[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 2-8]
There is hereby established a principal department to be known
as the Electric Wires Department.
[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 2-91]
There is hereby established the Office of Inspector of Wires.
[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 2-5; Ord. No. 23392, § 2, 3-26-1973]
The Inspector of Wires shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject
to confirmation by the Council, for a term of three years and until
his successor in office is appointed and qualified. Such term shall
commence on the first Monday in March and the appointment shall be
made by the Mayor on or before the first Monday in February.
[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 13-26; Ord. No. 28764, 4-12-1999]
The Inspector of Wires shall have charge of the Electric Wires
Department. In carrying out the duties of the office, the Inspector
of Wires may hire such personnel as shall be required for the efficient
operation of the Department, subject to necessary appropriations and
approvals.
[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 13-27]
(a)Â The Inspector of Wires shall, by virtue of his office, be superintendent
of the fire alarm telegraph, the police signal system and all other
electric wires and wire systems now or hereafter owned by the City.
He shall have the care and management of the wires, apparatus and
machinery and other property connected therewith, and shall keep the
same at all times in good working order and shall have access to all
buildings and places necessary for these purposes. All additions to
such systems and all new electric wires and apparatus erected by the
City or for its use shall be erected under his supervision and to
his satisfaction. He shall have the care of all public clocks and
streetlights. He shall report to the Chief of the Fire Department
at all fires and while there shall be subject to his orders.
(b)Â He shall supervise every wire over streets or buildings in the City,
every wire within a building where such wire is designed to carry
an electric light or power current and all electric light, power,
telephone and telegraph wires. He shall notify the person owning or
operating any such wire whenever its attachments, insulation, supports
or appliances are unsuitable or unsafe or the tags or marks thereof
required by law are insufficient or illegible and shall, at the expense
of the City, remove every wire which shall be unprovided with a tag
or mark as required by MGL c. 166, such expense to be paid by the
owner of such wire. He shall see that all laws, ordinances and regulations
relating to electric wires and conduits are strictly enforced. He
shall grant all locations for electric services that are to be attached
to a building.
[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 13-28]
All installation of electric conductors and appliances within
buildings shall be under the supervision of the Inspector of Wires
and he shall be the sole judge of what constitutes proper insulation
and safe installation.
[Gen. Ords. 1962, § 13-31]
Whenever, in the opinion of the Inspector of Wires, any electrical
conductors or appliances used for the distribution of electric current
within a building are in an unsafe or dangerous condition, he is authorized
to cut out or shut off the current and order the existing defects
remedied before the current is turned on or order the existing defects
remedied within a reasonable time.
[Ord. No. 25057, 2-8-1982]
(a)Â A fire alarm service charge is hereby established. The charges shall
be paid by owners of estates utilizing the municipal fire alarm system
of the City by reason of connection of a master fire alarm box to
the municipal fire alarm system.
(b)Â The fire alarm service charge and all other charges incident thereto
shall be determined annually by the Inspector of Wires, subject to
the approval of the Mayor.
(c)Â The fire alarm service charge shall offset the projected annual costs
to the City for the operation and maintenance of the master fire alarm
system.
(d)Â Estates owned by or under the jurisdiction of the School Department
of the City, shall be exempt from payment of the annual charge.
[Ord. No. 25057, 2-8-1982]
The Inspector of Wires shall, in April of each year, project
the aggregate annual costs for the operation and maintenance of the
system. Based on the projected costs, he shall determine the annual
charge to be paid for the ensuing fiscal year to commence July 1.
The Inspector shall submit said charge to the Mayor for his approval.
Upon approval of the Mayor, it shall be binding upon all estates utilizing
the system.
[Ord. No. 25057, 2-8-1982]
(a)Â All bills, for the fire alarm service charge shall be due and payable
on July 1 of each fiscal year or 30 days from the mailing of the bill
by the Inspector, whichever is the later date.
(b)Â In the event that the bill is not paid within 60 days of its due
date, the service shall, without further notice, be disconnected.
[Ord. No. 25737, 6-24-1985; Ord. No. 29346, 8-6-2001]
(a)Â Definitions. For the purpose of this section, 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 used 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.
ALARM SYSTEM
An assembly of equipment and devices or a single device such
as a solid state unit which plugs directly into a one-hundred-ten-volt
A.C. line, arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent
attention and to which the Fire Department is expected to respond.
ALARM USER OR USER
Any person on whose premises an alarm system is maintained
within the City. Included in this definition and under coverage of
this section of the ordinance are central station alarm systems.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
An alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message
or coded signal indicating the existence of the emergency situation
that the alarm system is designed to detect.
CENTRAL STATION
Any private alarm office to which alarm and supervisory signaling
devices are maintained continuously to investigate signals.
CITY
The City of Waltham.
DIRECT CONNECT
An alarm system which is tied into the fire alarm office.
FALSE ALARM
(1)Â
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, agents or tenants;
(2)Â
Any sign or oral communication transmitted to the fire alarm
office requesting or requiring or resulting in a response on the part
of the Fire Department when, in fact, there has been no fire or reason
to summon the Fire Department.
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The determination of whether there has been adequate reason
to summon the Fire Department shall be made by the senior fire officer
responding to the alarm. The determination shall be documented in
the fire officer's written report. A malfunction of the system,
as determined by said senior fire officer, shall be considered a false
alarm.
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Excluded from this definition are activations of alarm systems
caused by outside sources, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and
similar conditions.
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FIRE ALARM OFFICE
The City fire alarm headquarters that monitors all fire alarms
with instrumentation on an alarm console at the receiving terminal
of a signal line through both visual and audible signals.
INTERCONNECT
To connect an alarm system to a voice grade telephone line,
either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a standard
telephone for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit
an emergency message upon the activation of the alarm system.
(b)Â Administrative rules. In addition to the following administrative
rules the Superintendent of Fire Alarms may promulgate further administrative
rules as may be necessary for the implementation of this section.
(1)Â
Automatic dialing devices; Interconnection to fire alarm office.
a.Â
Automatic dialing devices shall only be connected to the fire
alarm office with the express permission of the Superintendent of
Fire Alarms and only to the number designated by him.
b.Â
Within six months after the effective date of this section,
all owners of automatic dialing devices interconnected to any telephone
numbers at the fire alarm office shall make themselves known in writing
to the Superintendent of Fire Alarms with the names of two persons
who are responsible for the system on a twenty-four-hour basis.
(c)Â Testing of equipment. No alarm system designed to transmit emergency
messages directly to the fire alarm office shall be worked on, tested
or demonstrated without obtaining permission from the Superintendent
of Fire Alarms. Permission is not required to test or demonstrate
alarm devices not transmitting emergency messages directly to the
fire alarm office. An authorized test constitutes a false alarm.
(d)Â False alarms.
(1)Â
When emergency messages are received by the fire alarm office
that evidence false alarms, the Superintendent of Fire Alarms shall
take action as may be appropriate under Paragraphs (2), (3), (4) and
(5) of this subsection and, when so required by the terms of the aforementioned
paragraphs, may order that use of an alarm system be discontinued.
(2)Â
After the fire alarm office has recorded three separate false
alarms within the fiscal year from an alarm system, the Superintendent
of Fire Alarms shall notify the alarm user in writing by certified
mail, of such fact and require the user to submit, within 15 days
after receipt of such notice, a report describing efforts to discover
and eliminate the cause or causes of the false alarm. At the expiration
of 15 days, the Superintendent of Fire Alarms shall notify the user
of his failure to comply and the user shall forthwith file such report
or request an extension of the time for filing the report and the
Superintendent of Fire Alarms may extend the fifteen-day period for
a reasonable period. If the user fails to submit such a report within
15 days or within any such extended period, the Superintendent of
Fire Alarms may order the use of the alarm system be discontinued.
Any such discontinuance shall be effectuated within 15 days from the
date of receipt of the Superintendent of Fire Alarms' order.
(3)Â
In the event that the Superintendent of Fire Alarms determines
that a report submitted in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this subsection
is unsatisfactory, or that the alarm user has failed to show by the
report that he has taken or will take reasonable steps to eliminate
or reduce false alarms then the Superintendent of Fire Alarms may
order that use of the alarm system to discontinued. Any such discontinuance
shall be effectuated within 15 days from the date of receipt of the
Superintendent of Fire Alarms' order.
(4)Â
Any user of an alarm system which transmits false alarms shall
be assessed a fine of $150 for a third false alarm occurring within
the fiscal year; $300 for a fourth false alarm occurring within the
fiscal year; $300 for each subsequent false alarm occurring within
the fiscal year. All fines assessed hereunder shall be paid to the
City Wires Department for deposit in the general fund. Upon failure
of the user of an alarm system to pay two fines assessed hereunder
within 60 days of assessment, the Superintendent of Fire Alarms may
order that the user discontinue use of the alarm system. If the system
is tied into the fire alarm office, the Superintendent of Fire Alarms
may disconnect such system. Upon payment of the fines, or correction
of the problem which caused such system to be disconnected, the Superintendent
of Fire Alarms shall reconnect such system. Any such discontinuance
shall be effectuated within 15 days from the date of receipt of the
Superintendent of Fire Alarms' order.
(5)Â
Any user of an alarm system who has, in accordance with this
section, been ordered by the Superintendent of Fire Alarms to discontinue
use of an alarm system may appeal the order of discontinuance to the
City Council and the filing of such appeal with the City Clerk shall
immediately stay the order of discontinuance.
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Notice of appeal shall be filed with the Clerk of the City Council
within 10 days of the date of the order of discontinuance; thereafter,
the City Council shall consider the merits of the appeal and, in connection
therewith, shall hear evidence presented by all interested persons.
After hearing such evidence, the City Council may affirm, vacate,
or modify the order of discontinuance.
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(e)Â Penalties. The following acts and omissions shall constitute violation
of this section punishable by a fine of $100:
(1)Â
Failure to obey an order of the Superintendent of Fire Alarms
to discontinue use of an alarm system, after exhaustion of the right
of appeal.
(2)Â
Interconnection of an automatic dialing device to other than
the number supplied by the Superintendent of Fire Alarms.
(3)Â
Failure to pay two or more fines assessed under this section
within 60 days from the date of assessment.
