[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board
of Aldermen of the Town of Dover 8-23-1983 by Ord. No. 19-1983; amended in its entirety 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 29-1999. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
Any person or persons who shall cause a false
alarm of fire or of burglary shall be liable to a fine of not more
than $200 for each offense or imprisonment for not more than 30 days,
or both.
False fire or burglar alarms being transmitted
either by telephone through an alarm company or through the alarm
console in police headquarters, for whatever reason (e.g., mechanical
failure, human error, etc.), shall be subject to the following:
A.
The Fire Chief or Chief of Police or their representatives,
as the case may be, shall keep a written record of all false alarms
received.
B.
The following penalties shall be imposed for the transmission
of false automatic fire or burglar alarms:
(1)
For the first four false alarms in any consecutive
twelve-month period, a written warning shall be sent to the property
owner for the property from which the alarm was received.
(2)
For all false alarms in excess of four but not to
exceed eight false alarms within a consecutive twelve-month period,
there shall be a fine of $100 for each false alarm in excess of four
but not to exceed eight during any such consecutive twelve-month period.
(3)
For all false alarms in excess of eight false alarms
within a consecutive twelve-month period, there shall be a fine of
$200 for each false alarm in excess of eight during any such consecutive
twelve-month period.
(4)
An exception to the above is any false alarm which
is a result of either maintenance or repair of the alarm system unless
the owner or an agent of the owner has called either the Fire or Police
Department, as the case may be, advising of the work being performed
on the system. If a call is not made in this situation, there shall
be no written warning but instead a fine shall be imposed as set forth
herein.
C.
All fines are payable to the Town of Dover. All false
fire alarm fees will be divided into two equal parts, half going into
the Town of Dover General Account and the other half is to be paid
into the Fire Prevention Trust Account of the Town of Dover.
[Amended 5-27-2008 by Ord. No. 14-2008]
