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The Township of Orion, a Michigan Municipal Corporation, whose address is 2323 Joslyn Road, Lake Orion, MI 48360, and its Fire Department, Fire Code Official and personnel shall serve as the Village of Lake Orion's enforcing agency that shall administer and enforce this subchapter in and on behalf of the Village of Lake Orion as authorized by the Urban Cooperation Act of 1967, 1967 Public Act 7, M.C.L.A. §§ 124.501, et seq. The Township of Orion shall be vested with all lawful authority to administer and enforce the Village of Lake Orion's False Fire Alarm Ordinance and it shall be deemed sufficient in any action for enforcement of the provisions hereof as a violation of this code.
(Ord. 22.08, passed 5-23-22)
(A) Enforcement and penalties. Fire alarm users shall pay the Township of Orion a fee or fine as provided in this section, for each false fire alarm and shall also be held responsible as follows:
(1) First false fire alarm requiring fire response: warning.
(2) Second false fire alarm requiring fire response within the calendar year: assessment of a portion or all of the cost of fire response, as established by resolution.
(3) Third or subsequent false fire alarm requiring fire response, within the calendar year: assessment of a portion or all of the cost of fire response, as established by resolution.
(4) Fourth false fire alarm requiring fire response, within the calendar year shall constitute an excessive number of false fire alarms, which shall constitute a civil infraction punishable by assessment of a portion or all of the cost of fire response, as established by resolution, a fine of up to $500, and mandatory restitution to the township for the cost of fire response. An alarm system signaling more than three false fire alarms within a calendar year of time shall be inspected and modified to be more false alarm resistant. Upon written notice, the owner or fire alarm user of the building, residence or commercial occupation shall have the fire alarm system inspected and modified, at the owner or user's expense, by a licensed alarm system contractor within 14 days of the date of the notice and shall forward to the Fire Department the contractor's report of the probable cause of the false fire alarms and the measures instituted to eliminate same.
(B) Invoicing for false fire alarms. The Township of Orion shall administer the invoicing for assessment of the false fire alarm fees established by this section. The Fire Department shall promptly prepare and deliver to the fire alarm user who is deemed liable under this subchapter for the payment of the cost of the fire response, an invoice by first class mail or personal service. The amount of the invoice shall constitute a debt in favor of the Township of Orion and the obligation of the fire alarm user. The invoice shall also include the following provision: "A person aggrieved by this false fire alarm determination may submit a letter of appeal to the Township of Orion Board of Trustees for review of the determination or penalty being appealed." An alarm user who is liable for the payment of the cost of fire response shall make payment in full to the Township of Orion Treasurer within 30 days of the invoice date.
(C) Appeal. Fire alarm users, commercial occupants, contractors, and/or contractors’ employers aggrieved by receipt of a warning letter for the occurrence of a false fire alarm, or by a false fire alarm determination that results in the imposition of a fee for the cost of fire response, may submit a letter of appeal to the Township of Orion Board of Trustees for review of the determination of a false alarm occurrence. Such appeal letters must be submitted within 14 days of the date of the warning letter or fee invoice. Persons or entities who are cited for a municipal civil infraction may not avail themselves of this appeal provision but may instead defend against the charge in the district court if desired. The fees prescribed by the Township of Orion may not be appealed or modified by appeal; only the actual determination of a false fire alarm occurrence may be appealed pursuant to this section. The following appeal process shall be afforded upon receipt of an appeal letter.
(1) Upon receipt of an appeal letter, the Township of Orion Board of Trustees shall forward a copy of the letter (and supporting documentation provided with the letter, if any) to the Fire Chief for review.
(2) The Fire Chief and/or his or her designee shall independently review the letter and, within 30 days, advise the Township of Orion Board of Trustees in writing whether, after reasonable investigation, the appeal should be granted. In order to recommend that an appeal be granted, the independent review must result in the conclusion that the original false fire alarm determination was clearly erroneous. To reach such a conclusion, irrefutable evidence must support the finding that the occurrence did not fit the definition of "false alarm" as set forth in this subchapter.
(3) The Township of Orion Board of Trustees shall decide the matter based upon their review of the conclusions of the Fire Department, subject to the standards set forth in division (C)(2). The Board's decision shall be rendered in writing no later than 60 days from the date the appeal was received by the township unless the Township Supervisor issues a written notice that the review is subject to circumstances beyond its control that require up to an additional 30 days to complete the review. The Board's decision shall be final, and if the Board makes a finding that the appeal is denied, all outstanding false fire alarm fees owed shall be paid within ten days of the date the Township of Orion Board of Trustees forwards the final decision to the alarm user via first class mail or personal service.
(4) If an appeal is granted, the result shall be that the determination of a false fire alarm shall be overturned, and the fire alarm occurrence shall not be counted with future false fire alarm occurrences for purposes of the progressive penalties in divisions (A)(1) through (3).
(5) If the appeal is denied, the result shall be that the determination of a false fire alarm shall stand, and the false fire alarm occurrence may be counted with future false fire alarm occurrences for purposes of the progressive penalties in divisions (A)(1) through (3).
(D) Payment of invoice. An alarm user who is liable for the payment of the cost fire response shall make payment in full to the Township of Orion Treasurer within 30 days of the invoice date.
(E) Failure to pay invoice. When payment of the Township of Orion's invoice is not timely made, the township may commence a civil action against a person who is liable for the payment of the cost of fire response and who fails to make payment in full to the township as required by this subchapter. The township shall be entitled to recover the expenses, statutory interest, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees incurred for pursuing the civil action.
(Ord. 22.08, passed 5-23-22)
FIRE DEPARTMENT COST RECOVERY
This subchapter shall be known and cited as the Village of Lake Orion "Fire Department Cost Recovery" Ordinance and it shall be deemed sufficient in any action for enforcement of the provisions hereof to define the same by such short title and by reference to the number hereof.
(Ord. 22.09, passed 5-23-22)
The following words and phrases, when used in this section shall, for the purpose of this section, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
COST OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE. All direct and reasonable costs related to an emergency response incurred by the Township of Orion Fire Department. These costs shall include, but are not limited to, the costs of firefighting, emergency medical and rescue services; the salaries, wages, fringe benefits of any personnel engaged in investigating the incident and all costs of any related reports; and all costs connected with the supervision of personnel responding to or investigating any incident.
DOWNED POWER LINE or OTHER NON-HAZMAT PUBLIC UTILITY HAZARD RESPONSE. The disabling of any transmission, distribution or service line, cable, conduit, pipeline, wire, or the like used to provide, collect or transport electricity, natural gas, communication, or electronic signals (including, but not limited to, telephone, computer, cable television, and stereo signals or electronic impulses), water or sanitary or storm sewage.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE. Providing, sending, or utilizing firefighting, specialized rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, or emergency medical service by the Township of Orion Fire Department, by another municipality under the mutual aid guidelines, or by a private individual or corporation operating at the request or direction of the Township of Orion Fire Department.
FIRE WATCH. A temporary measure intended to ensure continuous surveillance of a building or portion thereof by one or more qualified individuals for the purposes of identifying and controlling fire hazards, detecting early signs of unwanted fire, raising an alarm of fire, and notifying the Fire Department.
PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL. Police officers, deputy sheriffs, 9-1-1 dispatchers, firefighters, EMS/ALS personnel, first responders, and other employees of the Township of Orion who provide emergency services to persons and/or to property within the township, including but not limited to its Department of Public Works.
PUBLIC UTILITY. Any transmission, distribution or service line, cable, conduit, pipeline, wire, or the like used to provide, collect or transport electricity, natural gas, electronic signals, telephone, computer, cable television, stereo signals, electronic impulses, water, or sanitary or storm sewage.
SAFEGUARD A SCENE. All activities, personnel costs, and expenditures related to the Township of Orion's response to downed wires, gas line or main breaks, or any other non-HAZMAT response to a public utility hazard response and as set forth in herein.
(Ord. 22.09, passed 5-23-22)
The purpose of this subchapter is to provide financial assistance to the Township of Orion in the operation of a Fire Department that serves and protects the Village of Lake Orion from those receiving direct benefits from the fire protection service and to provide recovery for emergency costs. A significant number of fire/rescue incidents involve acts by nonresidents.
(Ord. 22.09, passed 5-23-22)
The following enumerated services may be charged to a recipient of any of the following services:
(A) Motor vehicle-related incident, initial response/rescue/medical treatment.
(B) Motor vehicle-related incident clean-up using HAZMAT kit.
(C) Intentional fire in a commercial establishment or residential structure.
(D) Intentional fire in an industrial or manufacturing establishment or residential structure.
(E) Confined space rescue (emergency response, first operational hour).
(F) Confined space rescue (emergency response, second hour, and beyond).
(G) Confined space rescue (nonemergency/continuous on-site stand-by).
(H) Hazardous materials operation (initial response, first operational hour).
(I) Hazardous materials operation (second hour or more).
(J) Emergency ice rescue services (per person).
(K) Watercraft rescue (per person).
(L) Aircraft and boat fires (nonresident).
(M) Annual fire code compliance inspections (fines set by resolution).
(N) Stand-by fee for utility providers/downed power line or other non-HAZMAT public utility hazard response (second hour or more/per hour).
(O) Response for a violation of open burning requirements subchapter.
(P) Special events cost recovery (per event, per personnel, per apparatus and equipment provided for event): personnel and/or resources made available and dedicated to a specific event for the purpose of providing emergency service response or other agreed-upon assistance.
(Q) Fire watch (per personnel, per equipment and per apparatus provided for response): any Fire Department response to a fire watch for a commercial or multi-family occupancy.
(Ord. 22.09, passed 5-23-22)
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