[Adopted 2-12-1996 by Ord. No. 964 (Sec. 10-35 of the 1979 Code)]
[Amended 10-12-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-24]
Prior to the connection of any automatic dialing devices to the special trunk line, an alarm user's permit must be obtained from the Town at the Fire Department's headquarters. The alarm user's permit fee shall be made payable to the general fund of the Town of Johnston, Rhode Island. The fee shall be an annual permit fee of $50 required from January 1 to December 31, with all renewals in January. The permit shall be physically upon the premises using the alarm system and shall be available for inspection.
[Amended 10-12-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-24]
The Town of Johnston shall not be liable for any defects in the operation of automatic protection devices and signal lines of the system nor for any failure or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of any alarm from such a source.
[Amended 10-12-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-24]
A. 
For the purpose of this section, the following words or phrases shall be defined as follows:
BUILDING
Any structure with sides and a roof constructed of any materials and used for any purpose.
FALSE ALARM
Any alarm of fire received by the Fire Department for which there is no fire and for which apparatus and/or personnel are dispatched.
FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS
A system which actuates a fire alarm signal either by automatically detecting a fire condition or by manual activation.
B. 
Immediately after the Fire Department has recorded the fourth false alarm in any consecutive twelve-month period from the same building, the Fire Department shall notify the building owner in writing of such fact.
C. 
Plan to eliminate false alarms.
(1) 
The building owner or his authorized representative shall file with the Fire Department within five days of receipt of the notification a plan designed to eliminate the false alarms.
(2) 
If the building owner fails to submit a timely plan satisfactory to the Fire Chief, then he/she shall be charged a fee of $500 for each additional false alarm for the remainder of the consecutive twelve-month period or until a plan is approved by the Fire Chief.
(3) 
If the building owner submits a satisfactory plan to the Fire Department and subsequently has two additional false alarms in the consecutive twelve-month period, the building owner shall be charged a fee of $500 for each additional false alarm (starting after the second false alarm) for the remainder of the consecutive twelve-month period.
D. 
It shall be the building owner's responsibility to ensure that all reasonable measures are used to prevent and eliminate false alarms.
E. 
Liability. The Town of Johnston, its Fire Department, and any of its employees, shall under no circumstances be held liable for any defects in the operation of automatic fire protection devices and fire signaling systems, for a fire alarm not being received by the Fire Department, or for any failure or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of any false alarm of fire.
F. 
This section shall not apply to fire alarm systems connected to automatic dialers in one-, two-, and three-family residential buildings.
G. 
Fees for false alarms shall be paid to the Town of Johnston.
H. 
A building owner who fails to pay the fine provided in Subsection C(2) or (3) hereof within 10 days of written notice thereof sent by the Johnston Town Clerk shall be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for each offense.
An alarm system user whose permit has been revoked may apply for a new permit. The Fire Department may impose reasonable restrictions and conditions upon issuing a new permit to an alarm user, with respect to the particular system for which the permit was revoked.
Anyone convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, of this Code.