Town of Plaistow, New Hampshire
Article II-Code of the Town of Plaistow
False Emergency Alarm Ordinance
6-8. Purpose.
A. The Plaistow Police and Fire Departments have the responsibility of assuring
that emergency alarm calls are answered as promptly and safely as possible.
Persons or businesses that have an alarm system place a great deal of
confidence in these Departments that any trouble arising at their home or place
of business will be handled professionally and efficiently.
B. False alarms can negatively impact the efficiency and safety of these types of
calls for service. Numerous false alarms can lead to complacency on the part of
the responding officers and may put persons found on the premises (at the time
of the false alarm) in a precarious situation.
C. The alarm holder, in conjunction with the Police and Fire Departments, has a
responsibility to maintain and insure that their alarm system is working
properly. Through this article, the Town of Plaistow hopes to address this
situation in a manner that will be beneficial to the Police and Fire Departments
as well as the community as a whole.
6-9. Definitions.
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions will be applicable:
Alarm answering Service: A telephone answering service which provides the service of receiving emergency signals from alarm systems and thereafter immediately notifying, by live voice or otherwise, the Communications Center of the Police and Fire Departments.
ALARM INSTALLATION: The design, positioning, repair, alteration, maintenance, and operation of alarm systems causing a signal to be sounded in the event of a hazard, intrusion, or the occurrence of an event to which Police are expected to respond.
Alarm System: Any combination or assembly of equipment and/or electronic devices which, with or without human involvement, is reasonably calculated to notify police officials and lead them to believe that there us a situation requiring their immediate attention and response.
Alarm User: Any person who owns and/or operates an alarm system within the Town of Plaistow, except for alarm systems on motor vehicles.
Direct Dial Tape System: An alarm system which automatically selects a telephone line connected to the Police Department and reproduces a prerecorded voice message or coded signal indicating the existence of an emergency situation that the alarm system is designed to detect.
False Alarm: An activation of an alarm system (business or residential) to which police respond and find no indication of a situation requiring their immediate attention (robbery, burglary, attempted robbery or burglary, hazard, intrusion, smoke or heat detection, sprinkler system operation, or trouble alarms).
Local Alarm: Any alarm system not connected to an answering service that is designed to activate an audible and/or visual signaling device at the premises or location where the alarm system is installed.
Manual Alarm: Any alarm system in which activation of the alarm is initiated by the direct action of the alarm user, his agents, or employees and which is installed with the purpose of eliciting a police response to a robbery, burglary, or an attempted robbery or burglary, or Fire Department response for known fire or smoke investigations.
6-10. Service Charge.
A. The owner of any premises served by an alarm system will be obligated to pay
a service charge to the Town of Plaistow for all false emergency alarm calls to
that premises in excess of the number of such calls permitted by this article.
This service charge shall be calculated as follows:
(1) Police:
(a) Six through nine calls per calendar year: $25 per call.
(b) Ten or more calls per calendar year: $50 per call.
(2) Fire:
(a) Fourth false alarm per calendar year: $100
(b) Fifth false alarm: $100 plus the cost of the responding Fire Department
members and apparatus.
(c) Six or greater: $200 plus the cost of the responding Fire Department
members and apparatus.
(B) Said service charge is to be paid within 30 days of billing with payment
being made to the Town of Plaistow, New Hampshire and submitted to:
(1) Plaistow Police Department, 27 Elm Street, Plaistow, New Hampshire
03865, ATTN: Records Clerk.
(2) Plaistow Fire Department, 27 Elm Street, Plaistow, New Hampshire 03865,
ATTN: Fire Chief.
6-11. Permissible False Emergency Alarm Activation Calls.
A. The owner of any premises served by an alarm system will be permitted the
following number of false emergency alarm calls per calendar year prior to the
imposition of a service charge:
(1) False emergency alarm calls to the Police Department: five calls per
calendar year.
(2) False emergency calls to the Plaistow Fire Department: three calls per
calendar year.
B. The owner of any premises served by an alarm system will not be penalized for
a false emergency alarm call that occurs for the following reasons:
(1) natural disaster/act of nature (lightening, hurricane, flood, tornado, etc.).
(2) power outage.
(3) an actual situation which determines that the alarm was set off by some
type of criminal activity or actual fire.
(4) testing purposes in which the alarm is activated by the alarm holder and/or
maintenance company, as long as the said holder or company has
previously notified the Police or Fire Department that the system is being
tested; notification of the test after activation will be considered a false
alarm under the definition of this article and will be charged accordingly.
6-12. Alarm System Maintenance.
Any residence or business maintaining an alarm system located wholly or in part
within the Town of Plaistow, will be subject to the following provisions:
A. Such alarm systems will be maintained in strict conformance to any operating
standards that may be, from time to time, promulgated by the Town who has
jurisdiction over the premises in which the alarm system is regulated.
B. All alarm systems will be maintained in conformance with industry and/or
manufacturer standards and all local, state, and federal permits and
requirements must be met.
6-13. Town and Government Buildings.
All town, state, county, federal and/or government owned or maintained buildings will be exempt from the service charges, fees, and permit requirements imposed in this ordinance. These buildings include, but are not limited to, the Plaistow Town Hall, The Plaistow Public Library, The Plaistow District Court, and all school buildings. However, these institutions will comply with all other aspects of this ordinance concerning the operation and maintenance of their alarm systems.
6-14. Prohibited Systems.
The use of direct dialer tape alarm systems, which automatically engage available telephone lines, is prohibited within the Town of Plaistow.
6-15. Administration.
A. It will be the responsibility of the Records Clerk of the Police and Fire
Departments, respectively, to research, document, maintain, and bill for false
alarms in conformance with this article. The Records Clerk will also be
responsible for maintaining records of accounts receivable and accounts
payable to insure that the fines imposed are paid in full by the due date
specified.
B. It will be the responsibility of the Communications Supervisor to send a
warning letter to any resident or business who has accrued the maximum
allowable false alarm calls for service. This letter will notify the property
owner of this article and of the fact that the property owner will be charged a
fee after the next call for service in which the alarm is found to be false in
accordance with 6-10 of this article.
C. A copy of this ordinance will be given, by the Town of Plaistow Inspection
Office, to any new business owners who apply to operate a business within the
Town of Plaistow and to new residents seeking to build a new home.
6-16. Waiver.
The Chief of Police may waive the imposition of any fine outlines within this
article for good and sufficient reason.
6-17. Limitation of Liability.
The Police and Fire Departments of the Town of Plaistow will make every reasonable effort to insure that all alarm activations received by the Department are given appropriate attention and are acted upon with dispatch. Nevertheless, the Police and Fire Departments and the Town will not be liable for any defects in the operation of alarm devices, for any failure, or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of an alarm from such a defective system, nor failure or neglect of any person in connection with the installation and/or operation of alarm systems or their components. In the event that these Departments find it necessary to act to prevent the sounding of false alarms, neither the Police or Fire Department nor the Town will be held liable for such action.
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