posted on Monday, April 12, 2010 3:59 PM
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administrator
Bristol, CT, Eyes Fire Alarm Fines
Bristol, CT, city councilors are eying a possible change to the alarm ordinance that levies $90 fines for property owners who have more than three false alarms in a year.
Councilors said the fire and police chiefs want the authority to waive the fines when the property owner bears no fault for the false alarms.
Officials said that major institutions such as ESPN and city schools often rack up false alarms because of the number of alarms they have installed.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley, a firefighter, said that many false alarms are nobody’s fault. He said pressure surges, electrical spikes and the like can cause alarms.
There are so many variables, he said, that he can understand why the chiefs want the ability to waive fines in extenuating circumstances.
But city Councilor Cliff Block said he doesn’t want to open the door to favoritism.
He said that most fire calls involve crews racing to answer an alarm that turns out to be false, putting people in jeopardy for no good reason.
Block said he doesn’t want to see fire trucks racing through the streets for nothing.
The city began enforcing a false alarm statute in 2008 in a bid to clamp down on false alarms.
False alarms are “costly and dangerous” because they divert police officers from crime prevention activities, according to the city police Web site.
By city law, each premise in town with an alarm has to register it. Every year, three false alarms are allowed, and the $90 fine is imposed each time for any false alarms after that.
According to the law, alarms that go off because of mechanical defects, pets and user error are considered false alarms.
There is no provision to for waiving the fines.
But councilors said they are open to the idea of giving the chiefs some leeway as long as they are required to report any waivers to their respective oversight boards or some other entity with an explanation for each fine waived.
The Ordinance Committee is weighing the best way to handle the issue. Nothing will be made final for at least a few months.