The erroneous and mistaken use of fire alarm systems and those that
are not installed, maintained or operated properly has resulted in increased
service calls and is creating a hazard to the members of the Fire Departments
servicing the City of Middletown and to the general public. The purpose of
this article is to regulate the use of said alarm systems and to reduce the
incidence of false alarms responded to by the Fire Departments servicing the
City of Middletown.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ALARM SYSTEM
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to
transmit a signal to the Department of the occurrence of a fire emergency
to which fire fighters are expected to respond.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
Any alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message or coded
signal indicating the existence of a fire emergency.
CHIEF OF THE DEPARTMENT
Chief of the Department having jurisdiction or such other officer
as the Chief of that jurisdiction shall appoint as his designee.
DEPARTMENT
The Middletown Fire Department, South Fire District, Westfield Fire
District and the Superintendent of Alarms.
FALSE ALARM
A.
ERROR or MISTAKEAny action by any alarm system permit holder owning, leasing, operating or controlling an alarm system installed in any dwelling, building or place in the City of Middletown or any action by any agent or employee of, or anyone in privity with, said person which results in the unintentional activation of said alarm system when no fire emergency exists.
B.
MALFUNCTIONAny unintentional activation of any alarm system caused by a flaw in design or installation of or the improper maintenance of the system. This shall not include any activation caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to the control of the alarm system permit holder.
PRIVATE ALARM
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, installed and
operating from a private business, dwelling or other building, arranged to
transmit a signal to a commercial monitoring service of the occurrence of
a fire emergency to which fire fighters are expected to respond.
[Amended 7-3-2006 by Ord. No. 16-06; 4-2-2007
by Ord. No. 04-07]
A. No person shall place any alarm system in service, or
cause any such system to be placed in service, after installation in any dwelling,
business or place within the City of Middletown until such time as said alarm
system has been registered with the Middletown Fire Alarms Division. Any alarm
system in service on the effective date hereof shall be registered with the
Middletown Fire Alarms Division. Any alarm system in service on the effective
date hereof shall be registered with the Middletown Fire Alarms Division within
60 days of said effective date. The effective date shall be January 1, 2007.
No fee is required if the system is registered.
B. Alarm system registration is done by completion of a
registration form provided by the Middletown Fire Alarms Division. Registration
shall expire on January 31 of every year unless renewed. It shall be the responsibility
of each registrant to notify the Middletown Fire Alarms Division in writing
within 10 days of any change in registration information. Failure to renew
the registration shall subject the homeowner to a fine of $100. Failure to
notify the Middletown Fire Alarms Division of change of registration information
within 10 days shall subject the registrant to a fine of $100.
C. In addition to any other information requested on the
registration form, the registrant shall submit the names, addresses and telephone
numbers of at least two persons who shall have access to said building and
alarm system and the knowledge and ability to make and the responsibility
for making said alarm secure in case of activation and the name, address,
and telephone number of the person responsible for servicing the alarm system
and sprinkler system, if applicable. All service to systems tied to the municipal
system shall be supervised by the Superintendent of Alarms or his designee.
The Middletown Fire Alarms Division having jurisdiction will notify the insurance
carrier(s) and/or agents of the permit holder of the alarm problem. The annual
registration fee for all alarm boxes connected to the City is $250, which
includes the monitoring fee. Said fee is payable to the City of Middletown
on or before May 1 in 2007, and on or before January 1 in 2008 and subsequent
years.
If any person fails to pay within 30 days of the receipt of notice any fine or charge imposed under §
161-32 or
161-33, or if any person shall fail within 60 days of the effective date hereof to obtain a permit for any alarm system in service on said effective date, or if any person shall fail to renew any permit previously obtained, it shall be the right of the Chief of the Department having jurisdiction to remove the alarm from the dispatch panel or other communication console 15 days after notification by registered letter, return receipt requested, to the permit holder. Interest shall accrue at the rate of 1.5% per month on all fines and charges outstanding for periods in excess of 30 days.
The Department having jurisdiction shall establish and monitor a special
telephone line for the receipt of signals from automatic dialing devices.
The connection of such devices to 911 emergency lines is hereby prohibited.
In addition to the requirements imposed upon alarm system permit holders pursuant
to the provisions of this article, each automatic dialing device shall, within
90 days of the effective date hereof, meet the following minimum standards:
A. Messages transmitted.
(1) The contents of a recorded message to be transmitted
by such device shall be intelligible and in a format approved by the Chief
of the Department having jurisdiction.
(2) Upon a single stimulus of the alarm system, an automatic
dialing device may place two separate calls to the Department having jurisdiction.
No such calls shall be longer than 15 seconds in duration. There shall be
at least three minutes but not more than five minutes between the completion
of the first call and the initiation of the second, and the second call shall
be clearly identified as a second call.
B. Transmission to alternate locations. All such automatic
dialing devices shall also transmit an emergency message to at least one other
location, where an authorized person is available to respond to the emergency
message and to secure the premises in which the alarm system is installed.