[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Borough
Council of the Borough of Berlin 4-25-2001 by Ord. No. 2001:3;
amended in its entirety 3-2-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-2. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 162.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to
any person who maintains or owns any burglar or fire device and/or
burglar or fire alarm system designed to produce a visual or audible
signal of an emergency or otherwise designed to summon the Borough
Police Department or Fire Department to any type of burglar or fire
alarm signal.
A.
The burglar or fire alarm business or owner of any
audible alarm system shall be responsible for deactivating any alarm
within 60 minutes after notification or after reasonable efforts have
been made to notify the owner or burglar or fire alarm business that
such alarm is sounding.
B.
In the event that a burglar or fire alarm system emitting an audible, visual or other similar response shall fail to be deactivated within the time limitation specified in Subsection A above, the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official shall have the right to take such action as may be necessary in order to disconnect any such alarm.
C.
The obligation for the maintenance, repair, upkeep
and continuing operation of burglar or fire alarm systems shall be
the sole responsibility of the person(s) having had the system(s)
installed. All components of burglar or fire alarm equipment must
be maintained in good repair by the registrant and, when evidence
exists that there has been failure to comply with the operational
requirements of this chapter, the Police Chief or his designee, Fire
Chief or Fire Official is then authorized to demand that such device
be disconnected until such time as compliance with current requirement
is reestablished.
D.
A burglar or fire alarm business, upon written request
by the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official shall
provide a service history of a particular alarm system within five
business days after receiving the request.
E.
Any person testing a burglar or fire alarm covered
under the terms of this chapter shall notify the Police Department
or Fire Department, as appropriate, immediately prior to and after
the testing is completed. Failure to do so shall subject such person
to the fees provided for false alarms.
F.
The sensory mechanism of burglar and fire alarm devices
shall be adjusted so as to suppress false indications and not to be
actuated by impulses due to pressure changes in water pipes, short
flash of light, wind, noises, rattling or vibration at doors or windows
or other forces unrelated to general burglar or fire alarms.
G.
In addition to any other information that may be required
to be supplied by the provisions of this chapter, the Police Chief
or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official may require the alarm
business to furnish him with certain statistical data which may be
reasonably available relative to specified periods of operation after
the effective date of this chapter.
A.
In the case of a false burglar or fire alarm, any
person having knowledge thereof shall immediately notify the Police
Department or the Fire Department, as the case may be, in a manner
to be prescribed by the rules and promulgated in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter. In the case of false burglar or fire alarms,
the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official shall
cause an investigation to be made and keep a record of all such burglar
and fire alarms on file. Upon the occurrence of a false alarm, the
Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official shall cause
a notice of false alarm on a form prescribed by the Police Chief or
his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official and approved by Borough
Council to be forwarded to the property owner indicating the date
and time of the alarm response, comments with respect to the incident
and information with respect to the number of false burglar or fire
alarms during the given calendar year. The form shall be signed by
the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or the designated representative
responding to the false burglar or fire alarm investigating the matter.
Fines may be imposed for repeated false burglar or fire alarms generated
at the same property in any given calendar year, based on the following
schedule:
(1)
Residential properties: For the first and second false
burglar or fire alarm in any given calendar year, a warning shall
be issued. For the third false alarm in any calendar year, a fine
of $100 shall be imposed. For each subsequent false burglar or fire
alarm in any calendar year, a fine of $200 for each occurrence shall
be imposed.
(2)
Nonresidential property: For the first and second
false burglar or fire alarm in any given calendar year, a warning
shall be issued. For the third false burglar or fire alarm in any
calendar year, a fine of $200 shall be imposed. For each subsequent
false burglar or fire alarm in any calendar year, a fine of $300 for
each occurrence shall be imposed.
(3)
If a burglar or fire alarm system for a specific property
or location within a property is the subject of false burglar or fire
alarm incidents reported 15 or more times during any calendar year,
a summons to appear before the Municipal Court for each occurrence
shall be directed to the property owner and/or the business operator
and any and all fines and penalties as set forth herein may be imposed
by the Court as the Court deems appropriate.
(4)
If a fine is imposed on a property owner pursuant
to this section, the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire
Official shall cause a summons to be issued to the property owner
stating the amount of fine to be paid. Such fine shall be paid to
the Municipal Court Clerk.
B.
False burglar or fire alarms created by an Act of
God, as determined by the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief
or Fire Official, shall not be included in the count of false burglar
or fire alarm incidents for purposes of calculating the applicable
fine hereunder. In addition, the Police Chief or his designee, Fire
Chief or Fire Official shall have the authority to waive any specific
fines or not include any one or more incidents in the count of false
alarm incidents for purposes of calculating the applicable fines as
the Police Chief or his designee, Fire Chief or Fire Official determines
is in the best interest of the Borough.
C.
In the event that the Municipal Court determines that
the false alarm(s) occurred as a direct result of an interruption
of electrical power, a telephone system malfunction, an alarm equipment
malfunction or other causes clearly beyond the control of the owner,
the Municipal Court may waive imposition of the applicable false alarm
fines or administrative sanction.
Any person who violates any section of this
chapter shall be subject to a fine of not more than $2,000, imprisonment
for not more than 90 days and/or a period of community service not
to exceed 90 days. Each day on which a violation occurs shall be considered
a separate offense.
The provisions contained herein shall apply
equally to those burglar or fire alarm systems that are placed in
service prior to or subsequent to the effective date of this chapter.