Upper Leacock Fire Company SOG's

Section 18    Lock Box Guideline
 

1.    On July 16, 1987 the Upper Leacock Township Board of Supervisors enacted Township Ordinance 1987-4, which pertains to Lock Boxes on commercial buildings.

2.    Township Ordinance 1987-4 states the following;

• All business that have Automatic Protection Devices (alarm systems) are required to acquire a permit from the Township
• Businesses that submit an application will receive at their cost a key lock box to be installed on that building as per instructions
• The lock box shall be located at the front entrance of the building within 30 feet of the front door
• The lock box shall be electrically supervised and preferably connected to the burglar alarm or to the trouble side of the fire alarm
• The lock box shall be mounted no less than 8 feet and no higher than 23 feet above grade below the box. No steps, signs or other fixtures shall be mounted below the lock box that would allow an intruder to taper with the lock box without assistance

3.    Lock Box Contents

• The lock box should contain the main entrance door key and any other keys to doors that the Fire Company would normally use to gain access
• The lock box should also contain keys to the alarm room and any other room that will need to be checked
• The lock box should contain the code to reset the alarm.
• The lock box should contain the digital code that provides access when electronic doors are locked
• All keys shall be clearly marked as to what door, room, area or lock they serve

4.    The Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, and Assistant Chief are each issued one master key by the Upper Leacock Township Board of Supervisors, which has the capability to open all lock boxes within the township. Each Chief Officer is required to sign the key out at the Township Building when the key is first issued to you.

5.    Each Chief Officer is personally responsible for the master key issued to them and is REQUIRED to surrender the key back to the Township upon completion of their term of office.

6.    The Fire Chief is the only person authorized to permit a Chief Officer to loan his/her master key to another member for such reasons but not limited to the following;

• Chief Officer is on vacation
• Chief Officer is injured
• A Line Officer may have certain availability that the Chief Officer doesn't

7.    Under NO circumstance should the lock box master key be given to a non-member for any reason.

8.    Steps for using the master lock box key at the scene of an emergency.

• Chief Officer arrives on location and determines that all exterior doors are locked and the lock box will need to be opened
• The first piece of fire apparatus arrives and the Chief Officer or designated Line Officer opens the lock box with the master key. All keys inside the lock box should be taken after the lock box is opened
• The Chief Officer or Line Officer will open the front entrance door and search the entire inside of the structure for fire
• Upon completion of the search the Chief Officer or designated Line Officer SHALL secure all the keys back inside the lock box. If the Line Officer was responsible to secure the lock box he/she SHALL return the master key to the Chief Officer it belongs to.
• The Incident Commander is responsible to see that the business is secured prior to leaving the scene.
• The Incident Commander is REQUIRED to fill out the Upper Leacock Township Automatic Fire Alarm Ordinance Form documenting who opened the lock box, what time it was opened, what time it was locked, and who locked the box. This form shall be submitted to the Township within 24 hours of the event. This form will also have to be filled out when installing new keys for a business as a public service

9.    Chief Officers are REQUIRED to immediately notify the Upper Leacock Township Manager in the even that your master key is damaged or lost.

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Page last edited: 03/12/06

© Upper Leacock Fire Company 2003