Fort Walton Beach Ordinance — 1787 amend fire alarm systems — reading text

READING 1st 2nd ORDINANCE NO. 1787 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH FLORIDA RELATING TO FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS; AMENDING SECTION 8. 02. 11, RULES FOR USE; AMENDING 8.02. 12, FALSE ALARMS, TO RAISE FINE AMOUNTS FOR FALSE ALARMS AND TO AUTHORIZE FINES AGAINST FIRE ALARM CONTRACTORS, SPRINKLER CONTRACTORS, EMPLOYEES OF SUCH CONTRACTORS, OR ENTITIES LICENSED TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE OR TESTING OF ALARM SYSTEMS; ADDING PROVISIONS FOR APPEALS; AND SETTING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Authority & Intent. The authority for enactment of this Ordinance is Section 166. 021, Florida Statutes ( 2007). The City's Fire Department is responsible for enforcing the NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code, to safeguard, to a reasonable degree, life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion and from conditions hazardous to life and property in the use or occupancy of buildings or premises and their contents. The Fire Department routinely answers seven to ten false alarm calls per week. Each time the Fire Department responds to a false alarm, manning and equipment are reduced that would otherwise be available to respond to other emergency calls. Therefore, the City Council finds that to protect the health, welfare, and safety of City residents, it is necessary to implement fines for false alarms requiring fire department response. Section 2. Amendment of Section 8.02. 01, Permit Required Section 8.02. 01, of the Code of Ordinances, is hereby amended as follows. Sec. 8.02. 01. Alarm Permit Required All alarm users in the city, whether connected directly to the police communications center or to a private alarm monitoring company, shall be required to maintain an alarm permit. There shall be no charge for first time registration and the annual renewal fee shall be in such amount as established from time to time by resolution of the city council. Such permit shall expire at the end of the calendar year and the fee shall be Drorated on a Quarterly basis beoinnino from the date of Durchase. Any alarm user not in Dossession of a current Dermit shall be notified by the Dolice deDartment that a Dermit is reauired. The alarm user shall obtain a Dermit and Day the aDDroDriate fee within ten ( 10) workino days after notification. unless an aDDeal is filed Dursuant to the Drovisions of this ordinance. Any alarm user who refuses to secure an alarm Dermit Toni L.Craig Page 1 11/26/ 08  shall be subiect to the Drovisions of chaDter 1- 5. of the Code of Ordinances. Section 3. Amendment of Section 8. 02.04, False Alarm Charges Section 8. 02. 04, of the Code of Ordinances, is hereby amended as follows. Sec. 8. 02. 04. False Alarm Charges. ny alarm user not in possession of an alarm permit shall be assessed a charge, as established in the general fee schedule, for e\~ ry false alarm recorded by the police department. Section 4. Amendment of Section 8. 02. 11, Rules for Use Section 8. 02. 11, of the Code of Ordinances, is hereby amended as follows. Sec. 8. 02. 11. Rules for Use. The police chief and fire chief may promulgate such rules as may be necessary for the implementation of this chapter. Each alarm user and any fire alarm contractor. sDrinkler contractor. emDloyee of such contractors. or entity licensed to Derform maintenance or testinQ of an alarm system will abide by this chapter and any instructions as required by the city. 1) All automatic dialing devices shall be prohibited from calling or dialing the police department 90 days after adoption of this ordinance. 2) All alarm systems transmitting signals to the communications console in the police department shall be disconnected/ removed from the police department 90 days after adoption of this ordinance. 3) The provisions of this section shall apply to all alarm users except the various departments of the city. 4) Every alarm user shall submit to the chief of police the names and telephone numbers of at least two persons who can be reached at any time, day or night, who are authorized to respond to an emergency signal transmitted by an alarm system, and who can open the premises wherein the alarm system is installed. 5) All alarm systems installed after the effective date of this ordinance, that use an audible horn, bell, or other signaling device shall be equipped with a device that will shutoff such horn or bell within 10 minutes after activation of the alarm system. This shall not apply to fire alarm systems. Toni L.Craig Page 2 11/26/ 08  6) Any alarm system emitting a continuous and uninterrupted signal for more than 20 minutes from the time the policet2Lfire -- department is notified, which cannot be shut off or otherwise curtailed due to the absence or unavailability of the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user Aim , and which disturbs the peace, comfort, or repose of a community, neighborhood, or considerable number of inhabitants of the area where the alarm system is located, shall constitute a public nuisance. Upon receiving complaints regarding such a continuous and uninterrupted signal, the police chief shall endeavor to contact the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user in an effort to abate the nuisance. The police chief shall cause to be recorded- the name and addresses of all complainants and the time each complaint was made. If the police chief or fire chief is unable to contact the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user, or if such person cannot or will not curtail the audible signal being emitted by the alarm system and if the police chief is otherwise unable to abate the nuisance, he shall direct a police officer, firefighter, or a qualified alarm technician to enter upon the property or premises and take any reasonable action necessary to abate the nuisance. If entry upon the property or premises in which the alarm system is located is made in accordance with this subsection, the person so entering upon such property: shall not conduct, engage in, or undertake any unwarranted search, seizure, inspection, or investigation while upon the property; shall not cause any unnecessary damage to the alarm system or to any part of the premises; and shall leave the property as soon as practical after the audible signal has ceased. 7) After an entry upon property has been made in accordance with this section, the police chief or fire chief shall have the property secured, if necessary. The fire department may have a key box or lock box installed in accordance with NFPA 1. 3- 6 at the expense of the alarm user. The reasonable costs and expenses of abating a nuisance in accordance with this section shall be assessed to the alarm user. Within ten days after abatement of a nuisance in accordance with this section, the alarm user may request a hearing before the police chief or fire chief and may present evidence showing that the signal emitted by his or her alarm system was not a public nuisance at the time of the abatement, that unnecessary damage was caused to his or her property in the course of the abatement, that the cost of the abatement should not be assessed to him, or that the requirements of this section were not fulfilled. The police chief or fire chief shall hear all interested parties and may, at his or her discretion, reimburse the alarm user for the repairs to his or her property Toni L. Craig Page 3 11/26/ 08  necessitated by the abatement or excuse the alarm user from paying the cost of abatement. initiating an emergency response due to testing an 8) Po. central station alarm system shall constitute a false alarm. 8) Any fire alarm contractor. sDrinkler contractor. emDloyee of such contractors. or entity licensed to Derform maintenance or testino of an alarm system. shall contact the Okaloosa County Emeroency DisDatch System and the Fort Walton Beach Fire DeDartment to inform them that maintenance or testino will be conducted on any system in the city Drior to the beoinnino of any maintenance or testino. Section 5. Amendment of Section 8. 02. 12, False Alarms Section 8. 02. 12, of the Code of Ordinances, is hereby amended as follows. Sec. 8.02. 12 False Alarms When the Dorice or fire deDartment resDonds to an emergency messages or signals of a burglar, robbery, medical, or fire alarm. and the resDondino deDartment determines that the messaoe or sional was are received by the police department or fir.e department that e~:idence a false alarm, the followino Drocedures shall aDDlv. actions set forth in the follo'JJing subsections '*vill be taken and, '*\'hen so required by such subsections, the chief of police or fire chief may order a fine to be le~Jied. The Chief of Police or Fire Chief may also cause the use of an alarm system be discontinued or order a " non response" to any future alarm acti'Jations. 8. 02. 121 False Alarm Report and Citation The police department or fire department, upon receiving notification of an alarm activation, shall dispatch personnel to the scene of the activation. If the activation is determined to be false, the officer shall complete a " false alarm report and citation" and leave a copy of the report and citation with the user or designated person on the property. In the event the user or the designee is not present, the officer shall leave a copy of the report and citation in a conspicuous place on the premises and mail a CODY of the reDort and citation to the Dermit holder at the address on file for the alarm Dermit. 8. 02. 122 Record of Activations The police department and fire department shall keep a record of all false alarm activations for the Dast two calendar year!, in addition to a list of all alarmed premises, users and designated contacts. 8. 02. 123 Violations, Police Department Responses Toni L.Craig Page 4 11/26/08  If the police department or Fire Department records more than three ( 3) false alarms in a calendar year, from an alarm system or alarm monitoring company who monitors an alarm system, the user shall be fined, per false alarm, as follows: 1) For the first three ( 3) violations within any twelve-month period, there is no charge. 2) For the fourth, fifth and sixth violation within any twelve- month period, the fine is twenty-five