[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 Select Board. The annual fee must be paid
by the last day of February of that year.
[Amended 5-1-2021 ATM by Art. 17]
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:
Any device or system which, when activated by
a criminal act, fire or other emergency, calls for Fire Department
response by:
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.
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."
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.
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.
