[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting of the Town
of Yarmouth 10-17-2011 by Art. 7, approved 10-24-2011. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words, and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future; words in the plural number include the singular
number; and words in the singular number include the plural number.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
An assembly of equipment and devices or a single device such
as a solid state unit which plugs directly into a 110 volt AC line,
arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention
and to which the Fire Department is expected to respond.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure,
malfunction, improper installation or negligence of the user of an
alarm system or of his employees or agents.
An incident in which the Fire Department is dispatched to the
alarmed premises due to any signal or oral communication transmitted
to the Fire Department requesting or requiring a response on the part
of the Fire Department when in fact there has been no real cause for
the alarm. For the purposes of this definition, activation of alarm
systems by acts of God, including, but not limited to, power outages,
hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and similar weather or atmospheric
disturbances, shall not be deemed to be a false alarm.
Any alarm system emitting a continuous and uninterrupted signal
for more than 15 minutes between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. which cannot
be shut off or otherwise curtailed due to the absence or unavailability
of the alarm user or those persons designated by him, and which disturbs
the peace, comfort, or repose of a community, neighborhood or of a
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 Fire Department
shall endeavor to contact the alarm user, or member of the alarm user's
family, or those persons designated by the alarm user in an effort
to abate the nuisance. The Fire Department shall cause to be recorded
the names and addresses of all complainants and the time each complaint
was made.
Any person who maintains, or permits to be maintained, a mechanical or electronic fire alarm device designed to transmit an alarm signal indicating that it has detected a fire or condition inherently characteristic of a fire in order to summon the Fire Department to the premises shall be responsible to keep such an alarm device, or cause the same to be kept, in good operating condition so as not to signal a false alarm as described in § 102-1.
Any false indication of a fire or fire-like condition to the
Fire Department by transmission of an alarm signal from such an alarm
device (i.e., a false alarm) shall be reported by the Fire Department
to the occupant of the premises from which such false alarm was transmitted.
Notice of a false alarm to the person responsible for such alarm device
shall be delivered by the leaving of written notification by Fire
Department personnel at the premises where such alarm device is located.
Any person who maintains, or permits to be maintained, any such
mechanical or electronic fire alarm device that transmits more than
three false alarms within a period of 12 consecutive months after
written notification by the Fire Department of a false alarm from
such alarm device shall be punished by a fine of $50 for the fourth
false alarm, a fine of $100 for the fifth false alarm, a fine of $200
for the sixth false alarm, and for each subsequent false alarm a fine
of $25 multiplied by the total number of false alarms resulting from
any such alarm device for which such person is responsible. In no
event, however, shall a fine exceed $300 for any single false alarm.
Neither the Town nor any of its officers shall be under any
obligation or duty to an alarm user or to any other person by reason
of this chapter. The Town expressly disclaims liability for any damages
which may result from failure to respond to a fire alarm.
The Fire Chief may promulgate such rules as may be necessary
for the administration of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to alarm devices
owned or controlled by the Town or Barnstable County.
