[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 1]
This Part shall be known as and may be cited as the "Burglar,
Emergency Medical Services and Fire Alarm Ordinance."
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 2]
Whereas the Council for the Borough of Elizabethtown has determined
that the receipt of false burglary, false emergency medical services
and false fire alarms indicating that emergencies exist is detrimental
to the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the Borough of
Elizabethtown, the Police Department, emergency medical services and
Volunteer Fire Department, it is hereby declared to be the purpose
of the Borough of Elizabethtown to safeguard and protect the residents
of the Borough and the personnel of the Police Department and Volunteer
Fire Department from such hazards and risks.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 3]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Part,
shall have the following meanings ascribed to them:
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical, electrical or battery-operated,
arranged to signal the occurrence of a police, fire, hazard or medical
emergency requiring urgent attention and to which police, emergency
medical services (EMS) or fire units could be or are expected to respond.
Any device, including, but not limited to, a 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,
emergency medical services (EMS) or Fire Department response.
A sudden, unexpected happening, occurrence or condition requiring
immediate action by police, fire, hazard or medical services personnel
to protect the health, safety and welfare of those affected by the
happening, occurrence or condition.
An alarm activated in the absence of an emergency, whether willfully
or by inadvertence, negligence or unintentional act, including the
malfunction of the alarm system, to which the Elizabethtown Borough
Police Department, any fire department and/or any ambulance or emergency
medical service responds. The definition excludes alarms caused by
malfunctions of the Lancaster County-wide communications receiving
equipment if such alarm is directly connected to the alarm board;
testing or repairing of telephone or electrical lines or equipment
outside the premises; acts of God, such as earthquake, flood, windstorm,
thunder or lightening; an attempted illegal entry of which there is
visible evidence; a crime in progress; or, in the case of an emergency
medical alarm, an actual medical emergency requiring police, fire
and/or medical personnel.
Multiple alarms received by the Police Department or any fire
department before the system can be deactivated within a reasonable
period of time shall be considered a single alarm, unless such multiple
alarms are caused by the act of any person.
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 burglar 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.
The Friendship Fire & Hose Co. No. 1 of Elizabethtown,
Pennsylvania, or any other fire company or department operating within
the Borough of Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
A fire.
An explosion, leak of toxic gas, liquid or solid or a potential
explosion.
An emergency involving the health of a person requiring prompt
response by emergency medical services personnel.
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 Elizabethtown Borough Police Department.
An incident requiring prompt response by the Police Department.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 4]
The Elizabethtown Borough Police Department shall have the power
and duty to enforce the provisions of this Part.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 5]
After the effective date of this Part, it shall be unlawful
for any person to:
A.
Cause, suffer, allow or permit the accidental or purposeful transmission
of a false alarm signal from any public or private place in the Borough
of Elizabeth.
B.
Cause, suffer, allow or permit to be made any report or request for
police, medical or fire services or assistance by any means of communication
wherein the situation, condition or incident which is the subject
of the report or request for police, medical or fire services or assistance
does not constitute an emergency.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 6]
No person shall install or maintain in any building, structure
or establishment in Elizabethtown Borough 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.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 7; as amended by Ord. 829,
11/15/2001]
1.
The person in possession of the premises where an alarm device is
in use shall be assessed and shall pay a service charge for each false
alarm in an amount as established from time to time by resolution
of Borough Council.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 8]
When the Volunteer 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.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 9]
1.
The sensory mechanism of an alarm 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.
2.
False alarms transmitted from alarm devices are unlawful.
[Ord. 753, 6/16/1994, § 10; as amended by Ord.
829, 11/15/2001]
1.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of an alarm device
without first notifying the Fire Department or Police Department and
obtaining the Department's permission.
2.
If any test or demonstration of an alarm 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 appropriate department,
a service charge in an amount as established from time to time by
resolution of Borough Council, payable to the Volunteer Fire Department
or Borough, 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.
