A. As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings pertinent to Police alarms:
(1) "Alarm system" means any device, which is designed or used for the detection of burglary or attempted burglary, or for alerting others of the commission of a robbery or attempted robbery within a building, structure or facility, or both, and which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when activated for the purpose of deterring the intruder, or notifying another person of any of the above, and includes systems that transmit the signal or message directly to the Police Department. "Alarm system" does not include any such device used exclusively to protect a residential premises. "Alarm system" does not include alarms on motor vehicles.
(2) "Alarm system user" means the person who occupies a premises on which an alarm system is operated, or if no person occupies the premises, the person having the right to possession of the premises on which the alarm system is operated.
(3) "Police Department" means the Police Department in the Department of Public Safety of the Village of Highland Hills.
(4) "Police Chief" means the Chief of the Police Department of the Village of Highland Hills.
(5) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or business of any kind.
(6) "Unnecessary alarm" as it relates to alarms to summon the Police Department, means the activation of an alarm system whereby the Police Department is summoned to a location when there is no incident occurring nor is there any evidence of any incident having occurred or having been attempted, as reported by the alarm. "Unnecessary alarm" shall also mean any violation of Section 707.04. "Unnecessary alarm" shall not include alarms obviously attributable to extreme weather conditions, or power outages, the burden of proof of such exceptions to this section being on the alarm system user.
B. As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings pertinent to Fire alarms:
(1) "Auxiliary protective signaling system" means a connection to the municipal fire alarm system to transmit an alarm of fire to the Fire Department, which can be either a radio box or a master box.
(2) "Central station operating company" means a company equipped to receive a fire alarm signal from each of its customers and which then transmits to the Fire Department the location of any such alarm the central station operating company receives.
(3) "Fire Department" means the Fire Department in the Department of Public Safety of the Village.
(4) "Fire alarm system" or "alarm system" means any heat-activated, smoke- activated, flame energy-activated or other such automatic device or devices capable of transmitting a fire alarm signal to a central supervising station of a proprietary protective signaling system, a central station operating company, or directly to the Fire Department by means of a master box or radio box.
(5) "Fire Chief" means the Chief of the Fire Department of the Village.
(6) "Master box" means a municipal fire alarm box which is activated either by the internal building fire alarm system or manually. It sends an alarm signal directly to the Fire Department.
(7) "Proprietary protective signaling system" means an installation of a protective signaling system that serves a building or contiguous and/or noncontiguous properties, whether or not under common ownership, from a central supervising station serving the protected property or properties and having personnel in attendance, or any other system that alerts personnel or automatically transmits an alarm to the Fire Department.
(8) "Protective signaling system" means electrically operated circuits, instruments, and devices, together with the necessary electrical energy, designed to transmit alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals necessary for the protection of life and property.
(9) "Radio box" means a radio transmitter which is activated either by the internal building fire alarm system or manually. It sends an alarm signal directly to the Fire Department.
(10) "Unnecessary alarm" as it relates to an alarm to summon the Fire Department, means the activation of a fire alarm system which results in the Fire Department being summoned to the location served by the alarm system when there is no fire or fire-related emergency occurring, nor is there any indication, as determined by the Fire Department, that a fire or fire-related emergency has occurred, as reported by the alarm. The activation of a fire alarm system shall be rebuttably presumed to be an "unnecessary alarm" if, after investigation, the Fire Department finds no indication that a fire or fire-related emergency occurred. "Unnecessary alarm" shall not include a scheduled or controlled test of the fire alarm system, provided that the Fire Department's dispatch center has been notified immediately prior to each test, nor shall "unnecessary alarm" include a deliberate false alarm as proscribed by Section 509.07 of these Codified Ordinances, the burden of proof for these exceptions being upon the person(s) responsible for the alarm system. (Ord. 2006-63. Passed 2-7-07.)