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1701.27 FALSE ALARMS. <br />(a) A charge established in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) below shall <br />be assessed against property owners for false alarms received by the Fire Department through any <br />automated fire alarm system, as defined in Section 1701.18 (e), or for each false alarm received <br />through any other alarm service which the City has otherwise received, with the exception that there <br />shall be no charges assessed against Single or Two Family Residences as described in Section <br />1701.18(a). <br />(b) No charge shall be made for a first false alarm, as monitored on an annual basis; nor shall <br />there be any charge for a false alarm for which no actual fire department or squad run has, in fact, <br />been dispatched in response thereto; nor when the cause has been proven to be an act of God; nor <br />when the cause has been proven to be due to the malfunction, by testing or repairing, of telephonic <br />lines maintained and operated by public utilities under regulation of the Public Utilities Commission <br />of Ohio; nor when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Safety that the <br />cause was due to mechanical malfunction, which malfunction occurred despite a regimen of <br />regularly scheduled maintenance and testing of the automated fire alarm system. "Annual <br />basis" as used in this Chapter is any 365 day period of time. <br />(c) In the event that a false alarm is not a first false alarm for a property, as monitored on an <br />annual basis or is not otherwise excepted in paragraph (a) or (b) above from the charges provided for <br />by this Section, then the Director of Public Safety shall review the alarm believed to be a "false <br />alarm" and shall determine whether, under the facts and circumstances surrounding the false alarm, a <br />charge should be assessed against the property owner. If the Director of Public Safety determines <br />that a charge should be assessed, then the charge shall be in the nature of a civil penalty against the <br />property owner and shall be assessed in accordance with the following schedule: <br />2°d false alarm within one year period $ 500.00 <br />3`d false alarm within one year period $1,000.00 <br />4th and additional false alarms within one year period $2,000.00 <br />(d) In order to deter and reduce false alarms, the Fire Chief is authorized to verify compliance <br />with this Chapter at any time and to otherwise require the property owner or operator of an <br />automated fire alarm system to account for the frequency of false alarms by evaluating the operating <br />systems, including but not limited to the following: <br />(1) All equipment used for automated fire alarm systems are required to meet ±he <br />applicable standards of the Underwriters Laboratories and/or the National <br />Fire Protection Association or other recognized industry standards. Upon <br />demand by the Fire Chief, an owner or operator may be required to submit <br />evidence of reliability, suitability and capability and compatibility of <br />automated equipment and systems <br />(2) The sensory mechanism used in connection with such fire alarm systems or <br />devices shall be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusion, so <br />that the devices will not be actuated by impulses due to transient pressure <br />3 <br />