[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Aldan 6-14-1989
by Ord. No. 423. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "False Burglar
and Fire Alarm Control Ordinance."
Whereas the Council for the Borough of Aldan has determined that the
receipt of false burglary and false fire alarms indicating that emergencies
exist is detrimental to the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of
the Borough of Aldan, the Police Department and the Volunteer Fire Department,
it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Borough of Aldan to safeguard
and protect the residents of said borough and the personnel of the Police
Department and the Volunteer Fire Department from such hazards and risks.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall
have the following meanings ascribed to them:
Any voice, mechanical or electronic signals reported, received or
activated by means of telephone cables or other means of transmission, which
signals are monitored by the Police and/or Fire Departments of the Borough
of Aldan at their respective headquarters, or audible alarms which are reported
to the Borough of Aldan Police or Fire Departments, and which signals, upon
report, receipt or upon activation, indicate to the Police or Fire Departments
that an emergency exists at the sending location. Said "alarm" shall include
those types installed to indicate burglaries or fires at the sending location.
The attempt to break into, the act of breaking into or the intrusion
on the property of one person, partnership, association, syndicate, company,
firm, trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency or other entity by another
person where such actions are recognized by law as the subject of criminal
law penalties.
Any report or request for police or fire service directed to the
Police or Fire Departments by any means of communication wherein the situation,
condition, incident or emergency that is the subject of the report or request
does not exist.
Any individual, partnership, association, firm, syndicate, company,
trust, corporation, department, bureau, agency or other entity recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
The Police Department shall have the power and duty to enforce the provisions
of this chapter.
After the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any
person to:
A.
Cause, suffer, allow or permit the accidental or purposeful
transmission of a false burglar or fire alarm signal from any public or private
place in the Borough of Aldan to the Police Department or Fire Department
of the Borough of Aldan, if said person is the owner, lessee or occupant of
the structure in which a burglar or fire alarm has been installed.
B.
Cause, suffer, allow or permit to be made any report
or request for police or fire service or assistance by any means of communication
wherein the situation, condition, incident or emergency which is the subject
of the report or request for police or fire services or assistance does not
exist.
No person shall install or maintain in any building, structure or establishment
in the Borough of Aldan an external audible alarm of any type which does not
also contain an automatic cutoff system or feature automatically cutting off
the source of power to the alarm after it has sounded for a period of no longer
than 15 minutes.
A.
The person in possession of the premises where an automatic
protection device is in use must, each year, apply for and receive a permit
to operate the device.
B.
The person in possession of the premises where an automatic
protection device is operated must apply for the annual permit no later than
March 15 of the year during which the device is to be operated.
C.
The Borough Council shall, from time to time, set the
permit and/or application fee by resolution.
D.
Penalty for failure to obtain a permit. Any person in
possession of a premises where any automatic protection device is operated
who intentionally does not apply for the annual permit required by this chapter
shall be in violation of this chapter and shall be liable for a penalty to
be set by Council resolution for each such violation.
A.
The person in possession of the premises where an automatic
protection device is in use shall be assessed and shall pay to the borough
a service charge as listed below for each alarm originating from the premises
during any six-month period January 1 through June 30 or July 1 through December
31:
|
Number of Alarms
|
Service Charge
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
First false alarm
|
Warning
| ||
|
Second false alarm
|
$25
| ||
|
Third false alarm
|
$50
| ||
|
Fourth false alarm
|
$100
| ||
|
Fifth false alarm
|
$150
| ||
|
Sixth false alarm
|
$200
| ||
|
Seventh false alarm
| |||
|
and thereafter
|
$500
| ||
B.
The Council may revise these fees by resolution.
When the Fire Department responds to an alarm transmitted by an automatic
protection device, which alarm indicates a fire in a building or premises
where no one is available to provide access, the Fire Department is hereby
authorized to enter said building or premises by any means reasonably necessary
to conduct an investigation as to the cause of the alarm.
A.
The sensory mechanism of an automatic protection device
shall be equipped and adjusted so as to suppress false indications of fire
and so that the device will not be activated by impulses due to normal pressure
changes in water pipes, variations in voltage due to electrical storms and
power failures or any other forces not related to actual fire conditions.
B.
False alarms transmitted from automatic protection devices
are unlawful.
A.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of
an automatic protection device without first notifying the Fire Department
and obtaining the Department's permission.
B.
If any test or demonstration of an automatic protection
device results in a false alarm due to the failure of the person conducting
such test or demonstration to notify and obtain proper permission from the
Fire Department, a service charge of $150 will be assessed against the person
responsible for the test or demonstration, regardless of whether such false
alarm is the first or second false alarm originating from the building or
premises in the calendar year.
Any person violating any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof before a District Justice, be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000
or imprisonment not exceeding five days.
