No person shall reset a fire alarm or sprinkler system that
has caused the Fire Department to respond without approval of the
Fire Department.
A.
When City ordinance, the National Fire Prevention Code, or other
regulation requires that a building or structure be equipped with
a fire alarm, such system shall include approved supervisory equipment
which shall transmit an alarm to an approved receiver. Such supervision
shall be by connection to a private alarm station that has been approved
as a fire alarm monitoring service by Underwriters' Laboratories,
Inc., and accepted by the Sanford Fire Chief or designee. (NFPA 72)
B.
The time required from initiation of the fire alarm to receipt of
alarm by the Fire Department shall not exceed 180 seconds, total.
No fire alarm system, once installed and operational, shall
be modified or extended without the prior approval of the City Electrical
Inspector; neither shall such a system be removed, rendered inoperable,
disconnected from the supervisory system, or interrupted in any manner,
without the prior knowledge of the Sanford Codes Department. The person(s)
engaged in such work shall be licensed by the State of Maine appropriately
or shall be ordered to cease and desist.
A.
False fire alarms disrupt the community, cause complacency and business
down time due to evacuations, and divert responders away from genuine
emergencies, which could potentially lead to loss of life and property.
The main reason for false alarms in the City of Sanford is lack of
maintenance to the alarm systems. This section will hold property
owners accountable for the maintenance of their alarm systems. This
section will not pertain to actual alarms that operated correctly
for proper reasons.
(1)
First and second responses. For the first and second responses by
the Sanford Fire Department to a false alarm within any calendar year,
the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) shall give written notice
of the second false alarm to the alarm user within 10 days.
(2)
Third response. For the third response by the Sanford Fire Department
to a false alarm within any calendar year, the AHJ shall give written
notice of the third false alarm to the alarm user within 10 days.
The alarm user shall file a written report with the AHJ within seven
days thereafter stating the cause of the false alarm, if known, and
describing the corrective action taken. In addition the alarm user
may be required to pay an alarm penalty fee of $50.
(3)
Fourth, fifth and sixth responses. For the fourth, fifth and sixth
responses by the Sanford Fire Department to a false alarm within any
calendar year, the alarm user shall pay a false alarm penalty fee
of $250 per event. In the case of equipment failure, the user must
file with the AHJ, within seven days of notice, a signed statement
by a qualified private alarm agent that the alarm system has been
inspected and is in proper working order. In case of human error or
other cause, the alarm user shall file a written report with the AHJ
describing the corrective action taken.
(4)
Seventh and subsequent responses. For the seventh and subsequent
responses by the Sanford Fire Department to a false alarm within any
calendar year, the alarm user shall pay the false alarm penalty of
$500 per event. The alarm user's property may be shut down until proper
repairs are done should the AHJ deem the property a safety issue to
the public or employees of the property.
(5)
Written notice deemed complete. Written notice by the AHJ shall be
complete upon leaving such notice at the property at the time of response
by the Fire Department or mailing such notice to the alarm user at
the user's last known address within 10 days by first class mail.
B.
AHJ: AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION
CALENDAR YEAR
For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
The Fire Chief or Chief Code Enforcement Officer or their
qualified designees are responsible for the enforcement of the fire
codes for the City of Sanford.
January 1 through December 31 of each year.
