[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenfield as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 54.
[Adopted 10-10-1991 by L.L. No. 5-1991]
This article is intended to promote the health, safety and general welfare
of the people of the Greenfield Fire District in the Towns of Greenfield and
Wilton, New York, including the protection of the property of the towns and
their inhabitants by proposing regulations on the installation and maintenance
of fire alarms in the Greenfield Fire District.
For the purpose of this article, the words and phrases set forth in
this section shall be defined as set forth in this section:
Any fire alarm system designed to send a signal, recorded, coded
or otherwise, which terminates in any manner at any volunteer fire company
or at the Saratoga County Fire Control Center or at a facility responsible
for monitoring such alarm systems, or any fire alarm system designed to emit
an audible signal at the exterior of the premises of the alarm installation.
Any accidental, deliberate, reckless or negligent initiation or activation
of an emergency fire alarm when any emergency situation does not exist.
Each and every emergency fire alarm system in the Greenfield Fire District
shall be properly maintained in operating condition by the building owner
or his agent.
A.Â
A false alarm within 120 days of a previous false alarm
shall cause a civil penalty of $100 to be levied against the owner of the
property from which said false alarms emitted, whether the false alarm was
caused by human error or malfunction of equipment; except, however, such civil
penalty shall not apply to false alarms intentionally initiated by one not
under the control or supervision of the property owner or representative.
The civil penalty levied for any additional false alarms within the one-hundred-twenty-day
period shall be $200 per alarm. Nothing in this article shall exempt any person
from criminal prosecution under the New York State Penal Law covering in any
manner the intentional transmission of false alarms.
B.Â
Following response to an emergency fire alarm which subsequent
investigation determines to be false and the notification of said fact by
the Fire Department to the owner of the premises, or his representative, from
which the alarm emanated, the owner or representative shall file a written
report with the Fire Department and the Building Department within 72 hours
of such notification. Such report shall contain all information pertaining
to the reason for activities of the emergency fire alarm and the planned corrective
action, if any, on the part of the property owner to prevent future false
alarms.
Each and every fire alarm system which terminates in any manner at any
volunteer fire company or the Saratoga County Fire Control Center or at a
facility responsible for monitoring such alarm system must be electrically
configurated so as to also terminate at the home or place of business of the
owner or a designated representative of the subject premises, and such owner
or representative must immediately report to the scene of the alarm.
There shall be no testing of emergency fire alarms which would normally
summon the appropriate fire company unless such test is first cleared, verified
and authorized by all entities and/or agencies where such alarm terminates,
including but not limited to the volunteer fire department servicing the property
and the Saratoga County Fire Control Center.
The owner of each property which contains an emergency fire alarm as
herein set forth must provide the local Fire Department and the Saratoga County
Fire Control Center with a list of three people, their addresses and telephone
numbers, who may be contacted in the event that an alarm is received and who
will be able to grant access to the subject premises.
A.Â
The Towns of Greenfield and/or Wilton or the Greenfield
Fire District serving the call shall not be liable for any defects in operation
of emergency fire alarm systems nor for failure to respond appropriately nor
for any erroneous response pursuant to the provisions of this article with
respect to the installation, operation and maintenance of equipment; the transmission
of alarm systems or messages; or the relaying of such systems or messages.
B.Â
In the event that the Towns of Greenfield and/or Wilton
or the Greenfield Fire District find it necessary to disconnect any signaling
device, the foregoing parties shall incur no liability therefrom.
The civil penalty for violation of any of the provisions of this article
or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant hereto, except where such
fine is specifically provided for in the said provision, rule or regulation,
shall be remitted to the Town of Greenfield or Wilton Building Department,
dependent upon the Town in which the alarm originated, and thereupon 1/2 of
the fine collected shall be transmitted to the Greenfield Fire District.
The duly designated Town Code Enforcement Officer shall enforce the
provisions of this article and shall investigate and report to the Town Attorney
of the Town of Greenfield or Wilton concerning any violation hereof.
Upon the receipt of a signed complaint by the Code Enforcement Officer
concerning any alleged violation of this article, a civil summons against
the alleged violator may be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer, and said
matter shall be considered a small claims case under New York Law for all
procedural purposes.
