bear the signature of the Chief of Police or the coordinator and shall be valid for the same period that the applicant shall reside/locate the business upon the premises at which the system is installed or until revoked by the Chief of Police. The permit shall be physically present upon the premises using the automatic protection device and shall be available for inspection by Birmingham Township Police Department personnel.

The permit shall contain the following information:

(1)

The address and telephone number of the property being registered.

(2)

The name of the business, if applicable.

(3)

The name of the property owner, lessee or agent responsible for the property.

(4)

The name, address and telephone number of the automatic protection device company responsible for maintaining the automatic protection device, if applicable.

(5)

The type of automatic protection device (burglar, fire, holdup or medical).

(6)

How the automatic protection device signal will be received by the communications center (tape, central station, etc.).

(7)

At least two alternate emergency telephone numbers of persons to be contacted to secure the property.

(8)

Any additional information as may be determined to be necessary.

Users who fail to obtain a permit within 60 days after the effective date of this chapter or who are delinquent 60 days or more in renewing a permit shall be liable to pay a late charge penalty.

The permit shall be obtained from the Police Department prior to the installation of the automatic protection device and shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee.

Automatic protection device users not currently registered who have had an automatic protection device installed or who have themselves installed an automatic protection device prior to the enactment of this chapter and all new owners or lessees of preexisting automatic protection devices shall be required to register their automatic protection device with the Police Department within 60 days of the enactment of this chapter. Registration of preexisting automatic protection devices shall be made on the same form used as an application to install a new automatic protection device. The same fee as charged for registration of a new installation will be charged for the registration of a preexisting alarm system. Upon the proper application being made and upon payment of the fee required, the Police Department shall issue a user's permit to the applicant.

§ 41-7 Exemption requirements.

An automatic protection device user who installs a battery-powered (nine volts, 11.2 volts or similar voltage) audible automatic protection device or an electrically energized audible automatic protection device whose sole purpose is to notify the occupants of that location of an emergency situation is exempt from obtaining an automatic protection device permit if all of the following conditions exist:

(1)

The automatic protection device is not connected to any mechanical or electrical device that automatically notifies a person or agency outside that location that the automatic protection device is activated.

(2)

The audible alarm does not sound outside the location (no external speakers).

(3)

The internal signal emitted by the audible alarm does not exceed 90 decibels.

(4)

The internal alarm does not cause undue annoyance or alarm to occupants of adjoining premises.

Automatic protection device users, including those who are exempt from obtaining an automatic protection device permit as above, shall, nevertheless, be subject to the penalty provisions prescribed in this chapter.

§ 41-8 Operational requirements.

Automatic protection devices installed in the Township that are keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network shall meet the following requirements:

The type and content of recorded messages must be intelligible and in a format approved, prior to the installation, by the Chief of Police.

No more than one call shall be made over the Police Radio Network as a result of a single activation of the automatic protection device.

Recorded messages may be repeated during one call, but the interval between each recorded message shall be no less than eight seconds and no more, than 12 seconds.

The time for transmitting each recorded message shall not exceed 15 seconds.

The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic protection device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusion so that the device will not be actuated by impulses due to fleeting pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, the rattling or vibrations of doors and windows, vibrations to the premises caused by the passing of vehicles or any other force not related to genuine alarms.

All components comprising such a device must be maintained by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability of operation.

§ 41-9 Technical information.

All automatic protection device suppliers who sell or lease an automatic protection device in the Township after the effective date of this chapter which is keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network shall furnish operating instructions, circuit diagrams and maintenance manuals for each type of automatic protection device they deal in and install in the Township to the buyer or lessee of the automatic protection device.

§ 41-10 Repair service.

Each automatic protection device supplier who sells or leases an automatic protection device in the Township which is keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network shall make service available directly or through an agent on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis, seven days a week, to repair such device or to correct any malfunction that may occur. Such service shall be made available for any person using an automatic protection device supplied at such user's selection and expense.

At the time of installation, an automatic protection device supplier shall furnish to any buyer or lessee using a repair service written information as to how service may be obtained at any time, including the telephone number of the automatic protection device supplier or agent responsible for the service. The buyer or lessee and the automatic protection device supplier or agent supplying a service shall be responsible for having the device disconnected or repaired as quickly as possible after the notice that the automatic protection device is not functioning properly.

§ 41-11 Disconnection.

When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational requirements set forth in § 41-8 are received by the Chester County Police Radio Network, a duly authorized representative of said Network may demand that the owner or lessee of the device, or representative, disconnect the device until it is made to comply with the operational requirements. If disconnection of the defective device is not accomplished promptly and the Township determines that the malfunctioning device is repeatedly sending false alarms without any intermittent valid alarms, it may then take any steps to disconnect the defective automatic protection device.

§ 41-12 Inspections.

Automatic protection device suppliers must conform to the requirements contained in the National Electrical Code as it pertains to inspections and tests.

§ 41-13 Authority to inspect.

For the purpose of enforcing this chapter and as a condition to installing and maintaining an automatic protection device, the owner or lessee thereof shall execute a consent in such form as may be prescribed by the Township, which will authorize the Township Police to enter upon a lessee's or owner's premises within the Township, at such reasonable times and upon reasonable notice to inspect the installation and operation of an automatic protection device.

§ 41-14 Right of entry.

By submitting an application for permit for the installation of an automatic protection device and the subsequent installation of such automatic protection device or by the continuation of the use of an automatic protection device already installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner, lessee or user thereof shall agree that such permit application constitutes a waiver by such person of the right to bring or file any action, claim or complaint whatsoever against any police officer, emergency personnel or agent of the Township who makes a forced entry in response to such an alarm into the premises on which such an automatic protection device is installed. In the event that the owner of such premises is a person other than the permit applicant, as in the instance of a lessee or other user not the owner of the premises on which the automatic protection device is installed, such permit application shall constitute an indemnification agreement by the applicant to hold harmless any such police officer, emergency personnel or agent of the Township from any and all damages whatsoever claimed by the lessor or owner of the premises on which the automatic protection device is installed.

§ 41-15 Testing.

No person, other than Birmingham Township police officers, shall conduct any tests or demonstrations of an automatic protection device without first obtaining permission from the Township police. Where the equipment is not keyed to the Chester County Police Radio Network, no such permission is necessary.

§ 41-16 Township to furnish copies of provisions.

The Township shall supply copies of this chapter to the suppliers and installers at its then-current rate.

§ 41-17 False alarms; responsibility for costs.

For the purpose of defraying the costs to the Township of responding to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an automatic protection device shall, as a condition to the installation and continued operation of such equipment or service, execute a consent in such a form as may be prescribed by the Township that the owner or lessee shall pay the Township a fee as prescribed in the Fees Resolution for each false alarm activation after the first false alarm in each calendar year. This sum shall be a civil claim by the Township and does not affect the penalty provisions prescribed by § 41-18 hereof. The owners or lessees of the premises will receive a written warning notice within 30 days that they have received their first false alarm and that they will be billed for subsequent false alarms occurring in the next calendar year.

[Amended 6-21-1999 by Ord. No. 99-02]

Failure of the owners or lessees of the premises to consent to the provisions of §§ 41-12 and 41-15 in their application for installation of such an automatic protection device will result in the refusal of a permit to install the same.

§ 41-18 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 6-5-1995 by Ord. No. 95-01; 7-1-1996 by Ord. No. 96-08]

Failure of any person to comply with the requirements of written notice of a violation of any provision hereof within three days of receipt of such notice, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, shall constitute a civil violation. Any person who violates this provision shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine for each such violation in an amount not exceeding $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Township. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.

An owner, lessee or user of an automatic protection device which causes or permits three false alarms to occur in a consecutive twelve-month period shall be subject to the fines and penalties set forth in Section 7511 of the Pennsylvania Penal Code, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 7511.[1]

[Added 10-4-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the relettering of former Subsection B as Subsection C.

False alarm violation. Any person who willfully activates a false alarm shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine not exceeding $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Township. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.