Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Regulating Emergency Alarm Devices or Systems
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Regulating Emergency Alarm Devices or Systems
I. SHORT TITLE
This Article shall be known and may be cited as “Ordinance Regulating Alarm Devices or Systems.
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Regulating Emergency Alarm Devices or Systems
II. DEFINITIONS
A. Alarms System: Any assembly of equipment and devices, arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to which public safety personnel and equipment are expected to respond. This shall include any fire alarm system as well as any police alarm system.
B. Person: Any natural person, legal entity, corporation or unincorporated association.
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Regulating Emergency Alarm Devices or Systems
III. ISSUANCE OF PERMITS UPON APPLICATION THEREOF
(A) Upon application, the Chief of Police for the Town of Dunbarton is hereby authorized to issue a permit to any applicant to install, maintain and operate upon property within the Town of Dunbarton, an alarm system1 subject to the following conditions:
1. Name, date of birth, address, residence and business telephone number of alarm owner;
2. Exact location of building;
3. Diagram of building - interior and exterior;
4. Description of alarm system;
5. Name, address, residence and business telephone number of person(s) to be contacted in case of emergency – such person(s) should have a key to the building and should be able to reset the alarm.
6. Name, date of birth, address, residence and business telephone number of legal entity responsible for maintenance of alarm system.
(B) The Chief of Police, upon review of the application and upon compliance by the applicant of the above-stated conditions, shall issue to the applicant a permit to install, maintain and operate an alarm system in the Town of Dunbarton.
(C) No person shall install, maintain or operate an alarm system in the Town of Dunbarton without obtaining a permit. Any person who operates an alarm system without first obtaining a permit as required by this ordinance, or who operates an alarm system when such permit has been revoked shall be guilty of a violation, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(D) An alarm owner shall be responsible for notifying the Dunbarton Police Department of any changes in the information given on the original application for a permit.
(E) Alarm systems presently operating and in existence shall conform to the requirements of this ordinance within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this ordinance.
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Regulating Emergency Alarm Devices or Systems
IV. INDIVIDUAL ALARM SYSTEMS MALFUNCTIONS
In the event the individual alarm system malfunctions and the trouble is determined to be in the individual system, the alarm owner will be required to have the appropriate repairs made within forty-eight (48) hours. Repeated malfunctions due to disrepair will be treated as false alarms.
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
V. FALSE ALARMS
(A) False alarm is defined as the activation of an alarm through mechanical failure; accidental tripping; misoperation; malfunction, misuse; or the neglect of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or of his agents or employees. Such terminology does not include alarms caused by electrical storms; hurricanes; other violent events of nature; or external causes beyond the control of the owner or lessee of the alarm system.
(B) The alarm owner of any alarms system shall be assessed a service charge for each false alarm transmitted by such system in a calendar year, as follows:
1 to 3………………………………. No Charge
4 to 6, per alarm…………………. $ 50.00
7 or more, per alarm……………. $100.00
(C) An alarm owner may appeal false alarm service charges in writing to the Chief of Police within ten (10) days after receipt of notice of penalty.
(D) Failure to pay false alarm service charges within forty-five (45) days of the notification date shall result in revocation of the person’s permit.
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
VI. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF PERMIT
(A) The Chief of Police, upon notification that the Police Department has received fifteen (15) false alarms in a calendar year from one alarm owner, may summarily suspend the alarm owner’s permit pending notice and hearing. Such a hearing will be informal.
(B) The Chief of Police, after due notice and a hearing, may revoke an alarm owner’s permit if he determines that the alarm owner will not or cannot take reasonable action to eliminate the number of false alarms transmitted by the alarm system.
(C) An alarm owner whose permit has been revoked may reapply for a new permit if the owner can prove that the cause of the prior revocation has been eliminated and/or corrected.
(D) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Chief of Police regarding any suspension or revocation of this section shall have the right to appeal to the board of Selectmen of the Town of Dunbarton. Such appeal shall be in writing and filed with the Chief of Police within ten (10) days of the decision appealed from. The said appeal shall fully state the grounds for appeal.
(E) Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Regulating Emergency Alarm Devices or Systems
Reservation Of Right To Disconnect
(A) The Chief of Police reserves the right to order a disconnect for any alarm that is in disrepair, is an habitual false alarm violator or in any way fails consistently to comply with the requirements of this ordinance.
Town of Dunbarton
Ordinance
Liability Of Town of Dunbarton Limited
VIII. LIABILITY OF TOWN OF DUNBARTON LIMITED
(A) The Police Department of the Town of Dunbarton shall take every reasonable precaution to assure the alarm activations received by the Department are given appropriate attention. However, the Police Department shall not be liable for any defects in operation of alarm systems, for any failure or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of an alarm, or for the failure or neglect of any person in connection with the installation and operation of alarm devices or their components. In the event that the Police Department finds it necessary to disconnect an alarm system, the Police Department shall incur no liability of such action.
Board of Selectmen
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Town Clerk
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Witness