[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Westminster
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Rapid entry system — See Ch. 148.
[Adopted STM 9-29-1983 as Art. 8]
A.
This article is intended to regulate the activities and
responsibilities of those persons or companies who purchase, lease or rent
alarm systems, devices or services. It is further intended to encourage the
improvement in reliability of these alarm systems, devices or services and
to ensure that Police Department personnel will not be unduly diverted from
responding to actual criminal activity as a result of responding to false
alarms.
B.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to alarm
systems owned and/or operated by municipal, county or state agencies within
the Town of Westminster.
The Chief of Police may promulgate such rules as may be necessary for
the implementation of this article.
A.
Alarm systems may be connected to the Communications
Center in the Police Department by obtaining prior written approval from the
Chief of Police.
B.
Any alarm user may contract with any alarm company of
his choice for the sale, installation and/or servicing of the alarm system
to be installed on his premises.
C.
The Chief of Police or his agent shall retain the right
of inspection of the user's alarm system before connection to the Police
Department's control board. The user shall pay for all inspection charges.
Connection to the Police Department shall be made only by an authorized person
to be chosen by the Chief of Police. Connection fees shall be paid by the
user.
D.
The annual fee for use of the control board connection
shall be determined by the Board of Selectmen. The annual fee must be paid
by the last day of February of that year.
Automatic dialing services will not be interconnected to any telephone
lines at the Police Department. Any person using an automatic dialing service
may have the device interconnected to a telephone line transmitting directly
to:
A.
Every alarm user shall submit to the Chief of Police
the name and telephone number of a least two other persons who can be reached
at any time, day or night, and who are authorized to respond to an emergency
signal transmitted by an alarm system and who can open the premises in which
the alarm system is located.
B.
All alarm users must notify the Police Department in
advance of any testing of equipment. Failure to notify the Police Department
in advance of a testing of equipment shall constitute a false alarm and be
subject to the assessment schedule contained herein.
C.
All alarm systems which use an audible bell or horn shall
be equipped with an automatic shutoff device which will deactivate the alarm
system within 15 minutes. All alarm users with an audible bell or horn must
comply with this section within 90 days of the effective date of this article.
Any alarm system which had five or more false alarms within a calendar
year shall be subject to assessment as provided herein:
A.
After the Police Department has recorded five separate
false alarms from an alarm user within a calendar year, the Police Chief shall
notify the alarm user, in writing and by certified mail, of such facts and
require the user to submit within 10 working days of receipt of such notice
a report describing the user's efforts to discover and eliminate the
cause or causes of the false alarms. This notice, by certified mail from the
Chief of Police or his designee, shall contain the dates and times of each
alleged false alarm.
B.
In the event that the Chief of Police or his designee determines that a report submitted in accordance with Subsection A of this section is unsatisfactory or that the alarm user has failed to show, by the report, that he has taken or will take reasonable steps to eliminate or reduce false alarms, then the Chief of Police or his designee shall order that the use of the alarm system be discontinued for a period of 30 days.
C.
D.
If the alarm user submits a report as required by Subsection A of this section, the Chief of Police or his designee shall determine whether the action taken or to be taken will substantially reduce the likelihood of false alarms, then the Chief of Police shall notify the alarm user, in writing, that no assessment is made at that time. If no assessment is made at that time, the alarm user will be subject to assessment procedures on the next false alarm signal transmitted.
E.
Upon failure of the user of an alarm system to pay two
consecutive fines assessed herein within 60 days of the assessment, the Chief
of Police shall order that the user discontinue the use of the alarm system
for not more than six months.
F.
Proof that a false alarm was caused by an act of God
or by the actions of the telephone company shall constitute affirmative defense
to assessment of the particular false alarm.
G.
The provisions of this section concerning false alarms
pertain to all alarm users, except municipal, county and state agencies.
H.
All reports to the police of an alarm that has been activated,
whether from a private person, answering service or central station, shall
be recorded against the alarm user.
A.
Any alarm user who is aggrieved by a decision of the Chief of Police pursuant to § 67-6 of this article may, within five working days of notice of the Chief's decision, appeal his case, in writing, to the Chief for further consideration.
B.
All decisions made by the Chief of Police after the appeals
procedure are final. The only grounds for appealing a decision of the Chief
of Police are:
The following acts and omissions shall constitute violations of this
article punishable by a fine up to $50.
A.
Failure to obey an order of the Chief of Police to discontinue
use of an alarm system, after exhaustion of the right of the appeal.
B.
Failure to disconnect an automatic dialing device from
any Police Department telephone lines within 90 days of the effective date
of this article.
C.
Interconnection of an automatic dialing device to any
Police Department telephone line after the effective date of this article.
[Adopted STM 9-30-1992 as Art. 1]
While early fire detection through the use of various detection systems
is a valuable tool in the protection of life and property, it has been determined
that the substantial number of false alarms hinders the efficiency of the
Fire Department by the unnecessary deployment of apparatus and personnel to
these false alarms. This article is intended to penalize the alarm user whose
property or premises generate false alarms due to improperly designed, installed
or maintained systems. It is further intended to reduce the number of false
alarms and to promote the responsible use of reliable, properly maintained
detector systems for the protection of life and property and the saving of
taxpayer dollars in the Town of Westminster.
A.
All buildings subject to MGL c. 148 shall be in compliance
with said statute, including all requirements to have approved fire alarm
systems.
B.
All required fire alarm systems shall be in compliance
with 527 CMR 24.00, Board of Fire Prevention Regulations, and the bylaws of
the Town of Westminster. All buildings and structures located in the Town
of Westminster shall be in compliance with applicable laws of the commonwealth
and local bylaws.
For the purpose of this article the following definitions shall apply:
- A. Any device or system which, when activated by a criminal act, fire or other emergency, calls for Fire Department response by:
- B. Excluded from this definition and the scope of this article are devices which are designed to alert or signal only persons within the premises in which the device is installed and devices which are activated by the release of water from a sprinkler system.
- ALARM USER
- The occupant of the premises containing the alarm system. In cases where there is no occupant, the owner of the premises shall be deemed to be the "alarm user."
- AUTOMATIC DIAL ALARM
- A telephone device or attachment that mechanically or electronically selects a telephone line to report a fire or other emergency calling for Fire Department response. Excluded from this definition are devices which relay a digitally coded signal to Fire Department headquarters.
- FALSE ALARM
- An alarm raised without genuine cause or an alarm transmitted to the Fire Department that does not require the saving of human life, extinguishment of fire, control of hazardous situations, service, rescue, salvage or other related duties; or an automated device that transmits an alarm without genuine cause due to said device's malfunction, improper installation, mechanical failure, negligence of the alarm user, his agents or employees or other similar occurrences.
When the Chief of the Fire Department determines that the Fire Department
has responded to a false alarm, the Chief shall have the option to impose
a charge on the responsible alarm user according to the following schedule:
A.
First false alarm in any one calendar year: no charge.
B.
Second false alarm in any one calendar year: no charge.
C.
Third false alarm in any one calendar year: no charge.
D.
Fourth false alarm in any one calendar year: $50.
E.
For any and all subsequent alarms, an increase of the
last charge assessed by $25.
A.
Any person who violates any provision of this article may be penalized by indictment or on complaint brought in District Court or the Housing Court and may be subject to a fine as set forth in § 67-12 of this article for each separate offense.
B.
Each day or portion thereof in which the alarm user is
in violation of any section of this article shall constitute a separate offense.
As an alternative to criminal prosecution, the Fire Chief may elect
to utilize the noncriminal disposition procedure set forth in MGL c. 40, § 21D,
which is accepted by the Town of Westminster by this article, or by filing
a complaint in the Superior Court requesting an injunction and civil or criminal
penalties.
A.
Authority. The Fire Chief or a legal designee shall have
the authority to enforce this article through the use of violation notices,
administrative orders or civil and criminal court actions as provided in MGL
c. 40, § 21, and other applicable laws.
B.
Notification and appeal.
(1)
The Fire Chief or a legal designee shall notify the responsible
alarm user of any false alarm charges by certified mail or by service in hand.
(2)
Within 15 days after actual or constructive receipt of
such notice, the alarm user shall pay the charge to the Town Treasurer for
deposit in the Town's general funds.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, the Town, its Fire Department,
officers, agents and employees shall be under no obligation whatsoever concerning
the adequacy, operation or maintenance of any alarm system or of the alarm
monitoring facilities at Fire Department headquarters. No liability whatsoever
is assumed for the failure of such alarm systems or monitoring facilities
or for failure to respond to alarms or for any other act or omission in connection
with such alarm systems. Each alarm user shall be deemed to hold and save
harmless the Town, its Fire Department, officers, agents and employees from
liability in connection with the alarm user's alarm system.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to alarm systems on premises
owned or controlled by the Town, nor to alarm systems installed in a motor
vehicle.
The invalidity of any part or parts of this article shall not affect
the validity of the remaining parts.
[Added ATM 5-4-2002 by Art. 41]
The alarm user is responsible for providing and maintaining the names
and contact information of at least two people who can be reached at any time
of day or night, and who are authorized to respond to an emergency signal
transmitted by an alarm system, or ensure someone responds. The alarm user
shall ensure that anyone who responds can open the premises in which the alarm
system is located, has the necessary knowledge of the alarm to effectively
operate it, and is authorized to take any action necessary to correct any
problems.
