[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Media
4-16-1998 by Ord. No. 926. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An emergency system or device designed to signal the occurrence of
an illegal entry, panic, fire heat or smoke, or medical emergency to the Delaware
County 911 advising of a medical situation, panic, fire and/or illegal intrusion.
[Added 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
The person(s), corporation(s), business(es) and/or partnership(s)
to whom a Media Borough alarm system license has been issued.
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
An emergency alarm activated by inadvertence, negligence or intentional
acts to which the Borough Police or Fire Department responds, including a
malfunction of the alarm system. This definition excludes: alarms caused by
malfunctions of an indicator at the police station or fire station; acts of
God, such as earthquake or flood; an attempted illegal entry of which there
is visible evidence; or the user acting under a sincere belief that a need
exists to call the Police or Fire Department. In the case of alarm systems
primarily designed to notify the Police Department of an emergency condition,
the Chief of Police shall be responsible for determining its cause. If the
alarm system is primarily designed to notify the Fire Department of an emergency
condition, the Fire Marshal shall be responsible for such a determination.
[Note: Multiple alarms received by the Police of Fire Department before an
alarm system can be deactivated within a thirty-minute period shall be considered
a single alarm.]
Any device or system, composed of sensory apparatus, related hardware
and circuitry, which, when it detects a stimulus characteristic of fire, heat
or smoke, automatically transmits an alarm or signal intended to result in
an emergency response by the Fire Department. Such systems may signal the
occurrence of an apparent emergency condition directly to an intermediary
or by means of an audible alarm.
A person, firm, association, partnership, group or corporation which
has registered with and paid the established fee to the Borough of Media and
been licensed to install fire alarm and/or police alarm systems within Media
Borough. To acquire licensure, the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the Media Borough Code Enforcement Officer a working knowledge of the National
Fire Alarm Code (in the case of a fire alarm system) and the National Electrical
Code.
Any person(s), corporation(s), business(es), and/or partnership(s).
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
Any system or device designed to signal the occurrence of an illegal
entry or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which police personnel
are expected to respond. Such systems may signal the occurrence of an apparent
emergency condition directly to the Media Borough Police Department, to an
intermediary or by means of local alarm.
A building located within Media Borough which has had installed a
fire or police alarm system by a licensed alarm installation contractor.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former Ch. 103, Alarm Systems,
adopted 6-16-1983 by Ord. No. 748, as amended.
It is the specific intent of this chapter that it shall apply to all
alarm systems located within Media Borough, including but not restricted to
alarm systems designed to signal a burglary, robbery, fire or medical emergency,
irrespective of when any such system was installed.
Six months from the date of enactment of this chapter, it shall be illegal
to install a fire alarm or police alarm system within Media Borough unless
the installer shall first have obtained licensure as a licensed alarm installation
contractor.
A person, firm, association, partnership, group or corporation who, six months after the date of enactment of this chapter, installs a fire alarm or police alarm system without having first obtained Media Borough licensure as a licensed alarm installation contractor shall be incur penalties as set forth in § 103-19.
Every person selling, leasing or furnishing to any user an alarm system
which is installed on premises located within the Borough of Media shall furnish
that user with instructions that provide information to enable the user to
operate the alarm system properly and to locate and obtain service for the
alarm system, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Prior to an alarm system being placed into service, each alarm user
shall have provided by the licensed alarm installation contractor hands-on
training of sufficient duration such that the user is able to operate all
functions of the alarm system, including, but not limited to, disabling the
system and restoring it to service.
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
Every person selling, leasing or furnishing to any user an alarm system
which is installed on premises located within Media Borough shall be required
to equip any audible alarms with a timing mechanism which shall disengage
the alarm after a maximum period of five minutes. Any alarms not meeting this
requirement shall be unlawful and shall be disconnected by the owner or lessee.
After the enactment of this chapter, alarm users must equip existing
audible alarms with a timing mechanism which shall disengage the alarm after
a maximum period of five minutes. Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism
shall be unlawful in the Borough of Media and shall be disconnected by the
user within 60 days from the effective date of this chapter.
It shall be unlawful to utilize a voice dialer for the purpose of directly
contacting the Delaware County 911 Center.
Prior to conducting any test upon or demonstration of an alarm system
located within Media Borough, the tester/demonstrator will first obtain permission
from the Media Borough Fire Marshal or Media Borough Chief of Police, whichever
appropriate to the type of alarm, and notify the Delaware County 911 Dispatch
Center.
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
If any test or demonstration of an alarm system results in a false alarm due to the failure of the person conducting such test or demonstration to obtain permission of the Media Borough Fire Marshal or Media Borough Chief of Police, whichever appropriate to the type of alarm, and/or notify the Delaware County 911 Dispatch Center, that person shall be considered to have violated the provisions of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties for violations of this chapter as detailed in § 103-19.
It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally cause false emergency
information to be received by the Media Borough Police Department and/or Media
Borough Fire Department and/or Delaware County 911 Center.
A false alarm shall be deemed to have occurred pursuant to the definition
of false alarm in 103-1, regardless of whether the Police and/or Fire Departments
are notified of such unnecessary activation of the alarm prior to their arrival
at the premises.
[Amended 7-19-2001 by Ord.
No. 952; 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
A.Â
Upon generation of a false alarm from a protected premises, the
Borough Police Department and/or the Borough Fire Marshal or any Deputy Fire
Marshal (hereinafter referred to as the Borough Fire Department) whichever
is appropriate for the type of alarm, shall notify the alarm user by certified
mail of such fact and direct that the user submit a written report to him/her
within seven days of receipt of the notice describing the actions taken or
to be taken to discover and eliminate the cause of the false alarm.
B.Â
If the alarm user submits a report as directed and the Borough Police Department and/or the Borough Fire Department determines that the action taken or to be taken is in good faith and may reasonably be expected to reduce the likelihood of false alarms, the Borough Police Department and/or the Borough Fire Department may suspend any process for the violation of this chapter for penalty(ies) for violations provided for in § 103-19.
C.Â
If the Borough Police Department and/or Borough Fire Department determines that the action taken or to be taken will not substantially reduce the likelihood of false alarms or that there has not been a good-faith effort upon the part of the alarm uses, the persons shall be considered to have violated this chapter and the Borough Police Department and/or the Borough Fire Department shall follow the procedures outlined for violations as detailed in § 103-19.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 103-15, Assessment of service fee,
was repealed 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019.
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
The following details measures to suppress false alarms:
A.Â
The sensory apparatus of the alarm system shall be maintained
and adjusted so as to suppress false indications of fire and so the system
will not generate alarm signals from normal pressure fluctuations in water
pressure, variations in voltage due to storms, voltage drop, or power failures,
or any other force not related to stimulus not characteristic of fire or smoke
conditions; and/or
B.Â
The sensory apparatus of the alarm system shall be maintained
and adjusted so as to suppress false indications of intrusion and so the system
will not generate alarm signals from short flashes of light, rattling or vibrating
of doors and/or windows, vibration to the premises caused by the passing of
vehicles, variations in voltage due to storms, voltage drop, or power failures,
or any other force not related to genuine alarms.
Every alarm system which receives its primary power from the building's
110 volt electrical system, whether directly or through a transformer, shall
be equipped with a battery backup of sufficient power to maintain the system
in a state of readiness for 72 hours and to prevent generation of an alarm
signal due to low voltage in the event of an interruption of the 110 volt
power supply. Systems existing upon the effective date of this chapter without
battery backup shall have one year from the date of enactment of this chapter
to equip the system with battery backup or be guilty of operating an unlicensed
alarm system.
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
In as much as a properly maintained and functioning system will differentiate between a trouble condition and an alarm condition, it shall be illegal six months after the effective date of this chapter for an alarm system to transmit a trouble signal to the 911 dispatch center. The alarm user must make provisions for his/her alarm system to make notification of a responsible party to respond to trouble conditions. If a false alarm results from the transmission of a trouble signal, the alarm user shall be considered to have violated the provisions of this chapter and be subject to the penalties as provided in § 103-19.
[Amended 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
Any person who violates a provision of this chapter or fails to comply
with any of the requirement(s) thereof, or who installs, alters or repairs
any alarm system within the Borough of Media in violation of this chapter,
shall, upon being served with a citation for a summary offense by the Borough
Police Department and/or the Borough Fire Department and upon being found
liable therefor in enforcement as a summary offense proceeding commenced by
the municipality, pay a judgment of not more than $300 plus all court costs,
including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Borough of Media. Each
day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless
the District Justice determining that there has been a violation further determines
that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation
violating the chapter to have believed that there was not such a violation,
in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation
until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the District Justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable
attorney's fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid
over to the municipality.
[Added 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
All components comprising such an alarm system for fire and/or police
shall be maintained in good repair by the owner or lessee to assure maximum
reliability of operation. Alarm equipment suppliers shall conform to the requirements
of the electrical, building and fire codes of the Borough of Media as they
pertain to permits, licenses, inspection and tests by the Inspectors/Code
Enforcement Officer and/or Fire Marshal.
[Added 2-15-2007 by Ord. No. 1019]
No person shall misuse, purposely, knowingly or recklessly, activate
falsely, or continually activate accidentally, any alarm system.
