(A) Prohibition; preventable false alarms. It shall be unlawful for any person to activate, initiate, transmit or otherwise cause, authorize or allow more than five “preventable false alarms” at the same location within a six-month period.
(B) Notice and corrective action requirement.
(1) General. If the Police or Fire Department, through their respective designees, have probable cause to believe that five preventable false alarms have occurred at the same location within a six-month period, the Chief of the respective department, or his or her designee, shall within 48 hours of having established probable cause, notify the property owner or other entity, user or person in charge of the alarm system, in writing (by delivering said notice in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested), of the nature and number of preventable false alarms that have occurred to date, including a brief description of the date and circumstances of each preventable false alarm, and shall further advise the property owner, entity, user or person in control of the alarm system, that any additional preventable false alarms after this period of correction provided in division (B)(2) below shall constitute a violation of this chapter for which the offender may be subject to prosecution or civil penalty. Therefore, a compliance status with zero preventable alarms shall be maintained for at least six months to avoid additional penalty.
(2) Duty to inspect and repair. Upon written notification from the Police or Fire Departments, through then-respective designee, of the occurrence of five preventable false alarms within a six-month period, the property owner, entity, user or person in control of the police or fire security alarm system in question, shall have the alarm system inspected by a representative of the manufacturer of the alarm system or a qualified and reputable representative of a fire and security alarm system dealer, to determine if the false alarms are the result of mechanical failure, malfunction, improper design, installation, lack of proper maintenance or human error due to carelessness or lack of training. The inspection report shall note any and all deficiencies believed to exist in the professional opinion of the qualified inspector, and what repairs or other corrective action the inspector believes is required to render the alarm system safe, operational and functional in relation to the type of property or business it was designed and intended to secure. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner, entity, user or other person in control of the alarm system to make the necessary repairs and/or take any and all other remedial measures reasonably identified and required by the qualified inspector, and to submit a copy of the inspection report along with written proof of the repairs and/or remedial action taken to correct any malfunctions or deficiencies identified in the alarm system to the Police or Fire Departments from whom the original notice was received, within 14 days of receipt of the formal notification required in division (B)(1) above.
(3) Duty to train and provide orientation to employees and occupants. Upon written notification from the Police or Fire Departments, through their respective designee, of the occurrence of five preventable false alarms within a six-month period, the property owner, entity, user or person in control of the police or fire security alarm system in question, shall provide system operation instruction to all system operators or potential authorized users of the premises, and shall provide written documentation of the framing to the Police or Fire Departments from whom the original notice was received, within 14 days of receipt of the formal notification required in division (B)(1) above.
(C) Exception. A false alarm shall not be deemed a “preventable false alarm” under the prohibition in division (A) above if it occurs at a location for which the property owner, entity, user or person in control of the alarm system has been formally notified to inspect and repair any malfunctions or deficiencies in accordance with divisions (B)(1) and (B)(2) above; provided that, the false alarm occurs within the time period prescribed for the alarm system to be inspected and repaired, if necessary.
(Prior Code, § 132.02) (Ord. 13-2002, passed 8-5-2002) Penalty, see § 132.99