(a) A charge established in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) below shall be assessed against property owners for false alarms received by the Fire Department through any automated fire alarm system, as defined in Section 1701.18 (e), or for each false alarm received through any other alarm service which the City has otherwise received, with the exception that there shall be no charges assessed against Single or Two Family Residences as described in Section 1701.18(a).
(b) No charge shall be made for a first false alarm, as monitored on an annual basis; nor shall there be any charge for a false alarm for which no actual fire department or squad run has, in fact, been dispatched in response thereto; nor when the cause has been proven to be an act of God; nor when the cause has been proven to be due to the malfunction, by testing or repairing, of telephonic lines maintained and operated by public utilities under regulation of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio; nor when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Safety that the cause was due to mechanical malfunction, which malfunction occurred despite a regimen of regularly scheduled maintenance and testing of the automated fire alarm system. "Annual basis" as used in this Chapter is any 365 day period of time.
(c) In the event that a false alarm is not a first false alarm for a property, as monitored on an annual basis or is not otherwise excepted in paragraph (a) or (b) above from the charges provided for by this Section, then the Director of Public Safety shall review the alarm believed to be a "false alarm" and shall determine whether, under the facts and circumstances surrounding the false alarm, a charge should be assessed against the property owner. If the Director of Public Safety determines that a charge should be assessed, then the charge shall be in the nature of a civil penalty against the property owner and shall be assessed in accordance with the following schedule:
2nd false alarm within one year period $ 500.00 3rd false alarm within one year period $1,000.00 4th and additional false alarms within one year period $2,000.00 |
(d) In order to deter and reduce false alarms, the Fire Chief is authorized to verify compliance with this Chapter at any time and to otherwise require the property owner or operator of an automated fire alarm system to account for the frequency of false alarms by evaluating the operating systems, including but not limited to the following:
(1) All equipment used for automated fire alarm systems are required to meet the applicable standards of the Underwriters Laboratories and/or the National Fire Protection Association or other recognized industry standards. Upon demand by the Fire Chief, an owner or operator may be required to submit evidence of reliability, suitability and capability and compatibility of automated equipment and systems
(2) The sensory mechanism used in connection with such fire alarm systems or devices shall be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusion, so that the devices will not be actuated by impulses due to transient pressure changes in water pipes, temperature fluctuation by sources other than fire, wind gusts, or other forces unrelated to genuine alarms. All components shall be maintained in good repair.
(3) The Fire Chief or any officer designated to represent the Fire Chief shall be is further authorized, at reasonable times and upon oral notice, to enter upon any premises so equipped with an automated fire alarm system for the purpose of inspecting the installation and operation of an automatic fire suppression or signaling device and in order to evaluate false alarms.
(4) The Fire Chief may institute and require a "Fire Watch" system of human verification of emergency conditions while repairs and/or maintenance is being performed to an automated fire alarm system.
(e) Failure to pay any charge for a false alarm, which remains unpaid thirty days after date of invoice, shall result in written notice from the Fire Chief and then referral to the Director of Law for enforcement.
(Ord. 2010-20. Passed 3-2-10.)