[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
The Borough Council finds it to be in the best interest of the residents of the Borough of Hummelstown and the general public to prevent and deter the use of police and emergency services for the response to fire alarms that provide repetitious false alarms. Borough Council wishes to encourage the proper installation and maintenance of alarm systems throughout the Borough and especially those that automatically dispatch the emergency services of the Borough.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALARM RESPONSE
The dispatch of police, fire or medical services personnel by the Dauphin County 911 Center.
ALARM SUPPLIER
The business by any individual, partnership, corporation, alarm monitoring service or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing any alarm system to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed in or on any building, structure or facility.
ALARM SYSTEM
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, fire or medical units are expected to respond.
ANSWERING SERVICE
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 telephone facility to the Dauphin County 911 Center.
AUDIBLE AND/OR VISUAL ALARM
Any audible or visual device, such as a bell, horn, siren or light, which is installed on the premises and is designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police, fire or medical response.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
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.
BOROUGH
The Borough of Hummelstown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
CENTRAL STATION
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 Public Safety Communications Center.
EMERGENCY
A police, fire, hazard, or medical incident requiring a response and intervention by emergency personnel.
FALSE ALARM
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 Borough of Hummelstown Police Department or the Hummelstown Chemical Fire Department responds. The term "false alarm" includes the accidental or intentional activation of a robbery or burglar alarm for reasons other than a robbery or burglary, acts of God, such as earthquake, flood, thunder or lightning, or a crime or attempted crime in progress.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Hummelstown Chemical Fire Company or another company acting in place of the Hummelstown Chemical Fire Company.
KEY
To use a telephone line and equipment for transmitting a message either directly or indirectly by an automatic dialing device.
NOTICE
A written notice, given by personal service upon the addressee, or given by United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person to be notified at his last known address, return receipt requested. Service of such notice shall be effective upon the completion of personal service or upon delivery by the United States Postal Service.
OWNER
The person in whom title to the premises is vested as shown by the records of the Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds.
PERSON
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.
PHONE FACILITY
Any telephonic communication device which by its nature is used to transmit audible voice or digital signals over wire or air in order to establish communications.
POLICE CHIEF
The administrative head of the Borough of Hummelstown Police Department.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Borough of Hummelstown Police Department or another police department acting in the place of the Borough of Hummelstown Police Department.
PREMISES
The area monitored by one alarm system.
USER
The person exercising the majority of care, control, and custody of the premises.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
The owners or users of any audible alarm system installed on or after the effective date of this Part must equip such audible alarms with a timing mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum of 15 minutes.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
No automatic dialing devices that transmit recorded messages directly to the Dauphin County Communication Center will be permitted.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
An owner or user shall not operate, or cause to be operated, any alarm system without first furnishing the information required by this section. A thirty-day grace period shall be granted from the date of all new alarm installations or takeovers between owners or users, to accommodate the process.
2. 
Every owner or user who installs any alarm system in the Borough or has an alarm which would result in a response from the Police or Fire Departments shall furnish to the Chief of Police via the Dauphin County 911 Center the following information:
A. 
The name, residence and telephone number of the owner or user.
B. 
The address where the device is installed and the telephone number at the address.
C. 
The name, address and telephone number of at least two other persons who are authorized and would respond to an emergency to gain access to the address where the device is installed and neutralize the alarm.
D. 
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.
E. 
The type of alarm system, i.e., robbery, burglary, fire or medical monitoring system.
3. 
Users of alarm systems whose devices were installed prior to the effective date of this Part shall, within 60 days after such enactment, supply the Chief of Police via the Dauphin County 911 Center with the information specified in Subsection 2. All information furnished pursuant to this section shall be kept confidential and shall be for the authorized use of police and fire services and updated on a reasonable schedule to maintain accurate information.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
An alarm owner and user shall:
A. 
Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarms.
B. 
Make every reasonable effort to arrive at the alarms system's location within 30 minutes after being requested by the monitoring company or police in order to:
(1) 
Deactivate an alarm system;
(2) 
Provide access to the premises; and/or
(3) 
Provide alternative security for the alarm site.
C. 
Not activate the alarm system for any reason other than an occurrence of an emergency of the type that the alarm system was intended to report.
D. 
No person shall operate or cause to be operated any automatic voice dialer which, when activated, uses a telephone device or attachment to automatically dial a telephone line leading into the Police Department, Dauphin County 911 dispatch, or Borough and then transmit any prerecorded signal.
E. 
An owner or user shall keep a set of written operating instructions for each alarm system at each premises.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
Every alarm supplier selling, leasing or furnishing to any user who privately installs an alarm system which is located on a premises within Borough of Hummelstown shall:
A. 
Be permitted to install only equipment that is listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., as being electrically safe and meeting the Borough's requirements for the alarm system, and all applicable state and Borough building and electrical codes. Wiring for the alarm system must conform with all applicable Borough codes.
B. 
Cause each alarm system installed to be provided with standby battery power which will automatically and immediately take over in the event of a power failure.
C. 
Install equipment in such a way as to neutralize electrical surges on the alarm system.
D. 
Attempt to obtain maintenance in a timely manner or deactivate any alarm system within a reasonable period of time when multiple false alarms are received.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of any alarm system without first notifying the Dauphin County 911 Center to avoid unnecessary response.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
Alarm suppliers and installers shall furnish, at their own expense, prior to time of contracting, a copy of this Part to owners, lessees or users of the equipment or services to be supplied.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
Any owner of an alarm system that has a direct or indirect connection which results in call for response from police or fire personnel shall be charged a false alarm response charge as set by the Borough by resolution for false alarm responses of the Borough's emergency services.
A. 
The owner or user will be sent a written notice setting forth the charges due and will include a notice that any owner or user who fails or refuses to pay their false alarm response charges will be subject to the penalties hereinafter set forth.
B. 
It is the intent of this Part to encourage owners with alarm systems to upgrade, maintain or repair such alarm system or systems by imposing a penalty when multiple false alarms occur from the same system which would not occur if the system was in proper working order. It is not the intent of this Part to penalize any owner or user of multiple systems that are not integrated or interrelated, i.e., stand-alone systems, any of which may malfunction occasionally. It is not the total number of false alarm responses for any particular location that this Part seeks to eliminate; it is the total number of false alarm responses caused by a particular system which repeatedly malfunctions within a calendar year. For this reason, if the owner has several types of alarm systems, i.e., burglar, water flow or electronic fire detection, in one or more buildings, each of which operates independently and without relation to the other systems, each such stand-alone system would be permitted two false alarm responses before any penalty would be imposed on the owner for that particular stand-alone system causing a false alarm response. Owners with multiple alarm systems are encouraged to provide the Borough's Building Inspector with evidence of such multiple systems in order for a determination to be made in advance as to whether such systems are stand-alone or integrated in such a manner as to be part of a larger system and not separately entitled to the two annual nonpenalized false alarm responses.
C. 
Any person repairing, maintaining or installing an alarm system must advise the Dauphin County 911 Center immediately prior to commencing work and immediately after completion of work. If any false alarm occurs resulting in a call response by police or fire personnel as a result of the failure to advise the Dauphin County 911 Center, said person shall be subject to the penalties set forth hereinafter.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
Any police officer or fireman responding to an alarm which is determined to be false shall promptly notify the Chief of Police of such alarm in writing, and the Chief of Police shall, within five days, provide notice of such false alarm to the person in whose name the alarm is registered as the alarm owner or user.
2. 
Any alarm system which has three or more false alarms within a calendar year shall be in violation and the alarm owner/user subject to fine. Notwithstanding the above, such penalties shall not be imposed during the first ninety-day period after installation of the alarms which are subject to this Part.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
The Hummelstown Borough Police Department shall have the power and duty to enforce the provisions of this Part.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
1. 
Any person who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this Part shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a judgement of not more than $600 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgement shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of determination of a violation by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day that a violation continues and each section of this Part which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate violation.
2. 
Any person found guilty of willful misuse or false activation of an alarm system or failure to comply with §§ 7-305 and 7-306 of this Part shall be liable for a fine not to exceed $300 plus the cost of prosecution and attorneys' fees.
3. 
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
4. 
District Justices shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought under this section.
[Ord. No. 2023-2, 2/16/2023]
The Borough may proceed to collect unpaid false alarm fees, including costs and attorneys' fees, as municipal claims, including the filing and enforcement of liens, and may take such other legal action to collect the same, as is provided for by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania applicable thereto.