[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Wilkins 12-9-2002 by Ord. No.
948 (Ch. 61 of the 1998 Township Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Township of Wilkins Alarm
System Ordinance."
This chapter is adopted to promote and protect the public health,
safety and general welfare of the community, to deter alarms requiring
police, fire and emergency medical personnel to respond in the absence
of an emergency thereby limiting the availability of emergency personnel
and severely affecting the public safety, to prevent public nuisances
and unreasonable noise which cause substantial public inconvenience,
annoyance or alarm and to prohibit and require the removal of such
nuisances prejudicial to the public health or safety.
In the construction of this chapter, the rules and definitions
contained in this section shall be observed and applied, except when
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and enforcement of this chapter:
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical, electrical, electronic,
or battery operated, arranged to signal by trunk line the occurrence
of a police, fire, hazard or medical emergency requiring urgent attention
and to which police, fire or emergency medical units are expected
to respond.
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all
times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic dialing devices
reporting an emergency at a stated location, where such employees
have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency
message over a trunk line to the communications center of the police,
fire or emergency medical service department.
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building, structure or facility and emits
a warning signal audible outside the building, structure or facility
and is designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal
act or other emergency requiring Police or Fire Department response.
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and
is programmed to transmit a signal by a voice or coded message that
indicates that an emergency condition exists and the need for an emergency
response is required.
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which accepts recorded
messages from automatic dialing devices at a central station having
operators and guards in attendance at all times who have the duty
to take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal or message, including
the relaying of messages to the communications center of the Police
or Fire Department.
The Police Chief of the Wilkins Township Police Department.
A police, fire, hazard or medical crisis, exigency or emergency.
An alarm activated in the absence of an emergency, whether willfully
or by inadvertence, negligence or unintentional act, to which the
Police Department, Fire Department or the Wilkins-Churchill Rescue
One (or its affiliate or successor) responds. The definition excludes
alarms caused by malfunctions of the Wilkins communication center's
receiving equipment; alarms for which the user has attempted to cancel
a response; testing or repairing of telephone or electrical lines
or equipment outside the premises; acts of God, such as earthquake
or flood; an attempted illegal entry; a crime in progress; or, in
the case of emergency medical alarm, an actual medical emergency requiring
police, fire and/or medical personnel. If doubt exists as to the cause
of the false alarm, the Chief of Police or his designee shall make
a decision regarding the circumstances of the activation. If a call
is cancelled with the police communication center before police, fire,
or emergency medical service personnel are dispatched from their respective
bases, the alarm will not be counted as a false alarm.
Multiple alarms received by the Police Department before the
system can be deactivated or repaired within 72 hours of awareness
of the alarm malfunction shall be considered a single alarm.
The definition of a false alarm also includes the intentional
activation of a holdup alarm for other than a holdup in progress,
the intentional activation of a burglary alarm for other than a burglary,
the intentional activation of a medical alarm for other than a medical
emergency or the intentional activation of a fire alarm for other
than a fire or hazard.
Any Wilkins Township volunteer fire company.
A fire.
An explosion, leak of toxic gas, liquid or solid, or a potential
explosion or leak.
A central station protective system or an answering service
as herein defined.
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a
message either directly or indirectly by an automatic dialing device.
An emergency involving the health of a person.
Written permission duly granted to an applicant by the Township
upon payment of the required fee.
The police, fire, emergency medical service communication
center through which calls are dispatched.
The Wilkins Police Department.
An incident requiring prompt response by the Police Department.
The Township of Wilkins, County of Allegheny.
A telephone line leading into the communication center of
the Police Department or answering service that is for the purpose
of handling calls on a person-to-person basis and which is identified
by and issued by the telephone company.
A.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, owners or users
of audible alarms shall equip such audible alarms with a timing mechanism
that shall disengage the audible alarm after a maximum of 30 minutes.
Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall be unlawful in
the Township and shall be disconnected by the owner or user within
60 days from the effective date of this chapter.
B.
This section shall not apply to single-family residences.
A.
Within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter, every user
who has installed an alarm system or has caused an alarm to be installed
on their premises in the Township shall furnish to the Chief of Police
the following information:
(1)
The name, residence and telephone number of the owner or user.
(2)
The address where the device is installed and the telephone number
at that address.
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of any other person or firm
who is authorized to respond to an emergency and gain access to the
address where the device is installed, including the names and phone
numbers of a minimum of three individuals who are authorized to respond
to an emergency alarm, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and gain access
to the address where the device is installed, and to disengage and
reactivate the alarm system.
(4)
The name and telephone number of any person, firm or corporation,
if any, other than the alarm supplier, who is responsible for maintenance
and repair of the system.
(5)
The type of system, i.e., holdup, burglary, fire or medical emergency.
B.
Users of alarm system devices whose devices were installed prior to the effective date of this chapter shall, within 60 days after such enactment, supply the Chief of Police with the information specified in Subsection A of this section.
D.
All information furnished pursuant to this section shall be kept
confidential and shall be for the authorized use of the Police Department
only.
A.
The user's fee for an alarm system permit shall be paid annually
as set by resolution of the Board of Commissioners. Said permit shall
be obtained by or on behalf of the owner of the premises upon which
the alarm system is installed from the Police Department prior to
the installation of the alarm system. Alarm systems installed prior
to the effective date of this chapter shall receive a permit upon
approval of registration.
B.
The application shall contain the address of the property, the name
of the business, if applicable, the name of the owner, tenant or agent
responsible for the property, the alarm supplier or other entity responsible
for maintaining the system, the type of alarm (burglary, fire, holdup
or medical), how the alarm signal will be received by the communications
center (tape, central station, etc.), at least three alternate emergency
numbers of persons to be contacted to disengage/reset the alarm and
to secure the property and any additional information as may be determined
to be necessary. It shall be the owner's responsibility to notify
the Police Department and answering service in writing whenever the
foregoing information changes.
C.
The permit shall bear the signature of the Chief of Police and shall
be valid for one calendar year after it is issued or until revoked
by the Chief of Police. The permit shall be displayed in a conspicuous
location upon the premises using the alarm system and shall be available
for inspection outside the premises by the police.
D.
Users who fail to obtain a permit within 60 days after the alarm
system is activated or within 60 days after the effective date of
this chapter, if later, shall be liable to pay a late charge penalty
as set by resolution of the Board of Commissioners for each calendar
year, or part thereof, that the permit is not obtained.
E.
All locations in the Township equipped with alarm systems, except
as stated in this chapter, shall secure and possess a valid permit
for the same.
By submitting an application for permit for the installation
of an alarm system and the subsequent installation of such a system
or by the continuation of the use of an alarm system 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, fireman or emergency medical
service person who makes a forced entry in response to such an alarm
into the premises on which such an alarm is installed as a result
of entry into the subject premises. 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 alarm is installed, such permit application shall constitute
an indemnification agreement by the applicant to hold harmless any
such police officer or fireman, the Township, the Police Department,
the Fire Department and emergency medical personnel, as appropriate,
from any and all damages whatsoever claimed by the lessor or owner
of the premises on which the alarm is installed.[1]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
This chapter shall be enforced by action brought before a Magisterial
District Judge in the same manner provided for the enforcement of
summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity who or which
violates or permits a violation of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, pay a fine of not
more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution, and in default of
the payment of the fine and costs of prosecution, shall be imprisoned
for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that the violation continues
shall be considered a separate offense.
