Concerns Stall Lower’s Key Box Ordinance

VILLAS — Lower Township Council delayed passing an ordinance Monday that requires key boxes to be installed on a number of commercial buildings and residential structures that have an automatic alarm or fire suppression system.
The purpose of the key box is to allow firefighters quick access to buildings as an alternative to breaking down a door or waiting on scene for someone to arrive with a key after an alarm triggers.
The ordinance would also cover multi-dwelling unit structures that have restricted access through locked doors and have a common corridor to the units.
Lower Township Fire Official David Perry said it was important for firefighters to reach a fire in its earliest stages. The longer it burns, the more severe it becomes and that poses a greater danger to fire personnel, he said. The state passed a new fire code on Feb. 1 that requires a key box for buildings with fire alarms and suppression systems.
Perry said a key box would be mounted next the front door of buildings. The key to open the key box would be kept on fire trucks and, as a security measure, requires a code to be entered to remove the key from the fire truck.
A record would be generated indicating who removed the key from the fire truck for the lock box and how long they had it in their possession, he said.
Mayor Michael Beck said council members had received a number of calls from residents opposing the key box ordinance.
Councilman Wayne Mazurek said most business owners in the township were unaware of the pending ordinance that was introduced two weeks ago. He suggested a voluntary ordnance for one year as opposed to mandatory.
Councilman Glenn Douglass concurred. He said a resident told him he would rather have his door knocked down than purchase a key box.
Perry said he would send a letter to each resident the ordinance would impact. He said the township must enforce the new state fire code.
A difference between the state code and the proposed local ordinance is a clause that would require a key box on any other structures determined at the discretion of the local fire official.
Cost of purchasing a key box begins at $180, according to Perry.
The ordinance would require all newly constructed structures to install a key box. Those affected by the ordinance would have 180 days to install a key box.
Perry said the ordinance would affect a number of units in Diamond Beach. He said the ordinance was not aimed at owner-occupied dwellings, but toward rental units or seasonal units with alarm systems.
The key boxes are in use in Cape May, Middle Township, Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Stone Harbor and Avalon, said Perry.
John Flemming, who said he had a residence in Erma but lived in Pennsylvania, said he did not want someone “traipsing around his house,” if his alarm misfired.
Town Bank Volunteer Fire Company Chief Lew Megonigal questioned why a homeowner or business owner would want a $2,000 or $3,000 door broken down as opposed to spending $200 on a key box.
Township Solicitor Tony Monzo said he would compare the ordinance against the new state fire code.
Beck said council needed to take a second look at the ordinance to find something acceptable to all. He said council should move forward with items that are state-mandated but items that are not mandated should be voluntary.