Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31490
SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS JANUARY 2011 www.securitysystemsnews.com False Alarm Ordinance Watch DODGE CITY, KAN. A Dec. 7 story from the Dodge City Daily Globe reports the Ford County Commission voted Dec. 6 to crack down on false alarms by charging repeat offenders a $25 fee for each alarm, with an exception for weather-related alarms. The first false alarm each month would be free, but the user would pay the fee for each one after that. The fee is not new, but the provision allowing the county to bill alarm users after the second false alarm each month is. In the past, the county would not charge the fee until the fifth false alarm. Alarm users who have to pay the fee will get a month to settle their bill with the Ford County Communications Center. If they don’t pay within 30 days, the county will begin charging interest at the rate of 1.5 percent per month, and any unpaid fees would be referred to a collection agency after 90 days. The county still will respond to alarms, even if the user does not pay the fee. PENNSVILLE TOWNSHIP, N.J. A story from NJ.com reports that the Pennsville Township committee voted to adopt an ordinance at its meeting on Nov. 15 that will fine all residents and businesses that frequently set off false fire alarms. The ordinance comes as a result of an excessive amount of unneces- sary calls to the Pennsville and Deepwater fire departments due to false alarms. The ordinance states that if a resident or busi- SpecSpeak Continued from page 10 integrator is surprised by the extent of the commissioning. [By working closely with them all along the process] we can ensure that they understand the nuances of the commis- sioning process ... we provide them with a checklist early on of what we’re going to test and how we’re going to test it. We do a 100 percent verification of the function of the system and it has to comply with every part of the specifica- tions. As long as we all know this ahead of time, there are no surprises. —Martha Entwistle Specifical ly Speaking is a new column featuring a Q- and-A with a different secu- rity consultant every month. Consultants are provided to Security Systems News by www. SecuritySpecifiers.com. WHEN THE ALARM SOUNDS BE CERTAIN YOUR SIGNAL GETS THROUGH For fire panel communication, no one provides more flexible, more reliable solutions than DMP. The XR500FC TM Fire Panel offers both network and cellular capability. Configure up to eight communication paths in total. DMP technology strengthens communications while significantly reducing costs compared to dial-up. Equipped with the 463G Digital Cellular Communicator, the XR500FC is UL approved for commercial installations. There’s no additional backup required. The Fire Slave Input option of the XR500 has also been approved for fire under UL864, allowing it to be used as a Slave Communicator* for any FACP. When the alarm sounds, you can count on it being heard with FIRE communication solutions from DMP. *NFPA 72 2007 & 2010 listed For more information call Inside Sales Department at 877-725-1114 Ext.412, and find out how you can grow your RMR with DMP Fire! www.dmp.com twitter.com/dmp_alarms ness has more than three false fire alarms within one year, they will be fined. The fine for the first occurrence after the initial three is $250. The fines continue to escalate with each subsequent alarm up to $500 for every alarm after and including the seventh. ROSEVILLE, MINN. A story from the Star Tribune reports the Rosevi l le Ci ty Council has voted to impose steep fees on citizens who have repeat visits from police for false alarms from automatic security systems. This year, residents were granted three free alarms, then were charged $100, $135, $170 and $205 for the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh offenses. In 2011, repeat offenders will be charged $100 on the third alarm, and the fees will increase by $100 each thereafter, up to a cap of $500. WHITEVILLE, N.C. A Nov. 30 story from NBC affili- ate WECT reports city officials in Whiteville have passed an NEWS 11 ordinance putting a limit on the number of false alarms a busi- ness can have. Under the new law a business can only have three false alarms a month. If they go beyond that they will be fined. Whiteville already has a similar ordinance in place when it comes to fire alarms. City officials say they’ll make the rule stricter if the false alarm ordinance doesn’t help officers save time. SSN