Borough of Forty Fort, PA ALARM SYSTEMS

Any individual, partnership, unincorporated association, corporation, trust or other legally recognized entity in control of any premises having an audible alarm system or automatic protection device which notifies the Police Department or Fire Department, either directly or indirectly, and requires the response of the Police Department, Fire Department or rescue companies.

ANSWERING SERVICE

A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all times, receive prerecorded messages or signals from automatic protection devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency to the Police Department, Fire Department or rescue company.

AUDIBLE ALARM

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, firefighters or rescue company to respond.

AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE

An electronically operated instrument, composed of sensory apparatus and related hardware, which automatically transmits a prerecorded voice alarm over regular telephone line by direct or indirect connections to the Police Department, Fire Department, central station protective systems or answering service upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic of a fire, intrusion or other hazard.

BOROUGH

The Borough of Forty Fort, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

CENTRAL STATION PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

A protective system or group of systems operated privately for customers by a person, firm or corporation which maintains supervisors and accepts recorded messages or signals from automatic protective devices at a central station having trained operators and guards in attendance at all times that have the duty to take appropriate action upon the receipt of a message or signal, including relaying of messages by a designated or direct trunk line to the communications center or the Police Department.

FALSE ALARM

Any signal activated by an automatic protective device, any audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given the police or fire communications center to which police or firefighters or rescue companies respond, which signal or alarm is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or similar emergency or which is not the result of a power surge or failure, lightening strike or other uncontrollable event.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Any fire department or fire company which responds to alarms within the Borough of Forty Fort.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legally recognized entity.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Police Department of Forty Fort Borough.

TREASURER

The Treasurer of the Borough of Forty Fort.

Interpretation of this Part, the singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.

§ 13-303 Alarms Without Timing Mechanisms Prohibited.

[Ord. 2006-3, 3/20/2006, § 3]

Owners or lessees of premises equipped with audible alarms must equip such audible alarms with a timing mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes until the alarm is serviced or reset. Audible alarms without such a timing device shall be unlawful in the Borough and must be deactivated by the owners or lessees of the premises within 60 days from the effective date of this Part.

§ 13-304 Remote Controlled Fences and Gates.

[Ord. 2006-3, 3/20/2006, § 4]

Owners or lessees of premises equipped with gates, fences or other similar apparatus designed to prevent entry which are electronically controlled from a location such as a residence or other principle building shall ensure that when an audible alarm or automatic protection is activated, the gate, fence or other apparatus shall open to allow entry of the Police Department or rescue company.

§ 13-305 Alarm User Ordinance Registration.

[Ord. 2006-3, 3/20/2006, § 5]

It shall be unlawful for a property owner, lessee of a property or a person otherwise occupying any premises with the Borough to put an automatic protection device or audible alarm system into operation on his premises or to allow an automatic protection device or audible alarm system to be put into operation on his premises without first registering the alarm system with the Borough.

Within 30 days after the effective date of this Part, every alarm user shall register each alarm system he operates within this Borough with the Borough. This subsection does not require that alarm equipment suppliers register under this section when such alarm equipment supplier leases or provides services to alarm system users. If an alarm equipment supplier does, however, use an alarm system to protect its own premises, it shall register such a system as required in this section.

Alarm User Registration Procedure.

The alarm user making the registration required in Subsection 1 of this section shall complete the registration form provided by the Borough which shall include the alarm user's name, the address of the residence or business or businesses in or upon which the alarm system has been or will be installed, the alarm user's telephone number, the type of alarm system, the alarm equipment supplier selling, installing, monitoring, inspecting, responding to and/or maintaining the alarm system, the central station protective system utilized, if any, and the name and telephone number of at least two other persons who can be reached at any time and who are authorized to respond to an alarm system and who shall respond and open die premises in which the system is installed.

If the alarm system is to be leased or rented from or is to be serviced pursuant to a service agreement by a person other than the person making the application for an alarm user permit, the name, address and telephone number of that person must be stated in the application.

Each person submitting an application for an alarm user permit shall submit a signed statement in the following form: "I/we, the undersigned applicant(s) for an alarm user permit intending to be legally bound hereby, agree with the Borough of Forty Fort that neither I/we nor anyone claiming by, through or under me/us, shall make any claim against the Borough, its officials, agents for any damages caused to the premises at which the automatic protective device or audible alarm system is situated at a time when said premises are or appear to be unattended or when, in the discretion of said employees, the circumstances appear to warrant a forced entry."

Any alarm user who installs an automatic protection device or audible alarm system 30 days or more after the effective date of this section shall submit with the registration a certificate of a licensed alarm equipment supplier stating that in the opinion of such alarm equipment supplier the automatic protection devices or audible alarm system complies with this Part.

Any alarm user who has registered under this Part shall promptly notify the Borough of any change in the information supplied on the alarm user permit application.

§ 13-306 False Alarm Fee.

[Ord. 2006-3, 3/20/2006, § 6]

In order to defray the costs to the Borough resulting from responding to false alarms, a fee shall be imposed against the alarm user after response to each false alarm, as set forth below.

§ 13-307 Penalties.

[Ord. 2006-3, 3/20/2006, § 7]

If the Borough or the officer designated to enforce this Part by the Borough determines that a person has committed or permitted the commission of a violation of this Part, the Borough or such enforcement officer shall inform such person in writing of the violation, shall notify such person to cease the violation of this Part and shall inform such person that he/she must pay a civil penalty to the Borough within the range of the amounts set forth below to settle the violations. After the second false alarm, the penalty shall not be less than $100 for residents and $250 for businesses; the penalty for each false alarm after the third false alarm shall be in increments of $50, for each subsequent false alarm. If such person fails or refuses to remit the penalty to the Borough within 10 days from the date of the written notice of the violation of this Part, the Borough may commence a civil enforcement proceeding seeking penalties and costs for the violation of this Part and/or may commence an action in equity. The Borough shall seek a judgment for the penalty previously imposed together with additional daily penalties for continuing violations plus all court costs, including the reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, and each section of this Part which is violated shall constitute a separate violation. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. The penalty for failing to register as set forth herein shall be $50.