[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Wall
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-8-1978 as Sec.
3-15 of the Revised General Ordinances]
It is the intent of this article to promote the public safety and welfare
by alleviating conditions which lead to an unnecessary drain on the manpower,
time, facilities, and finances of the Township of Wall and its Police Department
and the deterioration of the quality of services to persons subscribing to
alarm services by establishing standards and regulations concerning the installation,
operation and maintenance of alarm systems within the Township.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any business or enterprise which engages in any of the following
activities within the Township: the installing, leasing, maintaining, repairing,
replacing, selling, servicing, or responding to alarm devices, or which causes
any such activity to take place within the Township.
Any mechanical, electrical, or electronic device which is designed
or used to signal the existence of an emergency requiring urgent attention
and to which police or firemen are expected to respond.
An alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded message or coded signal
indicating the existence of an emergency situation that the alarm system is
designed to detect.
A communications center operating for subscribers which receives
signals from alarm signaling devices and takes appropriate action upon receipt
of an emergency signal.
Any alarm signaling system other than an automatic dialing device
which, when activated, transmits a signal directly to the communications center
of the Police Department.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction,
improper installation, without an unlawful entry, or through the negligence
or intentional conduct of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or of his
employees or agents or through any other cause.
A signaling system which, when activated, causes an audible and/or
visual signaling device to be activated in or about the premises in which
the system is installed.
A telephone line leading directly to the communications center of
the Police Department for the purpose of handling emergency calls on a person-to-person
basis, and which is identified as such by a specific number listed among the
emergency numbers listed in the telephone directory issued by the telephone
company and covering the service area within the Police Department's jurisdiction.
A telephone line leading to the communications center of the Police
Department and having the primary purpose of handling emergency signals or
messages originating either directly or through a central location from automatic
dialing devices.
A.
No automatic dialing device shall be keyed to a primary
trunk line after the effective date of this article.
B.
Within 30 days after the effective date of this article,
all automatic dialing devices interconnected to a primary trunk line shall
be disconnected therefrom. The owner or lessee of such device shall be responsible
for having the device disconnected within the thirty-day time period.
C.
Automatic dialing devices designed to transmit signals
directly to the Police Department may be interconnected to a special trunk
line into the Police Department and shall be coded to dial a separate, special
number which shall be provided by the Police Department.
D.
The contents of any recorded message from a dialer alarm
must be intelligible and in a format approved by the Chief of Police. No such
message shall be transmitted more than three times as a result of a single
stimulus of the mechanism. Messages shall not exceed 15 seconds, and the time
gap between delivery shall be approximately 10 seconds.
E.
All dial alarms shall be capable of being disconnected
by the owner to permit a call to the police switchboard in the event that
a false alarm occurs.
F.
The sensory mechanism of a dial alarm shall be adjusted
so as to suppress false indications and to prevent its activation by impulses
due to pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind, noise,
rattling or vibration of doors or windows, or other forces unrelated to general
alarms.
G.
All local alarms shall be equipped with a time relay
or battery to limit the sounding of alarms to 15 minutes or less.
H.
Each alarm business shall provide accurate and complete
instruction to the alarm system user in the proper use and operation of any
alarm.
I.
All alarm hookups to the Police Department shall be completed
by an alarm installer designated by the Township.
J.
Every alarm business shall provide repair service within
two hours of notification by the Police Department or a subscriber that a
malfunction in an alarm system has occurred.
K.
No alarm business shall operate a central station alarm
service, unless the same has been inspected and approved by the Chief of Police,
or his designee.
A.
Any person, firm, or corporation which owns, operates,
installs or services a police alarm device or a local alarm system in the
Township shall provide the Chief of Police with written notification of the
existence or installation of the alarm, which notification shall contain at
least the location of the device, the name of the installer of said device,
the type of device, provisions relating to false alarms and testing procedures,
the names, addresses and emergency telephone numbers of at least three persons
to contact if the alarm is activated, and shall further notify the Chief of
Police of any change in the information contained in the notification.
B.
The Police Department shall make effort to contact one
of the persons named in the event of an alarm, and the alarm owner or other
person named is strongly urged to respond to the premises, even in the event
of what appears to be a false alarm.
C.
The Chief of Police or his representatives are authorized
to, at reasonable times and upon oral notice, enter any premises in the Township
to inspect the installation and/or operation of any alarm device or alarm
business.
A.
The Police Chief, or his designee, shall keep a written
record of all false alarms to which the Police Department has responded.
B.
In any twelve-month period the following penalties shall
be assessed by the Chief of Police or his designee:
(1)
For the first through sixth false alarms, from any alarm
system, a warning shall be issued.
(2)
For the seventh and eighth false alarm from any alarm
system, a fee of $25 payable to the Township shall be imposed to partially
defray the Township's cost in responding to such false alarm.
(3)
In the event of a ninth or subsequent false alarm, a
fee of $100 per alarm shall be paid, and an investigation shall be conducted
by the Police Department. Where the investigation of the Police Department
discloses continued abusive or negligent operation or maintenance of an alarm
device and a disregard for the taking of remedial steps to avoid false alarms,
the Police Chief may require disconnection of the device for a limited or
permanent period; however, the owner or user of the device shall be given
adequate notice of the proposed disconnection and shall have an opportunity
within 14 days of receipt of such notice, to appeal such disconnection to
the Township Administrator. The determination of the Township Administrator
in such matters shall be based upon the effect on the general public health,
safety and welfare of the continued use of the alarm device in question.
(4)
Should any disconnection result due to the foregoing
subsection, the Township shall not be liable for any loss which results from
such disconnection.
(5)
In order to reconnect the alarm subscriber must submit,
in writing, to the Chief of Police satisfactory proof that the alarm has been
repaired and is operating properly, together with the required reconnection
fee. Approval may be given on a trial basis for 60 days.
Every person who shall violate any provision of this article shall be
subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than
90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court or judicial officer before
whom conviction may be had. Each and every day that such violation continues
shall be considered a separate and specific violation of the chapter.
A.
The owner or lessee of an automatic dialing device which
is interconnected to a special trunk line transmitting directly into the Police
Department shall pay the Township a nonrefundable fee of $100 to cover the
cost of the special phone lines necessitated by those systems.
B.
Local alarms shall be registered as set forth herein,
but no fee shall be charged therefor.
[Adopted 11-8-1978 as Sec.
13-13 of the Revised General Ordinances]
[Amended 12-11-2002 by Ord. No. 48-2002]
All properties within the Township of Wall having an automatic fire
alarm system or a fire sprinkler system shall be equipped with a key box.
This requirement shall not apply to single-family residential and owner-occupied
one- and two-family dwellings.
The key box shall be of UL type and approved by the Wall Township Fire
Official. The rapid entry key box shall be installed in a location approved
by the Wall Township Fire Official.
The rapid entry key boxes may be required to contain any or all of the
following, as shall be determined by the Fire Official:
A.
Keys to locked points of egress, whether on interior
or exterior of such buildings.
B.
Keys to the locked mechanical rooms.
C.
Keys to the locked elevator rooms.
D.
Keys to the elevator controls.
E.
Keys to any fence or secured areas.
F.
Keys to any other areas.
G.
A floor plan of the rooms within the building.
H.
All access or combination codes to locked points of egress or
ingress, whether on interior or exterior of such buildings.
[Added 12-11-2002 by Ord. No. 48-2002][1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 59-11, Waiver, added 5-8-2002 by
Ord. No. 16-2002, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed
3-12-2003 by Ord. No. 1-2003.
