[Added 4-5-1993]
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:
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.
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 having jurisdiction or such other officer
as the Chief of that jurisdiction shall appoint as his designee.
The Middletown Fire Department, South Fire District, Westfield Fire
District and the Superintendent of Alarms.
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.
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.
INTENTIONAL MISUSEAny intentional activation of an alarm system when no fire emergency exists.
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.
A.
No alarm system shall be installed, after the effective
date of this article, until the plans and specifications relating to said
alarm system have been approved by the Chief and Fire Marshal of the Fire
Department having jurisdiction and the Superintendent of Alarms. The Chief
and Fire Marshal of said Department and the Superintendent of Alarms shall
have the right at all reasonable times to inspect any alarm system within
their jurisdiction.
B.
The location of all alarm system components shall be
provided on a floor plan to be kept at the site of the alarm system in or
adjacent to the alarm system panel.
C.
Prior to the issuance of a permit pursuant to the provisions of § 161-29, the permit applicant shall install a lock box in an approved location at the site of the alarm system. Said lock box shall contain keys to the structure served by the alarm system. In addition, the lock box shall contain a list of all hazardous substances present on the site in significant quantities, unless other arrangements regarding the storage of these hazardous substances on site are made with the Department having jurisdiction.
A.
If any dwelling, building or place is required by law
to maintain a fire alarm system, as herein defined, and if said alarm system
fails to function and cannot be returned to service within a reasonable time,
and if, in the opinion of the Chief of the Department having jurisdiction,
the absence of a properly functioning alarm system may pose a threat to life
and property, the Chief of the Department having jurisdiction may require
the special duty assignment of one or more fire fighters to patrol the premises
until the alarm system has been returned to service.
B.
The cost of any special duty assignment shall be the
responsibility of the alarm system permit holder. Payment for such special
duty services shall be made at such rates and in accordance with such terms
as are established pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement then in
effect between the City of Middletown and Local 1073, IAFF, AFL-CIO, in the
case of the Middletown Fire Department and the Westfield Fire District, and
the collective bargaining agreement between the South Fire District Board
of Commissions and Local 3918, IAFF, AFL-CIO, in the case of the South Fire
District; provided, however, notwithstanding the provisions of the immediately
preceding sentence, that payments shall be in the amount not less than that
required to reimburse fire fighters at 1 1/2 times their regular salary
rate over a period of four hours or the actual number of hours worked, whichever
is greater.
[Amended 2-5-2007 by Ord. No. 03-07]
A.
No alarm system shall be activated by error, mistake
or malfunction in any dwelling, building or place when no fire emergency exists
which results in the response of the Department having jurisdiction.
B.
The following fines and charges shall be imposed upon the alarm system permit holder for activation of an alarm system by error, mistake or malfunction, as the case may be, in violation of Subsection A hereof:
(1)
Up to three such fire alarms per box may occur in any
calendar year without the imposition of a penalty.
(2)
The fourth such false fire alarm and every subsequent
fire alarm during any calendar year shall result in a fine of $99 per alarm.
In addition, such person shall be responsible for and shall bear the expense
of the Department's response to any such alarm. Said expenses shall be determined
by the Chief of the Department having jurisdiction and, in the case of the
Middletown Fire Department, by the Common Council of the City of Middletown
and, in the case of the South Fire District, by the South District Board of
Fire Commissioners and billed to the responsible party or parties; provided,
however, that no such charges, exclusive of any penalty imposed, shall exceed
$150 per response.
C.
After the second fire alarm a registered written warning
shall be sent to the alarm system permit holder and the permit holder's hazard
insurer.
D.
After the third such fire alarm, a written order shall
be issued to the alarm system permit holder requiring the alarm system to
be inspected and the Department having jurisdiction notified of corrective
action taken.
E.
A triplicate form shall be filled out any time an alarm
system is taken out of service and upon restoration of service and a copy
provided to the permittee, Fire Department having jurisdiction and Superintendent
of Alarms.
A.
No person shall knowingly or intentionally activate any
alarm system when no fire emergency exists.
B.
No person shall knowingly or intentionally test, repair,
adjust, alter, or perform maintenance on an alarm system, or cause the same
to be tested, repaired, adjusted, altered or maintained, if such action could
result in a false alarm without first notifying the Department having jurisdiction
of such test, repair, adjustment, alteration or maintenance and receiving
approval for the same. The Department having jurisdiction shall be notified
immediately upon completion of any such test, repair, adjustment, alteration
or maintenance. The Chief of the Department having jurisdiction may restrict
or refuse to permit the testing, repair, adjustment, alteration or maintenance
of an alarm system if such testing, repair, adjustment, alteration or maintenance
could result in a false alarm when such restriction or refusal is necessary
due to manpower limitations.
C.
Any person who violates Subsection A or B of this section shall be fined $99 and, where applicable, may be subject to additional penalties and prosecution under the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, for falsely reporting an incident. In addition, such person shall be responsible for and shall bear the expense of the Department's response to any such false alarm. Said expense shall be determined by the Chief of the Department having jurisdiction and, in the case of the Middletown Fire Department and the Westfield Fire District, by the Common Council of the City of Middletown and, in the case of the South Fire District, by the South Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners and billed to the responsible party or parties; provided, however, that no such charge, exclusive of any penalty imposed, shall exceed $150 per response.
A.
Any person receiving an order or notice of violation
pursuant to the provisions of this article may contest said order or notice
at a hearing before the Alarm Systems Hearing Board. All demands for a hearing
must be made in writing and delivered in person or by mail no later than 10
days following receipt of the order or notice of violation. Any person requesting
a hearing shall be given written notice of the date, time and place of the
hearing. Such hearing shall be held not less than 15 days nor more than 30
days from the date of the mailing of the notice, provided the Hearing Board
shall grant, upon good cause shown, any reasonable request by any interested
party for postponement or continuance. The presence of the issuing officer
shall be required at the hearing if such person so requests.
B.
A person wishing to contest an order or notice of violation
shall appear at the hearing and shall have the right to present evidence and
cross-examine witnesses. A designated official of the Department having jurisdiction
other than the Hearing Board may present evidence on behalf of the Department.
The Hearing Board shall conduct the hearing in order and form and with such
methods of proof as it deems fair and appropriate. The rules regarding the
admissibility of evidence shall not be strictly applied, but all testimony
shall be given under oath or affirmation. The Hearing Board shall announce
its decision at the end of the hearing.
C.
The Hearing Board shall consist of a member and alternate
from each fire district and two members of the Chamber of Commerce in Middletown.
The members and alternates appointed shall serve a term of two years. The
members shall be appointed by the governing bodies of said organizations.
D.
Hearings will be at headquarters for the Department having
jurisdiction over the alarm system.
E.
No Department having jurisdiction shall waive any fine.
All appeals shall be heard by the Hearing Board.
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.
A.
The City shall be under no duty or obligation to maintain
the dispatch panel, communication console receiving module, or other specialized
equipment for the monitoring of alarm systems. The installation and maintenance
of alarm systems permitted by this article shall be made at no cost to the
City.
B.
No liability whatsoever is assumed by the City of Middletown
for the failure of such alarm systems or monitoring facilities or for failure
to respond to alarms or for any other act or omission in connection with such
alarm systems. Each alarm system permit holder shall be deemed to hold and
save harmless the City, its departments, officers, agents, servants, and employees
from any and all liability in connection with the permit holder's alarm system.