[Adopted 6-7-1982 by Ord. No. 11-1982
as Art. I of Ch. 60 of the 1982 Code]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person, firm or corporation who sells or leases and/or
installs automatic protection devices.
A service whereby trained employees in attendance at all
times receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic protection
devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and have the duty
to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency message over
a designated or direct trunk line to the communications center of
the Police Department or Fire Department.
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible
outside the building and is designed to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police to respond.
An electrically operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus
and related hardware which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice
alarm over regular telephone line, by direct or indirect connection
to the Police Department or Fire Department, upon receipt of a stimulus
from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition
inherently characteristic of a fire or intrusion.
A protective system, or group of such systems, operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which maintains supervisors
and accepts recorded messages from automatic protection devices at
a central station having trained 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 by designated
or direct trunk line to the communications center of the Police Department
or Fire Department.
The Chief of the City of Pleasantville's Fire Department.
The Chief of the City of Pleasantville's Police Department.
The City of Pleasantville, Atlantic County, New Jersey.
The City Clerk of the City of Pleasantville.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department or Fire Department that is for the primary purpose
of handling emergency messages which originate from automatic protection
devices and are transmitted directly, or indirectly through an intermediary.
A nonlisted, directly connected telephone line leading from
an intermediary to the communications center of the Police Department
or Fire Department that is for the primary purpose of handling emergency
messages on a person-to-person basis.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any
audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given
the police or fire communications center to which police or firemen
respond and which is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or
similar emergency.
The fire communications room and other rooms which house
auxiliary communication equipment.
The City of Pleasantville Fire Department.
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 protection device.
Written permission duly granted to an applicant by the city
upon payment of the required fee.
The police communications room and other rooms which house
auxiliary communication equipment.
The City of Pleasantville's Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department or Fire Department that is for the purpose of
handling emergency calls on a person-to-person basis, which line is
identified by a specific listing among the white pages in the telephone
directory.
[1]A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Police Department or Fire Department that is for the purpose of
handling administrative and other calls on a person-to-person basis,
which line is identified by a specific listing among the white pages
in the telephone directory.
[2]After the enactment of this article, owners
or lessees must equip audible alarms with a timing mechanism that
will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes.
Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall be unlawful in
the city and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee within 60
days from the effective date of this article.
A.
No automatic protection device installed after the
effective date of this article shall be keyed to a primary secondary
trunk line.
B.
After the effective date of this article, all automatic
protection devices that transmit recorded messages directly to the
Police Department or Fire Department shall be keyed to a designated
trunk line.
C.
Within 60 days from the effective date of this article,
existing automatic protection devices in the city shall be disconnected
from primary and secondary trunk lines.
D.
Automatic protection devices disconnected, as provided in Subsection C of this section, may be keyed to a designated trunk line.
E.
After the effective date of this article, no one,
except an alarm equipment supplier holding a valid permit from the
city, shall install any automatic protection device to a designated
trunk line.
A.
Any person who has an automatic protection device
in the city may arrange to have such device keyed to an intermediary
authorized to relay emergency messages to the Police Department or
Fire Department.
B.
The relay of messages by authorized intermediaries
shall be over a designated or direct trunk line.
C.
Automatic protection devices keyed to an authorized
intermediary may also be keyed to another telephone which the owner
or lessee of the automatic protection device has available to himself
or his representative at some other location.
A.
Within 90 days from the effective date of this article,
every alarm equipment supplier who has keyed an automatic protection
device in the city to the designated line shall furnish to the Chief
of Police and the Chief of the Fire Department a current list of such
installations which shall include the following information:
(1)
The telephone number of the owner or lessee.
(2)
The 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 alarm equipment supplier who
is responsible for maintenance and repair of the automatic protection
device.
B.
By the fifth working day of each month following the submission of the initial list, every alarm equipment supplier shall furnish the Police Department and Fire Department with a supplemental list of any additional installations he has keyed to the designated trunk lines, along with any corrections to or deletions from lists previously furnished. An alarm equipment supplier who enters into the business after the effective date of this article shall furnish a list containing the information specified in § 80-5A by the fifth working day of the month following a first installation and shall thereafter furnish supplemental lists as required by this section.
C.
All information furnished pursuant to these sections
shall be kept confidential and shall be for the use of the Police
Department and Fire Department only.
Automatic protection devices installed in the
city that are keyed to designated trunk lines shall meet the following
requirements:
A.
The type and content of recorded messages must be
intelligible and in a format approved prior to installation by the
Chief of Police or Chief of Fire as appropriate for the type of emergency.
B.
No more than one call shall be made over a designated
trunk line to the Police Department or Fire Department as a result
of a single activation of the automatic protection device.
C.
The time for transmitting each recorded message shall
not exceed 15 seconds.
D.
Recorded messages may be repeated during one call,
but the interval between each recorded message shall be no less than
eight nor more than 12 seconds.
E.
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic
protective 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 vibrating of doors and windows, vibrations
to the premises caused by the passing of vehicles or any other force
not related to genuine alarms.
F.
All components comprising such a device must be maintained
by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability
of operation.
A.
Each alarm equipment supplier who sells or leases
an automatic protection device in the city after the effective date
of this article which is keyed to a designated trunk line shall furnish
operating instructions, a circuit diagram and maintenance manual to
the buyer or lessee.
B.
Each alarm equipment supplier referred to in Subsection A shall furnish, to the Chief of Police and Chief of Fire, operating instructions, circuit diagram and maintenance manual for each type of automatic protection device he deals in and installs in the city. If the instructions are not clear, the alarm equipment supplier may be required to revise the instructions to the Chief of Police and Chief of Fire and all buyers and lessees of the particular automatic protection device.
A.
Each alarm equipment supplier who sells or leases
an automatic protection device in the city which is keyed to a designated
trunk line 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 to any person using an automatic protection
device supplied at such user's election and expense.
B.
At the time of installation, an alarm equipment 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 alarm equipment supplier or agent responsible
for service. The buyer or lessee and the alarm equipment supplier
or agent supplying a service shall be responsible for having the device
disconnected or repaired as quickly as possible after notice that
the automatic protection device is not functioning properly.
When messages evidencing failure to comply with the operational requirements set forth in § 80-6 are received by the Fire Department or the Police Department and the Chief of the Department concerned concludes that the automatic protection device sending such messages should be disconnected in order to relieve the particular Department of the burden of responding to false alarms, he is authorized to demand that the owner or lessee of the device, or his representatives, 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 Chief of the Department concerned determines that the malfunctioning device is repeatedly sending false alarms without any intermittent valid alarms, he may then take any steps necessary to disconnect the defective automatic protection device.
Alarm equipment suppliers must conform to the requirements contained in Chapter 119, Construction Codes, Uniform, as amended, as it pertains to permits, licenses, inspections and tests by the Building Department.
For the purpose of enforcing this article 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 City Clerk, which will authorize
the Director of the Building Department, the Chief of Police and the
Chief of Fire to enter upon a lessee's or owner's premises within
the City of Pleasantville, at such reasonable times and upon reasonable
notice, to inspect the installation and operation of an automatic
protection device.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of an automatic protection device without first obtaining permission
from the Police Department and Fire Department. Where the equipment
is keyed through an intermediary, no such permission is necessary
unless the alarm or signal is to be relayed to the Police Department
or Fire Department.
Alarm equipment suppliers, installers of audible
alarms and intermediaries shall furnish, at or prior to the time of
contracting and at their expense, a copy of this article to owners,
lessees or users of the equipment or services to be supplied.
A.
For the purpose of defraying the costs to the City of responding to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an automatic protection device, persons using the services of intermediaries and users of audible alarms or any other kind of direct or indirect connection to the police or fire communications centers, except persons using two-way live-voice communication by telephone, shall, as a condition to installation and continued operation of such equipment or service, execute a consent in such form as may be prescribed by the Fire/Police Department that such owner, lessee or user shall pay the City $250 for an excess of three false alarms originating from the owner's premises within a thirty-day rolling period. This sum shall be a civil claim by the City and does not affect the penalty provisions prescribed by § 80-15 hereof.
[Amended 7-3-2023 by Ord. No. 10-2023]
B.
Any such owner, lessee or user who fails to execute the consent described in § 80-14A within 90 days from the effective date of this article shall, within the ninety-day period, disconnect the alarm, automatic protection device or any other kind of direct or indirect connection to the police or fire communications center and shall discontinue using the services of any intermediaries.
A.
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
holidays, shall constitute an offense punishable by a fine not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding
90 days and/or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days.
Such notice shall continue in force and effect until full compliance
with requirements stated therein, and each and every failure to comply
with such notice within 24 hours after the three days allowed for
compliance shall constitute a separate offense.
