City wants chamber input on lockboxes

The rapid entry system would allow firefighters to enter a building without destroying windows or doors.

By: Linda Seida
   LAMBERTVILLE — The City Council will seek input from the Lambertville Area Chamber of Commerce before agreeing to make an emergency access system endorsed by the Board of Fire Commissioners mandatory.
   The emergency access system, also called a rapid entry system, allows firefighters to enter a locked building without having to destroy doors or windows. A secure lockbox outside the building would hold keys and be accessible only to a handful of city fire officials.
   A proposed ordinance making the system mandatory was discussed in January but not introduced. Council members appeared ready Tuesday to consider the ordinance, but stopped short of agreeing to make it mandatory despite Fire Chief Robert Hayes’ support of such a move.
   The system "makes our job easier, and it’s safer," Chief Hayes said.
   It also could be a money saver for business owners. The purchase and installation of a lockbox could total more than $600.
   "The first door we take down is going to equal the cost of the box," Chief Hayes explained.
   A rapid entry system already is mandatory in the Hunterdon County municipalities Raritan Township, Readington Township and Annandale. Others outside the county, such as Ewing Township, have not made it mandatory but do "highly suggest" its use, according to Chief Hayes. More than 7,000 fire departments in the country use such a system, according to Knox-Box, the company that sells the lockboxes.
   The proposed ordinance would require lockboxes on all buildings with automatic fire detection or suppression systems, warehouses and industrial buildings. Also included would be motels, hotels, apartment buildings, educational and day care buildings, churches, shops, shopping centers, movie theaters, restaurants and office buildings.
   Exemptions would include any building manned around the clock and one- and two-family dwellings.
   A lockbox already is in place at Lambertville Public School and Hibernia Apartments, according to Chief Hayes. In addition, three or four businesses in the city have expressed interest, he added, but have not ordered a lockbox yet.
   The proposed ordinance calls for a $1,000 fine for noncompliance as well as up to 90 days in jail and/or up to 90 days of community service. Each day a property owner fails to comply would be considered a separate offense.
   Many times, Chief Hayes explained, business owners are not on site when a fire or other emergency situation occurs. A key could be a long time coming, and firefighters must break in to take care of the situation.
   A lockbox would hold keys to each locked section of a building. It also would hold information about hazardous materials on site and their location, elevator keys and sprinkler keys.
   No one but a handful of fire officials, not even property owners, would have access to the boxes, Chief Hayes said. Keys to the lockboxes would be held by Chief Hayes, Fire Prevention Officer John Barczyk and chiefs Matthew Hartigan, Lester Myers Jr. and Richard Fleming.
   No statistics are available on how many times the lockboxes’ security has been breached, Chief Hayes said. He added the boxes are extremely secure and recommended a style made by the Knox-Box company that calls for an installation that is recessed into a wall to prevent entry by unauthorized persons.
   "This is much different than I initially thought. I’m supportive of this," Councilwoman Cynthia Ege said.
   But she, like other council members and Mayor David Del Vecchio, shied away from making it mandatory. When the idea of lockboxes was first introduced in January, council members compared them to the lockboxes used by real estate companies.