[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Canastota 5-1-1995 by L.L. No. 3-1995. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Electrical standards — See Ch. 87.
Residential smoke detectors — See Ch. 170.
A. 
The term "Chief of the Fire Department" as used herein shall be deemed to refer to Fire Chief in charge of the Canastota Fire Department.
B. 
The Fire Council of the Canastota Fire Department is hereby established and shall be operated under the supervision of the Chief of the Fire Department. It shall consist of the three Chiefs and the six Fire Wardens elected by the three fire companies that constitute the Canastota Fire Department.
C. 
The Fire Chief shall act as a Fire Marshal, with the First and Second Assistant Chiefs to act as Assistant Fire Marshals. All shall work with the Village Office of Code Enforcement.
D. 
The Fire Chief shall notify the Code Enforcement Officer of any fire or explosion involving any structural damage, fuel-burning appliance, chimney, flue or gas vent.
[Added 6-2-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
A. 
The Code Enforcement Officers being the authority having jurisdiction together with the Fire Chief or assistants shall apply and enforce all rules and regulations of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
[Amended 6-2-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
B. 
The Fire Marshal shall be responsible to activate the necessary personnel or agencies to determine the cause or attempt of every fire. Any evidence shall be collected by the proper authorities and duly noted for further investigation or possible prosecution.
The office of the Chief of the Fire Department shall keep a record of all fires and of all the facts concerning the same, including statistics as to the extent of such fires, damage caused and whether such losses were covered by insurance. Such records shall be made from the fire reports made by the officer in charge the day the fire occurs.
An annual report of the Canastota Fire Department shall be prepared and transmitted to the appropriate state, county and local agencies.
A. 
It shall be a violation of this chapter and the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code for any person, firm or corporation to install or cause to be installed, or to alter, electrical wiring for light, heat or power in or on properties of the Village of Canastota or within its fire protection area until an application for inspection has been filed with the authorized agency.
[Amended 6-2-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
B. 
It shall be a violation of this chapter and the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code for a person, firm or corporation to connect or cause to be connected electrical wiring in or on properties for light, heat or power to any source of electrical energy supply prior to the issuance of a temporary certificate or a certificate of compliance by the authorized agency.
[Amended 6-2-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
C. 
Violations.
(1) 
Any person who shall fail to comply with a written order of the enforcing officer within the time fixed for compliance therewith, and any owner, builder, architect, tenant, contractor, subcontractor, construction superintendent or their agents, or any other person taking part or assisting in the construction or use of any building who shall knowingly violate any of the applicable provisions of the article, or any lawful order, notice directive, permit or certificate of the enforcing officer made thereunder shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500, or 30 days in jail, or both. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
(2) 
Except as provided otherwise by law, such a violation shall not be a crime and the penalty or punishment imposed thereof shall not be deemed for any purpose a penal or criminal penalty or punishment, and shall not impose any disability upon or affect or impair the credibility as a witness, or otherwise, of any person convicted thereof.
(3) 
This section shall not apply to violation of the provisions of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code punishable under § 385 of the Executive Law of the State of New York; nor to violations of the provisions of the Multiple Residence Law punishable under § 304 of the Multiple Residence Law of the State of New York.
(4) 
Appropriate actions and proceedings may be taken at law or in equity to prevent unlawful construction or to restrain, correct or abate a violation or to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure or premises; or to prevent illegal acts, conduct or business in or about any premises; and these remedies shall be in addition to the penalties prescribed above.
This article shall be known as the "Village of Canastota Fire Alarm System Ordinance."
It is the purpose of this article to protect and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Village of Canastota, by reducing the number of avoidable alarms to emergency agencies. Avoidable alarms contribute to ineffective utilization of public safety manpower and equipment. In addition, avoidable alarms require emergency responses which may contribute to a high accident rate and delayed responses to genuine emergencies. This article seeks to ensure that ambulance and fire communication facilities will be available to dispatch fire and ambulance personnel for actual emergencies, and to alleviate the nuisance of audible alarms to the community. Another purpose of this section is to provide the village with the names of responsible people to contact in the case of activation of an alarm. This article is enforceable for the following structures:
A. 
Assembly.
B. 
Business.
C. 
Industrial.
D. 
Institutional.
E. 
Mercantile.
F. 
Residential.
G. 
Storage.
As used in this article the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:
ALARM BUSINESS
Any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity engaging in the business of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system.
ALARM SYSTEM
A device or assembly of equipment which emits a signal which is intended to alert persons inside or outside a premises to the existence of a hazard or emergency, or which is intended to alert emergency agencies by automatically dialing an emergency agency, or which is connected to a private answering point for the purpose of reporting such alarms to emergency agencies, or which is directly connected to the Fire Department, emergency communications center or other emergency agency. Excluded from this definition and article, however, is any residential smoke, heat or combustion detector not connected to any point outside the premises, or intended to be heard or detected outside the premises.
ALARM USER
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind in control of any building, structure or facility wherein an alarm system is maintained, except when the alarm system is a proprietary system.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and is programmed to select a predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice message or code signal an emergency message indicating a need for emergency response.
AVOIDABLE ALARM
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or the negligence of the owner, user, custodian, or lessee of an alarm system, or of his employees or agents, or through any other cause, which through direct connection to an emergency agency, or which through notification to an emergency agency by a private answering point or automatic dialing device, or which through notification to an emergency agency by any other second party or means indicates that an emergency situation exists requiring an emergency response within the Village of Canastota, when in fact, an emergency situation does not exist. An avoidable alarm does not include alarms activated by violent conditions of nature, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or any other similar cause beyond the control of the user of an alarm system. Activation of an alarm system under any circumstances in which the activator reasonably believes that an emergency exists, is not an avoidable alarm.
CENTRAL STATION
A fire detection system that is under the control and guidance of an outside agency that specializes in watch services. The alarm, in addition to alerting building occupants, will register in the central watch station. The watch service will then notify the local Fire Department.
CONTROL LOOP
A continuous loop of single conductor wire, on which municipal alarm boxes are installed. This control loop is similar to a telegraph loop, in that it carries an electrical impulse that is initiated by a municipal alarm box and sent to the central fire station. These wires may be buried underground or aerial on telephone poles.
EMERGENCY AGENCY
Any fire department, police department or other law enforcement agency, ambulance company, or other agency summoned to respond to an emergency situation; and the emergency communications center.
LOCAL ALARM SYSTEM
A signaling system which, when activated, causes an audible signaling device to be activated inside the premises within which the system is installed, excluding, however, any residential smoke, heat or combustion detection not connected to any point outside the premises, or intended to be heard or detected outside the premises.
MUNICIPAL OR AUXILIARY SYSTEM
A fire detection system that ties a local alarm system into the Canastota Fire Department system. It will transmit the alarm directly to the Fire Department at the same time that the occupants of the building are notified.
PRIMARY TRUNK LINE
A telephone line serving an emergency agency or the Emergency Communications Center that is designated to receive emergency calls.
PRIVATE ANSWERING POINT
A business which offers the service of receiving emergency signals, monitoring said signals, and relaying them to an emergency agency.
PROPRIETARY SYSTEM
An alarm system sounding and/or recording alarm and supervisory signals at a control center located within the premises protected by the alarm which is not intended to alert persons outside of the premises on which the alarm system is located of a possible hazard and not intended to alert an emergency agency; the control center being under the supervision of the proprietor of the protected premises. If a proprietary system includes a signal line connected directly or by means of an automatic dialing device to an emergency agency or to a private answering point, or to a local alarm system, it, thereby becomes and "alarm system" as defined in this section.
WATER FLOW ALARM
A sounding device activated by water flow detector or alarm check valve and arranged to sound an alarm which will be audible in all living areas over background noise levels with all intervening doors closed.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to proprietary alarm systems and residential smoke, heat or combustion detectors not connected to the municipal fire alarm systems. Permits shall be required for alarm systems located in buildings of federal, state and city governmental agencies as well as others required by federal, state, county or municipal statute, regulation, rule or ordinance to install, maintain or operate an alarm system. No alarm user permit required under this section shall be revoked if such system is required by federal, state or local law. However, all other provisions of this article shall apply to such systems including the payment of authorized fees.
A. 
Required. Permits will be required for any person, business or corporation that ties into the Municipal Village Alarm System for fires. All new businesses, corporations and other users that request a permit after the effective date of this law being filed with the Department of State shall bear the installation fee for the system.
B. 
Application.
(1) 
In order to obtain an alarm user permit, any person who operates an alarm system shall submit an application for such permit in the form designated by the village, which application shall contain the following:
(a) 
The name and home address of the person applying for a permit.
(b) 
The address of the premises upon which the alarm system is or will be located.
(c) 
The type of alarm system for which the permit is sought.
(d) 
The telephone number of the person applying for the permit.
(e) 
The name of the alarm business or businesses selling, installing, monitoring, inspecting, responding to and/or maintaining the alarm system.
(f) 
The name and telephone number of at least one other person who can be reached at any time day or night, and who is authorized by the owner of the premises in which the system is installed, to open the premises.
(g) 
Any other information that the city may require.
(2) 
Every application for an alarm user permit shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee. No alarm user permit shall be granted unless the fee is submitted at the time of application. Fees shall be as follows:
(a) 
For use of a local alarm, water flow alarm, central station for fire protection: $10.
(b) 
For use of the municipal or auxiliary alarm system: $50.
(3) 
Upon receipt of a properly executed application, an investigation of the facts on the permit application shall be conducted by the Fire Department or Code Enforcement for all fire alarm systems. If the investigation reveals that the provisions of § 105-13, have been met, and the applicant's system would not then be in violation of any of the provisions of this article, the village shall issue an alarm user permit to the applicant. Alarm user permits shall not be transferable and shall be maintained on the premises where the alarm system is located. Such permits shall be made available for inspection by fire or code enforcement as appropriate.
C. 
Duration of permit: An alarm users permit shall expire on January, next following its issuance. Renewals to be monitored by the Village Clerk and users to be notified.
D. 
False alarms: permit revocation.
(1) 
Any alarm system which has four or more false alarms within a permit year for any alarm system.
(2) 
If an emergency agency records four or more false alarms within a permit year for any alarm system:
(a) 
The Fire Chief, if a fire alarm system is involved, shall notify the alarm user, insurance carrier and the alarm business providing service or inspection to the user by certified mail of such fact and direct that the user submit a report to the appropriate chief within 10 days of receipt of the notice describing actions taken or to be taken to discover and eliminate the cause of false alarms, or why any such alarm should not be classified as an avoidable alarm. Such notice shall also inform the user that avoidable alarms, greater than four in number, will be subject to a user fee of $25 for each such avoidable alarm in excess of four. Payment of such fees shall be upon renewal of said permit.
(b) 
If the alarm user submits a report as directed, the chiefs shall determine if the actions taken or to be taken will prevent the occurrence of false alarms; if he determines that the action will prevent the occurrence of false alarms, he shall notify the the alarm user and the relevant alarm business by certified mail that the permit will not be revoked at that time and that if one more false alarm occurs within the permit year, the permit holder will be fined $50 a day until the problem has been solved, subject to the procedure described in the following Subsection D(2)(c). The chief shall also notify the user of the number of alarms he has determined to be avoidable alarms, and of the user's right to a hearing on the classification of the alarms, provided more than four have been found. The user shall exercise such right by filing with the chief a written request for a hearing within 10 days of the date of the chief's notice that he has determined the user to have incurred in excess of four avoidable alarms.
(c) 
If no report is submitted, or if the chief determines that the action taken or to be taken will not prevent the occurrence of false alarms, the chief shall give notice by certified mail to the user that the permit holder will be fined $50 a day until the problem has been solved, providing that the user does not file, within that period, a written request for a hearing. The chief shall also include notice of the number of alarms he has determined to be avoidable alarms, of the user's right to a hearing on the classification of alarms, provided that more than four have been found, and the manner of requesting same, as above provided.
(d) 
If a hearing is requested, written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be served on the user by the appropriate chief by certified mail at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing, which date shall not be more than 21 nor less than 10 days after the filing of the request for hearing.
(e) 
The hearing shall be before the Fire Chiefs and Village Board and the chief and the alarm user shall have the right to present written and oral evidence, subject to the right of cross examination. If it is determined that four or more false alarms have occurred in a permit year, and that the user has not taken reasonable and appropriate actions to discover and prevent the occurrence of false alarms, the Village Board shall issue written findings to the user. If the user has presented the issue by filing of the required written request, the Fire Chief shall determine the number of avoidable alarms which have occurred during the permit year, and the amount of the additional avoidable alarm fee that has accrued.
(f) 
An alarm user who has been fined under Subsection D(2)(c) of this section will have the fines discontinued by submission of proof that modifications have been made to the alarm system to reduce the number of avoidable alarms, and by payment of a $50 excessive use fee, together with the fee for the accrued number of avoidable alarms in excess of four. Should another avoidable alarm occur during the life of the permits, same shall be subject to summary revocation. In such a case, the revocation shall be effective on the third day following the mailing, by certified mail, of a notice of revocation by the chief of fire and village board as appropriate.
E. 
Renewal of permit. At the end of the permit year, the Village Clerk shall notify the alarm system user of the necessity of renewing the permit. Such notice shall contain an accounting of all avoidable alarms by the user's system during the previous year. A renewed permit shall be issued upon payment of a renewal fee as scheduled below and any avoidable alarm fees from the previous permit year.
(1) 
For the use of a local alarm, water flow alarm, central station for fire protection: $10.
(2) 
For use of a municipal or auxiliary alarm system: $50.
(3) 
No renewal shall be granted until a new application, with current information, is submitted with the appropriate fees.
F. 
If a permit lapses, no new permit shall be granted unless the alarm user applicant shall pay all outstanding excessive use fees and additional avoidable alarm fees accrued during the three years previous to the application for a new permit.
A. 
It is unlawful for any person to program an automatic dialing device to select a primary trunk line, including any line assigned to the Canastota Fire Department; and it unlawful for an alarm user to fail to disconnect or reprogram an automatic dialing device which is programmed to select a primary trunk line within 12 hours of receipt of written notice from the fire or police chief that it is so programmed.
B. 
Within 60 days after the effective date of this article, all existing automatic dialing devices programmed to select a primary trunk line shall be reprogrammed or disconnected.
Every alarm business installing or operating systems within the Village of Canastota shall provide all alarm system purchasers of lessees with written instructions that provide adequate information to enable the alarm user to operate the alarm properly. A current copy of all such written instructions shall be furnished to the village upon request.
Alarm systems which are interconnected or otherwise transmit signals directly to the Emergency Communications Center located in Wampsville, New York, shall be subject to the laws, rules and regulations and penalties adopted by the County of Madison, relating to such systems.
The Village of Canastota will maintain all alarm wire on a control loop. This will include the cost of installation, preventative maintenance, and all necessary repairs needed of such wire. The alarm business or organization will be charged a one time fee of $100 plus the cost of the interface between the local alarm and municipal alarm. These costs will include the Gamewell master box, labor for the interconnection, and all miscellaneous items. An estimate for these costs is available upon written request. All payments are to be made to the Village Clerk upon approval of the alarm permit. Such funds to be transferred to the fire alarm account (which will be an ongoing account).
The Fire Chief is hereby directed to develop procedures necessary to implement this article and to commence an ongoing public education to inform users and potential users of alarm systems of the requirements and purpose of this article. Said education program shall also serve to increase public awareness of the cost and danger of false alarms, tending to reduce their number.
A. 
All information submitted in compliance with this article shall be held in the strictest confidence and shall be deemed a public record exempt from disclosure pursuant to state statute; and, any violation of confidentiality shall be deemed a violation of this article. The chief shall be charged with the sole responsibility for the maintenance of all records of any kind whatsoever under this article.
B. 
Subject to the requirements of confidentiality, the chiefs shall develop and maintain statistics having the purpose of assisting alarm system evaluation for use by member of the public.
Unless otherwise herein specifically stated, a violation of any provision of this article shall constitute a violation, punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $250. Each week constitutes another violation.