Morgan Hill Municipal Code Ch. 8.49 Fire Alarm Regulations

A. The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the dangers and inefficiencies associated with false fire alarms and nuisance fire alarms, and to encourage alarm owners/entities and fire alarm businesses to properly use and maintain the operational effectiveness of fire alarm systems in order to improve the reliability of fire alarm systems and reduce or eliminate false fire alarms and nuisance fire alarms.

B. This chapter governs fire alarm systems intended to summon fire department personnel, requires assessment of fines for excessive false fire alarms and nuisance fire alarms, provides for education of alarm owners, provides for the severability of the parts hereof if declared invalid, and provides an effective date.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

A. Adopted Code(s) means the California Fire Code including all indices and appendices, errata and amendments thereto, as adopted by the City of Morgan Hill and that are enforced by the City of Morgan Hill Fire Department.

B. Alarm initiating device means a device that is designed to respond either manually or automatically to smoke, fire, or activation of a fire suppression system.

C. Alarm owner means any person who owns, occupies, or controls the premises in which a fire alarm system is installed.

D. Alarm response administrator means the person or persons designated by the fire department to administer the provisions of this chapter.

E. Alarm response manager (ARM) means an individual capable of reaching and having access to the premises, the code to the fire alarm system, the authority to approve repairs to the fire alarm system, and is the individual designated by a fire alarm business to handle alarm issues for the business, or designated by the alarm owner to handle alarm issues for the premises, and act as the primary point of contact for the Morgan Hill Fire Department's Alarm Response Administrator.

F. Building division means the building division within the Morgan Hill Community Development Department.

G. Business license means a business license issued by the City of Morgan Hill to a fire alarm business to conduct business in the City of Morgan Hill.

H. Certificate of occupancy means no building or structure shall be used or occupied, and no change in the existing occupancy classification of a building or structure or portion thereof shall be made until the building official has issued a certificate of occupancy. Issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall not be construed as an approval of a violation of the city code or of other ordinances of the City of Morgan Hill.

I. Cancellation means the termination of a fire department response to a premises after a fire alarm dispatch request is made, but prior to the arrival of the fire department.

J. Conversion of alarm owner means the transaction or process by which one fire alarm business begins the servicing or monitoring of a previously unmonitored fire alarm system or a fire alarm system that was previously serviced or monitored by another fire alarm business

K. False fire alarm means the activation of any fire alarm system which results in a response by the fire department and which is caused by the negligence or intentional misuse of the fire alarm system by the alarm owner, its employees, or agents; or any other activation of a fire alarm System not caused by heat, smoke or fire, exclusive of a nuisance fire alarm.

L. Fee means the assessment of a monetary charge, including fines, payable to the City of Morgan Hill authorized pursuant to this chapter, to defray the expenses of responding to a false fire alarm or nuisance fire alarm and the administration of this chapter. "Fees" include any type or class of fee including late fees.

M. Fee schedule means the fee schedule adopted by city council applicable to this chapter.

N. Fine includes the fine payable to the city pursuant to Title 1 for violation of this chapter, unless otherwise specified in this chapter.

O. Fire alarm dispatch request means a notification to the fire department that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a premises.

P. Fire alarm business means any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity that is appropriately licensed by the California State Fire Marshal's Office that installs, causes to be installed, permits to be installed, alters, maintains, repairs, replaces, services, or monitors any fire alarm system.

Q. Fire Alarm System means a system or portion of a combination system consisting of components and circuits arranged to monitor and/or exterior annunciate the status of a fire alarm or supervisory signal-initiating devices and to initiate the appropriate Fire Alarm Dispatch Request.

R. Fire department means the City of Morgan Hill Fire Department.

S. Fire watch means an alarm response administrator or designee approved by the Morgan Hill Fire Department assigned to the Premises for the purpose of protecting the occupants from fire or similar emergencies. A fire watch may involve at least some special action beyond normal staffing, such as assigning a competent legal adult to walk the premises, who has been specially trained in fire prevention, the use of fire extinguishers, notifying the fire department, sounding the fire alarm system located on the premises, and understanding the particular fire safety situation.

T. Monitored System means the process by which a fire alarm business receives signals from a fire alarm system and notifies the Morgan Hill Fire Department.

U. Nuisance fire alarm means the activation of any fire alarm system, which results in a response by the fire department, caused by mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, lack of proper maintenance, deliberate activation, or any other response for which the fire department personnel are unable to determine the apparent cause of the alarm activation.

V. Premises means any private or public residential, commercial, or industrial land and/or building(s) located within the city, wherein a fire alarm system is installed.

W. Proprietor alarm means an alarm which is not serviced by a fire alarm business.

X. Qualified fire alarm technician means any person who is licensed by the State of California Fire Marshal's Office to inspect, install, repair, or perform maintenance on fire alarm systems.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. Responsibility for administration of this section is vested with the fire chief.

B. The fire chief shall designate an alarm response administrator to carry out the duties and functions described in this section.

C. The amount of the fees and fines shall be specified in the city fee schedule adopted by city council. The fees and fines set forth in this Chapter may only be increased by a duly-adopted resolution of the city council.

D. The alarm response administrator shall conduct an annual evaluation and analysis of the effectiveness of this chapter and identify and implement system improvements as warranted.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. Every fire alarm business shall notify the alarm response administrator of the existence of a fire alarm system prior to the fire alarm system being put into operation. It shall be the responsibility of the installing fire alarm business to provide the alarm owner with notice of the existence of this chapter, and a copy of the fire alarm system operation instructions in accordance with adopted Codes, and the manufacturer's instructions.

B. The alarm owner shall be required to notify the alarm response administrator whenever there is a change in the fire alarm business responsible for maintaining, servicing, and/or monitoring the fire alarm system.

C. When any of the information above has changed, it shall be reported to the alarm response administrator by the alarm owner within fifteen days of the alarm owner becoming aware of such change; failure to comply shall result in an assessment against the alarm owner of a fine for a registration violation.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. All premises that are required to have a fire alarm system shall have the fire alarm system continuously monitored by a fire alarm business that holds a valid license issued by the California State Fire Marshal's Office. Violation of this section shall result in an assessment against the alarm owner of a fine for failure to have the fire alarm system continuously monitored. An alarm owner ordered by the alarm response administrator to disconnect or deactivate their fire alarm system are exempted from this section.

B. The fire alarm business shall report within five days to the alarm response administrator any commercial fire alarm system premises that discontinues or disconnects their monitoring service for any reason.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

All newly installed or re-certified commercial fire alarm systems shall be approved by the alarm response administrator. The certification shall indicate that the fire alarm system is in compliance with adopted Codes. The certification shall be signed by a qualified fire alarm technician. A copy of the installation certification shall be provided to the Alarm response administrator after the completion of the testing of the fire alarm system.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. The alarm owner shall ensure that all fire alarm systems are inspected and tested at least once per year in accordance with adopted Codes.

B. The alarm owner shall ensure that all fire alarm systems are periodically maintained per manufacturer specifications and adopted Codes.

C. All fire alarm systems shall be inspected, tested, and maintained by a licensed fire alarm business.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. Each fire alarm business must designate one individual as the alarm response manager (ARM) for the business. The individual designated as the ARM must be knowledgeable of the provisions of this section, as well as have the knowledge and authority to deal with false fire alarm issues and respond to requests from the alarm response administrator. The name, contact number, and email address of the ARM must be provided to the alarm response administrator.

B. Report a fire alarm signal by using telephone numbers designated by the alarm response administrator.

C. After an fire alarm dispatch request, promptly advise the fire department if the fire alarm business knows that the alarm owner or an ARM is responding to the premises;

D. Each fire alarm business that monitors a fire alarm system must maintain, for a period of at least one year after the date of a fire alarm dispatch request, all records relating to the fire alarm dispatch request. Records must include the name, address and telephone number of the alarm owner, each fire alarm system zone activated, and the time of the fire alarm dispatch request. The alarm response administrator may request copies of such records for any individual alarm owner. If the request is made within sixty days after the fire alarm dispatch request, the fire alarm business shall furnish requested records within three business days after receiving the request. If the records are requested between sixty days and one year after the fire alarm dispatch request, the fire alarm business shall furnish the requested records within thirty days after receiving the request.

E. Each fire alarm business shall, upon request, immediately provide the fire department with the names and phone numbers of the alarm owner's emergency contacts at the time of each fire alarm dispatch request.

F. Existing Accounts. Within thirty days prior to the first day of January of each year, a fire alarm business shall provide the alarm response administrator with a complete list of active alarm owners whose premises are located within the city, to assist the alarm response administrator with creating and maintaining tracking data. The alarm owner information must be provided in a format acceptable to the alarm response administrator, which includes the following:

1. Alarm owner name;

2. Alarm owner billing address;

3. alarm Owner telephone number;

4. Premises address;

5. Fire alarm business State of California license number;

6. The monitoring fire alarm business State of California license number, if different.

G. Conversion of Alarm Owners. A fire alarm business that converts the servicing of any fire alarm system account from another business shall notify the alarm response administrator of such conversion and shall provide to the alarm response administrator, within thirty days from the date of conversion, a list of the converted accounts, in a format acceptable to the alarm response administrator, which includes the following:

1. Alarm owner name;

2. Alarm owner billing address;

3. Alarm owner telephone number;

4. Premise address;

5. Fire alarm business State of California license number;

6. The monitoring fire alarm business State of California license number, if different.

H. It is unlawful for any fire alarm business to fail to comply with any applicable requirement within this Section 8.49.080.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. The alarm owner shall be responsible for the activation of a fire alarm system.

B. A response to the activation of a fire alarm system shall result when any officer or member of the fire department is dispatched to the premises where the fire alarm system has been activated.

C. The alarm owner shall be responsible for the fire alarm business to report a fire alarm signal by using telephone numbers designated by the alarm response administrator.

D. The alarm owner shall be responsible for the fire alarm business to communicate a fire alarm to the fire department in a manner and form determined by the alarm response administrator.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

The alarm response administrator may require that a system performance review be held with an alarm owner and the fire alarm business responsible for repairing or monitoring of the fire alarm system to review the circumstances of each false or nuisance fire alarm. The review meeting may be held in person or through a conference telephone call, at the alarm response administrator's discretion. It is unlawful for an alarm owner to fail to participate in a scheduled system performance review.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

The fire department may declare a fire alarm system at a specific premises to be a nuisance if such fire alarm system activates excessive false fire alarms. The city council hereby finds and determines that three false fire alarms within a three hundred sixty-five-day period is excessive and thereby constitutes a public nuisance. The fire department may not consider any false fire alarm in this computation of nuisance alarms if such was generated by earthquakes, high intensity winds, or unusual acts of nature. Nuisance alarms shall be those that are the result of the negligence of the alarm owner, the agents or employees of the alarm owner, or a defect in the fire alarm system.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. It is unlawful for any person to violate or cause or permit to be violated any provision of this chapter.

B. Penalties, fines, and fees shall not apply to any newly installed fire alarm system for a period of forty-five days from the date of installation, but shall apply from and after the expiration of the initial forty-five-day period following installation.

C. A false fire alarm or nuisance fire alarm response fee or fine shall be paid to the city by the alarm owner upon the occurrence of four, and any subsequent, false or nuisance fire alarms received from any one source or from any one fire alarm system within a three hundred sixty-five-day period.

D. The fire alarm business or fire sprinkler company will be subject to the fee, fine and penalties if the firefighter responding to the false fire alarm determines that the fire alarm business or fire sprinkler company directly caused the false fire alarm. In this situation, the false fire alarm will not be counted against the alarm owner.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. The alarm response administrator has the authority to order a fire watch in accordance with adopted Codes, due to repetitive nuisance fire alarms and/or false fire alarms, until corrective action is taken.

B. Each building affected because the signal from the fire alarm system has been disconnected or deactivated shall be required to establish a fire watch until the fire alarm system has been returned to service. Duties of the fire watch may include notifying the fire department and building occupants of an emergency, preventing a fire from occurring, or extinguishing small fires.

C. The alarm owner is responsible for paying all costs associated with establishing a fire watch.

D. The alarm response administrator has the authority to request from the building division a temporarily suspension of the certificate of occupancy of the premises until all outstanding repairs are made on the fire alarm system or if the fire watch is not maintained to the satisfaction of the alarm response administrator.

E. The alarm response administrator shall have the authority to direct the alarm owner or alarm response manager of the premises to silence an activated fire alarm system, have corrective action taken and thereafter reset the fire alarm system.

F. Anyone convicted of falsifying reports as required under this chapter is subject to maximum penalty as established by the City of Morgan Hill or as otherwise provided under state law, in addition to administrative fines.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

If the fire department assesses a fee or fine, the fire department shall send written notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal to the affected alarm owner or fire alarm business.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

A. A fire alarm system may be reactivated upon a finding by the alarm response administrator that the alarm owner of the premises has taken corrective action to remedy the cause of the false fire alarms or nuisance fire alarms.

B. In making a request for such a reactivation, the alarm owner shall have the burden of showing what corrective action has been taken.

C. The alarm response administrator shall have the right to inspect the fire alarm system and test it prior to approving a new order to reconnect or reactivate the fire alarm system.

D. A reconnection fee shall be assessed to the alarm owner before any reconnection of a fire alarm system may be made.

E. The alarm response administrator shall not approve a new order to reconnect or reactivate if the alarm owner has failed to pay any fee or fine pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

In the interest of public safety, all information pertaining to an alarm owner, contained in and gathered through, the administration of this chapter shall be held in confidence by all employees of the fire department, the city, or their representatives, provided that the city may disclose any information required to be disclosed by state or federal law or by court order after a reasonable notice to the alarm owner.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

Certification of a fire alarm system is not intended to, nor will it, create a contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, of fire department response. Any and all liability and/or consequential damage resulting from the failure to respond to a fire alarm dispatch request is hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity as provided by law is retained. When installing a fire alarm system, the alarm owner acknowledges that fire department response may be based on factors such as: availability of fire department units, priority of calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels, prior alarm history and administrative actions. The City of Morgan Hill, its officers, employees and agents shall not assume any duty or responsibility for the installation, maintenance, operation, repair or effectiveness of any privately or publicly owned fire alarm system. All such duties or responsibilities are solely those of the alarm owner.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)

In the event any subsection, sentence, clause or phrase incorporated in this chapter is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the chapter. The city council declares that it would have adopted the ordinance codified in this chapter and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 2271 N.S., § 1, 3-7-2018)