As used in this Article, the following terms shall have these
prescribed meanings:
Any person employed by an alarm business whose duties include
altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, selling,
servicing, responding to or causing others to respond to an alarm
device.
Any business operated by a person or entity who engages in
the activity of altering, installing, leasing, maintaining, moving,
repairing, replacing, selling, servicing or responding to an emergency
alarm system or which causes any of these activities to take place.
Any mechanical or electrical device which is designed to
be activated manually or automatically upon the detection of an unauthorized
entry, intrusion, fire condition or other emergency in or on any building,
structure, facility or premises through the emission of a sound or
transmission of a signal or message.
Any person who uses an alarm system to protect any building,
structure, facility or premises.
An alarm located on the building, structure, facility or
premises protected and equipped with an exterior sound-producing device
such as a gong, buzzer, siren, bell or horn used to give notification
of the need for Normandy Police services.
That part of an alarm system which automatically dials a
specific telephone number and transmits a prerecorded emergency message.
An alarm system which provides for special telephone or cable
lines that are directly connected to the St. Louis County Police dispatch
center or Normandy Fire Protection District and has an outlet at the
St. Louis County Police dispatch center or Normandy Fire Protection
District which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when
activated.
Any activation of an alarm system intentionally, by inadvertence,
negligence, unintentional act or malfunction of the alarm system to
which the City of Normandy Police or Normandy Fire Protection District
are summoned to respond when there is no unauthorized entry, intrusion,
fire condition or emergency, provided that the following shall not
be considered to be false alarms:
Alarms caused by the malfunction of equipment of the City of
Normandy, or of the St. Louis County Police Department, or the Normandy
Fire Protection District.
Alarms caused by damage, testing or repair of the means of transmission,
provided that such incidents are promptly reported to the company
providing said means of transmission. Any testing or repair activity
shall first be reported to the St. Louis County Police dispatch center
prior to commencement of the testing or repair activity.
Alarms caused by acts over which the user has no control such
as windstorm, thunder, lightning or other similar acts of God.
Alarms intentionally caused by a person acting under a reasonable
belief that a need exists to summon the Normandy Police or Normandy
Fire Protection District.
Alarms occurring on a repeated basis without apparent cause
but where reasonable effort, in the judgment of the Normandy Police
Chief or Normandy Fire Chief or their designated representative, is
being made by the alarm user, business alarm, alarm agent or other
concerned person to correct the malfunction expeditiously.
Alarms followed by an immediate call to the Normandy Police
Department or St. Louis County Police dispatch center canceling same
by giving the proper code number prior to arrival of the Normandy
Police Department for Police service.
That part of any alarm system which transmits, manually or
automatically, a medical alert signal.
Those alarms and associated wiring, devices and signals which
have or are being installed in compliance with the provisions of the
City of Normandy Fire or Building Codes.
Automatic dialing devices shall be programmed to dial only the
telephone number at the St. Louis County Police dispatch center which
is authorized by the St. Louis County Police Department.
All alarm systems with an audible alarm shall be equipped with
a fifteen (15) minute cutoff timer if not restricted by the Fire or
Building Codes.
Any alarm business or alarm agent which sells, leases or installs
an alarm system in the City of Normandy shall furnish the alarm user
with written instructions for the operation of the system. The alarm
business or alarm agent shall provide training in the operation of
the system and, upon request from the alarm user, refresher training.
The alarm business or alarm agent shall inform the alarm user in writing
as to whether the alarm system is a standard fire alarm system.
Alarm systems installed after the effective date of this Article
shall meet or exceed standards set by American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) and/or Underwriter Laboratories (UL) and the City
of Normandy Fire Prevention and Building Codes for the applicable
alarm system.
Any alarm business or alarm agent which sells, leases or installs
an alarm system within the City of Normandy must offer, either directly
or through an agency, repair service for said alarm system to maintain
it in proper working order.
The alarm user shall be responsible for maintaining the alarm
system in good repair to assure reliability of operation.
A.
Any
alarm business or alarm agent shall be responsible for informing the
alarm user, before attaching a medical alert device to an alarm system,
that if the responding authority is not able to verify false alarms,
the alarm will be treated as an actual emergency.
B.
Any
alarm user, because of the nature of medical alert devices, shall
hold the responding authority harmless from any and all liability
resulting from damage to doors, windows or any other part of the building,
structure, facility or premises which might necessarily be forced
or damaged to verify the emergency situation.
For the purpose of enforcing provisions of this Article, the
Normandy Police Chief, the Normandy Fire Protection District Chief
or the Chiefs' designated representatives shall have the authority,
at reasonable times and upon reasonable oral notice, to enter any
building, structure, facility or premises in the City of Normandy,
in or upon which an alarm system or alarm business is located, to
inspect the installation or operation of such alarm system or alarm
business. Any alarm user may request written notice of inspection
and, at any alarm user's option, inspection shall be made at the alarm
user's expense by a licensed electrical contractor acceptable to the
user and to the City. If such inspection reveals any violation of
the provisions of this Article, the alarm user or alarm business shall
have thirty (30) days within which to correct such violation. Standard
fire alarm systems shall be subject to the enforcement provisions
of the Fire and Building Codes.
The City of Normandy shall not be liable for any defects in
the operation of automatic dialing devices or signal line systems
for failure or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of an
alarm from any such source nor for the failure or neglect of any alarm
business or alarm agent.
A false alarm is declared a violation of this Article. Upon determination by the Normandy Police Department, or the Normandy Fire Protection District if a fire alarm is involved, that a false alarm has occurred, there shall be no fine for the first two (2) false alarms in any twelve (12) month period or for any false alarm during the first two (2) weeks following installation of an alarm system. Thereafter, the fine for false alarms shall be as provided in Section 215.2390 of this Article.
Any alarm business or alarm agent installing an alarm system
within the City of Normandy shall be licensed and bonded in compliance
with applicable ordinances of St. Louis County and, if required, by
applicable ordinances of the City of Normandy and Statutes of the
State of Missouri.
Any person, firm, corporation, institution or organization, or representative thereof, violating any of the provisions of this Article or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of an ordinance violation punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00); and each day such failure to comply or such violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense; provided, that in the event of violation of Section 215.2370, False Alarms, hereof, after the third (3rd) false alarm in any twelve (12) month period, the alarm user may in lieu of court appearance pay a fine of fifteen dollars ($15.00); and further, for the fourth (4th) false alarm in any twelve (12) month period, the alarm user may in lieu of court appearance pay a fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). For the fifth (5th) and subsequent false alarms in any twelve (12) month period, the fine shall be an amount that is double the amount of the prior penalty (e.g., fifth (5th) false alarm, fifty dollars ($50.00); sixth (6th) false alarm, one hundred dollars ($100.00), etc.) plus court costs of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each offense thereafter.
