[Amended 9-24-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-30]
No building in which an automatic sprinkler system is required in accordance with § 22-78 and no building required to be supervised by 527 CMR or MGL c. 148 shall be connected to the municipal fire alarm system either directly or by another system accepted in accordance with NFPA Standard 72 without a permit for such installation or connection from the head of the Fire Department. Prior to the approval of any such permit, an acceptance and performance test shall be performed by the head of the Fire Department or his designee to ensure performance, reporting and verification requirements in accordance with NFPA Standard 72. The verification process must not take longer than 90 seconds from the time the alarm signal is received at the supervising station until the time that the retransmission of the verified alarm signal is initiated. [NFPA Standard 26.2.3.1(4)] Failure of such test must be remedied, and a re-test passed within seven business days, or no permit shall be issued. Any permit issued must be annually renewed with payment of the required fee. The fees for such permit and annual renewal shall be as provided in Chapter A110, Fee Schedule, of the City Code.
Any permit for a connection or installation under the provisions
of this division may be revoked for cause at any time by the head
of the Fire Department.
No property or premises located outside the City limits shall
be allowed to connect a fire alarm box or any supervisory or protective
signaling equipment into the City's municipal fire alarm system.
[Amended 3-26-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-9]
Any occupancy protected by the municipal fire alarm system which
is automatically activated by the operation of sprinklers or heat,
smoke or products of combustion detectors shall be provided with a
means for manual activation of the municipal fire alarm system from
one or more locations on the premises, as required by the head of
the Fire Department.
[Amended 3-26-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-9]
In all occupancies protected by the municipal fire alarm system,
any local fire alarm system for the notification of occupants shall
be so installed that its operation shall also activate the municipal
fire alarm system.
[Amended 9-24-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-30]
Installation of all fire alarm boxes, supervisory systems or
protective systems to be connected to the municipal fire system by
any means shall be in conformity with all applicable standards of
the National Fire Protection Association and with the Massachusetts
Electrical Code.
[Amended 5-29-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-21]
A.
Every owner or, if the owner is not in control, the occupant of a
building or portion thereof wherein there are employed eight or more
persons, or which regularly hosts eight or more patrons at any time,
or an aggregate of both employees and patrons, and wherein, because
of the nature of the work being done or for any other reason, adequate
and seasonable warning of fire or other emergency affecting their
safety might not be received by such employees, shall cause to be
installed therein an alarm system designed to warn those employees
of such fire or other emergency, and shall cause such system to be
kept in operating condition.
B.
Such system shall be inspected by the Chief of the Fire Department
for its adequacy and shall conform to the requirements of NFPA 72.
[Amended 3-26-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-9; 6-27-1999 by Ord. No.
1999-11; 1-24-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-2]
Any building in which an automatic sprinkler is required to
be installed shall also be connected to the municipal fire alarm system,
as determined by the head of the Fire Department in accordance with
the Massachusetts Fire Prevention Code, and shall be activated whenever
the sprinkler system or any portion thereof begins to operate. Notwithstanding
the provisions of this section, no building used for residential purposes
containing fewer than 13 residential units shall be required to be
connected to the municipal fire alarm system.
A.
Any building within the City used as a residential occupancy and
which contains more than one apartment shall be equipped with an approved
smoke detector in each apartment.
B.
Any building within the City used as a residential occupancy which
is located at a distance exceeding 1 1/2 miles from the nearest
municipal Fire Department station, and which contains eight or more
apartments, shall be equipped with an approved smoke detection and
alarm system.
C.
For residential buildings containing eight or more apartments but
fewer than 25 apartments, operation of the smoke detection system
shall cause the sounding of an audible alarm capable of being heard
throughout the floor of alarm origin, and shall also provide audible
or visual indications of the building and floor from which the signal
is transmitted in accordance with Standard 72A of the National Fire
Protection Association.
D.
For residential buildings containing 25 or more apartments, operation
of the smoke detection system shall cause the sounding of an audible
alarm capable of being heard throughout the floor of alarm origin,
shall provide audible or visual indications of the building and floor
from which the signal is transmitted in accordance with the provisions
of NFPA Standard 72A, and shall automatically transmit an alarm to
fire alarm headquarters by means of a master alarm box, with provisions
for manual transmission of an alarm of fire, in accordance with NFPA
Standard 72B.
E.
The location and spacing of smoke detectors and provisions for testing
and maintenance of the system shall be in conformity with NFPA Standard
72A.
F.
Use of heat detectors in place of smoke detectors in certain areas
may be allowed with the approval of the Chief of the Fire Department.
G.
All smoke detectors, heat detectors and alarm devices used in residential
occupancies as required by this section shall bear the approval of
Underwriters' Laboratories and/or Factory Mutual Research Corporation.
A.
Any building which is connected to the municipal fire alarm system
shall be provided with a secure access box. However, the requirement
for box installation may be waived by the head of the Fire Department.
The secure access box shall be of a type approved by the head of the
Fire Department.
B.
Such box, where required, shall be installed in a location accessible
to the Fire Department in case of an emergency. The location shall
be approved by the head of the Fire Department.
C.
The box shall contain keys for the fire alarm control panel, and
those necessary to gain access to the building or to service fire
protection and detector systems. The box shall also contain a current
list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of persons who
should be notified in case of emergency.
D.
All buildings in existence as of July 1, 1989, shall complete installation
of the secure access box by January 1, 1991.
No person shall willfully deface, injure or destroy the emergency
telephone reporting system in the City or any part thereof, or any
of its appurtenances, or willfully interfere with or do anything to
such system so as to prevent or delay the proper and timely use thereof.
[Amended 6-24-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-25; 9-24-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-30]
The owner of a fire alarm system shall be responsible for proper installation and maintenance of such fire alarm system to ensure its proper functioning and in order to prevent such fire alarm system from activating false alarms, becoming a public nuisance, or endangering public safety. Fire alarm systems supervised by private alarm monitoring companies that fail any annual performance, reporting or verification test set forth in § 22-71 shall be given seven business days to pass the same. Upon the second failure of the required test, the owner shall pay a fine of $100 per day (MGL c. 148, § 33) until such system is fully compliant or may, at its option, connect to the municipal system at its expense.
[Amended 6-24-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-25; 9-2-2008 by Ord. No.
2008-47]
The owner of a fire alarm system which sounds a false alarm shall be subject to the fines established in § 22-33.
