Knox Box Program for Bethlehem Township
 

The goal of the Nancy Run Fire Company is to provide the best and most up-to-date service to the residents and business owners in Bethlehem Township. In contrast, maintaining keys to alarmed buildings/residences has become unmanageable. Unsecured keys present a security risk for home and business owners and are a liability issue for the fire department.

In order to access buildings quickly, minimize forced entry damage, and protect firefighters from injury, the Nancy Run Fire Company has adopted the Knox Box Rapid Entry System for use on commercial, industrial and residential buildings in Bethlehem Township. More than ten thousand fire departments, government agencies, the military and other security organizations around the world use this proven and highly secure system. The Knox Box Rapid Entry System has been in use in Bethlehem Township since 1991 and currently over 200 buildings in the Township have Knox Boxes installed.

Knox Boxes are constructed of ¼" solid steel plate with a ½" thick steel door and reinforced locking mechanism. They are UL listed against physical attack and use a Medeco high security lock that is patented and UL listed for drill, pick and pull resistance. Integral tamper switches provide connection to the buildings alarm system.

The master key used to open the Knox Box is held ONLY by the fire department and is secured on the fire trucks in a special Knox Sentralok “A” high security decoder unit. The fire officer on the truck will have access to the master key ONLY when the truck mounted decoder unit receives a properly coded radio signal sent by the Northampton County E-911 dispatch center. Any and all activity regarding master key use is recorded at the E-911 center and a downloadable audit trail is produced within the decoder unit on the fire truck. This high security master key is proprietary to the Knox Company, is strictly controlled, and can be produced ONLY by the Medeco factory under direction from the Knox Company and authorized fire chiefs and police chief signatures.

Knox Boxes are specified by the Nancy Run Fire Company and can be required on certain buildings as indicated by the International Fire Code or the International Building Code as adopted by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, which are the model codes in Bethlehem Township. Once installed near the entrance to your property, the fire department locks your building entrance key inside the Knox Box so that it is available onsite for future emergencies.

Residential Knox Boxes are also available for use on private homes where the resident may have health or mobility issues, or may feel having a Knox Box would be an asset for when they are on vacation or away from home. A residential Knox Box can be very useful when a home security/fire alarm system functions when no one is home. Fire and police can have rapid entry into the home to determine the problem and take any action necessary. NOTE: Use of the residential type Knox Box is NOT permitted on any commercial or industrial buildings.

Property owners may purchase Knox Boxes directly from the Knox Company. The purchase can only be made using an authorization form, which is available from Bethlehem Township Fire Marshal Angela Kelly.

Knox Boxes are available in several sizes and types and can be equipped with tamper switches that can be connected to an existing alarm system. The Knox Company has other products such as padlocks, key operated switches, etc. that can be operated using the same master key that is carried on the fire trucks.

If you have further questions feel free to call the Knox Company at 800-552-5669 or you can visit the Knox website at www.knoxbox.com and view the catalog of the entire product line. Otherwise, please contact the Bethlehem Township Fire Marshal Angela Kelly at 610-814-6475.