[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Hamburg 5-16-2005
by L.L. No. 3-2005.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction and fire prevention — See Ch. 123.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law was adopted as Ch. 65 but was renumbered
to place it into Part II, General Legislation, of the Code.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect and promote the health, safety
and general welfare of the residents of the Village of Hamburg by reducing
the number of avoidable alarms of fire, intrusion, holdup or other emergencies
which contribute to ineffective utilization of police and fire emergency agencies,
require emergency responses which are susceptible to high accident rates,
interfere with genuine emergencies (responses) and produce unnecessary alarm
noise to the surrounding community,
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A device or an assembly of equipment which is designated to detect
smoke, abnormal rise in temperature, fire, medical emergency or an entry into
or exit from a building, structure or facility and by reason thereof emits
an audible response intended to alert persons outside of the premises and/or
transmit a signal or message to an emergency agency, either directly or through
a private answering point.
A device that automatically dials and relays a prerecorded message
to an emergency agency.
The Police Department or Fire Department, central fire dispatch or
other emergency dispatch center.
A.
The owners and lessees of premises having alarm systems
shall comply with all provisions of this chapter on or before June 1, 2005.
B.
Schools, both public and private schools located in the
Village of Hamburg, shall be exempt from compliance with this chapter.
C.
Also exempt from this chapter will he village buildings,
i.e., buildings owned or operated by the Village of Hamburg, and fire stations
within the Village of Hamburg.
A.
No person shall install or maintain an external audible
alarm device which does not contain an operational automatic cutoff system
which turns off the external audible alarm after a period not to exceed 10
minutes.
B.
An automatic dialer connected directly to an emergency
agency shall automatically disconnect and/or terminate its message after the
message has been transmitted a maximum of two times. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
however, the total transmission time of all messages shall not exceed five
minutes.
A.
No alarm system shall have an automatic dialer feature
or other type of alarm alter which connects automatically to the enhanced
911 emergency telephone system.
B.
There shall be no automatic alarm system with direct
communication of any type to an emergency agency without prior written authorization
from the emergency agency where the alarms terminate.
A.
General provisions.
(1)
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical
failure, malfunction, improper installation or the negligence of the owner,
user, custodian or lessee of an alarm system, or of his employees, requiring
an emergency response when, in fact, an emergency does not exist constitutes
an avoidable alarm. An avoidable alarm also includes intentional activation
of an alarm system when the activator knows an emergency situation does not
exist.
(2)
An avoidable alarm does not include alarms activated
by violent conditions of nature or similar cases beyond the control of the
user, owner or operator of the alarm system. The activation of an alarm system
under any circumstances in which the activator reasonably believes that an
emergency situation exists shall not be deemed to be an avoidable alarm.
B.
Charges. An owner or lessee of real property to which
an emergency agency responds as a result of an avoidable alarm shall pay a
fee for each such response in each calendar year as follows:
C.
Notice of excessive use. The owner or lessee of real
property which received an emergency response by reason of an avoidable alarm
shall be notified, in writing, by means of first-class mail, of all avoidable
alarms, up to three police alarms and/or one fire alarm in a calendar year.
The letter shall inform the owner or lessee of the times and types of emergency
responses provided to the address location and shall contain a copy of this
Alarm Code.
D.
Administrative review. The Chief of Police and the Chief
of the Fire Department shall establish a policy and procedures whereby an
owner of real property or lessee thereof on which an alarm system has been
installed and who has been notified of an avoidable alarm may present evidence
as to why any such alarm should not be classified as an avoidable alarm. The
Chief of Police and the Chief of the Fire Department shall designate members
of their Departments, not to exceed five in total, to receive such evidence
and make recommendations and findings of fact concerning such classification.
The Chief of Police and Chief of the Fire Department shall make the final
determination concerning a classification, which determination shall be reviewed
only pursuant to procedures under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and
Rules. To challenge the classification of an alarm as an avoidable alarm,
the real property owner or lessee thereof shall, in writing, notify the Chief
of Police and/or the Chief of the Fire Department within 20 days after receipt
of notice of the avoidable alarm. The failure to give timely notice shall
be deemed a waiver of the right to review the determination.
E.
Payment of charges. The Chief of Police, upon the fourth avoidable alarm and all subsequent avoidable alarms in that calendar year, and the Chief of the Fire Department, upon the second avoidable alarm and all subsequent avoidable alarms in that calendar year, shall notify the owner or lessee in writing, by first-class mail, of the charge pursuant to § 126-6B of this chapter, along with the times and dates of emergency responses at this location, and copy of this Alarm Code. Avoidable alarm charges shall be paid to the Village Clerk of the Village of Hamburg at 100 Main Street, Hamburg, New York 14075.
F.
Failure to remit fee. A real property owner or lessee
of property who fails to pay the avoidable alarm charge within 30 days from
the date of the notice of the amount due shall be served with a summons and
shall be deemed in violation of this chapter.
The Chief of Police shall enforce this chapter for alarm systems which
detect medical emergencies and entry or exit from a building, structure or
facility. The Chief of the Fire Department shall enforce this chapter for
alarm systems which detect smoke, fire or abnormal rise in temperature.
Any person, business, firm, corporation, partnership, association or
other entity that does not pay the fee as established in this chapter or that
violates any other provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil
penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each offense. A separate offense shall be
deemed committed upon each day during which a violation occurs, continues
or is permitted.
Moneys received for fines for response to alarms by the Village of Hamburg
Police shall go into the General Part Village Fund. Moneys received for fines
due to Fire Department response shall be applied to the Fire Department. Moneys
received for fines for response to alarms by the Village of Hamburg Police
and Fire Departments shall be divided equally between the Village of Hamburg
Police and the Fire Departments, in the event that they both respond simultaneously.
If any section, clause or provision of this chapter or the application
thereof to any person is adjudged invalid, the adjudication shall not affect
other sections, clauses or provisions or the application thereof which can
be sustained or given effect without the invalid section, clause or provision
or application, and to this end the various sections, clauses or provisions
of this chapter are declared to be severable.
The chapter shall become effective immediately after proper filing,
including with the Secretary of State.
