[Adopted 12-9-2008 by Ord. No. 4168-08[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former Art. X, Fire Alarm Regulations, adopted 2-27-2002 by Ord. No. 3667-02.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
ALARM AGENT
An employee licensed by the state and employed by or acting on behalf of an alarm company.
ALARM COMPANY
A business, licensed by the state, which sells, installs, monitors, maintains, services, or responds to alarm systems or supervises such actions.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any device designed, when actuated, to produce or emit a sound or transmits a signal or message for the purpose of alerting others to the existence of an emergency situation requiring immediate investigation by alarm, fire or other agent. "Alarm system" does not include an alarm installed on a vehicle, unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site.
ALARM USER
Any person who owns, operates or manages any premises in Toms River Township on which an alarm system has been installed and operates.
EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS
Two or more false alarms at the same location during any two-year permit cycle. Excessive false alarms, however, shall not include false alarms that occur during the thirty-day period immediately following the installation and activation of an alarm system or when responding units are cancelled prior to arriving at the alarm location.
FALSE ALARM
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, accident, malfunction, misuse, improper activation or negligence. False alarms shall not include alarms caused by acts of God or other causes which are beyond control of the alarm agent, alarm business or alarm user.
FIRE ALARM ADMINISTRATOR
The Fire Official shall be responsible for the enforcement of this article and any administrative duties regarding the regulation and control of fire alarm businesses, agents and systems in the Township.
SITE
The commercial, industrial or residential premises within the Township of Toms River where the alarm system is installed.
A. 
Each alarm company conducting business within the Township of Toms River shall document that they are legal to operate in the State of New Jersey.
B. 
Each alarm company that installs, maintains or services alarms within the Township of Toms River shall be registered with the State of New Jersey.
Each time an alarm business installs or alters a residential or commercial fire alarm system within the Township of Toms River, the alarm business shall submit to the Township Construction Department two sets of system plans and specifications for review and approval prior to system installation. The plans and specifications shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
A. 
A floor plan indicating the location of all alarm-initiating and alarm-signaling devices; and
B. 
Alarm control and trouble-signaling equipment; and
C. 
Annunciation devices; and
D. 
Power connections and calculations, including battery and voltage drop calculations; and
E. 
Conductor types and size; and
F. 
Manufacturer model numbers and listing shall be submitted for all devises and materials.
G. 
All work shall comply with the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code and Standards.
Each owner or user, at his or her expense, is required to maintain all components of his or her alarm system in good working order at all times to insure that the sensory mechanism used in connection with such device be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or smoke conditions so that the device will not be activated by impulses due to short flashes of light, wind, noises, vehicular noise or other forces unrelated to genuine alarms.
A. 
In the event that an alarm user sustains a false alarm at a single site, the Fire Official shall send a violation notice to the alarm user or proprietor advising that all subsequent false alarms shall be a violation of this code subject to an administrative citation, infraction citation, and/or excessive false alarm fine. Multiple false alarms during a twenty-four-hour period will be considered one false alarm for the purposes of this section. An alarm user, at a single site, will receive one free false alarm per year. If the alarm user changes (e.g., sale of business or residence) the new alarm user will receive one free false alarm during the current year.
B. 
If it becomes necessary to issue a citation or assess an excessive false alarm fine, the Fire Official shall serve upon the user in person or send a penalty notice to the alarm user by mail. The notice shall include:
(1) 
The date, time and location of the false alarm.
(2) 
The amount of the fine.
(3) 
An explanation of the appeal process.
C. 
Payment of the false alarm fee must be received within 14 calendar days from the date of delivery as listed on the certified mail return receipt.
A. 
Penalties for false alarms transmitted from a multifamily residential complex, business, commercial, or industrial premises shall be as follows:
Number of Alarms Within a Calendar Year
Penalty
1st
Warning only
2nd
$200
3rd
$300
4th
$500
5 or more
$1,000
B. 
Penalties for false alarms transmitted from single-family detached dwellings, individual townhouses and condominium unit dwellings shall be as follows:
Number of Alarms Within a Calendar Year
Penalty
1st
Warning only
2nd
$100
3rd
$200
4th
$300
5 or more
$500
C. 
Any person, firm, fire alarm company or corporation that causes to be transmitted a false alarm as the result of installing, repairing, testing, tampering with or performing any work to an automatic fire alarm, smoke alarm, fire sprinkler water flow alarm or carbon monoxide alarm shall be subject to a violation notice the first time, thereafter a penalty of not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 for each transmission of a false alarm.
D. 
All penalties assessed for violations of this article shall be paid into the Toms River Fire Bureau penalty account.
Blocking access, interfering or tampering with or causing malicious damage to any fire alarm, suppression system, fire communications system, fire detection, first-aid, fire-fighting system, device, unit or part thereof shall result in a mandatory fine of $50 per day per violation. During an actual alarm, the condition shall result in a mandatory fine of $200 per day per violation. Fines shall remain in effect until conditions are deemed corrected by the Fire Bureau. Failure to comply shall result in an issued summons to appear in court. Fines assessed from this article shall go into the Fire Bureau account.