§ 907-01 Fire Alarm Recordkeeping, Smoke Detector Maintenance, Testing and Recordkeeping, and the Prevention of Unnecessary and Unwarranted Fire Alarms.
RCNY § 907-01
(a)Scope. This section sets forth standards, requirements and procedures for the operation and maintenance of fire alarm systems relating to fire alarm recordkeeping, smoke detector maintenance, testing and recordkeeping, and the prevention of unnecessary and unwarranted alarms.
(b)General Provisions.
(1)Purpose. Pursuant to FC 901.6, all fire alarm systems shall be maintained in good working order at all times. This section sets forth operating and maintenance requirements intended to minimize the number of unwarranted and unnecessary alarms transmitted by such systems that automatically transmit signals to the Department or a central station, including minimum smoke detector maintenance and testing requirements, the type and format of alarm and maintenance records to be kept and used in identifying defective smoke detectors and patterns of unnecessary or unwarranted alarm transmissions. Such alarms, which trigger an emergency response, are costly and endanger the public safety. This section sets forth the standard to which the owners (including lessees) of premises having such systems shall be held in regard to the transmission of such alarms.
(2)All owners shall comply with the requirements of this section and prevent unnecessary and unwarranted alarms.
(c)Prevention of Unnecessary and Unwarranted Alarms.
(3)The owner of any premises from which a second unnecessary or unwarranted alarm is transmitted in any three-month period will be subject to issuance of a notice of violation. Such notice of violation will afford the owner the opportunity to address the cause of the unnecessary or unwarranted alarm and to certify correction of the violation in accordance with 3 RCNY § 109-01(c), without having to appear for an ECB hearing and without imposition of a penalty.
(4)An owner issued a notice of violation pursuant to 3 RCNY § 907-01(c)(3) shall be liable for a violation of this section for any subsequent unnecessary or unwarranted alarm within six (6) months of the date of issuance of the notice of violation. Each such subsequent notice of violation shall constitute a repeat offense pursuant to Administrative Code § 15-229(a) and shall not be eligible for certification of correction without a hearing and penalty pursuant to 3 RCNY § 109-01(c). Each such subsequent notice of violation shall extend for an additional six (6) months the time the owner is liable for unnecessary or unwarranted alarms pursuant to this provision.
(5)An owner issued one (1) or more notices of violation pursuant to 3 RCNY § 907-01(c)(3) or (4) who does not transmit any unnecessary or unwarranted alarm within six (6) months of the date of issuance of the last-issued notice of violation shall be restored to compliant status and shall thereafter be subject to issuance of a notice of violation only for two (2) unnecessary or unwarranted alarms within a three-month period, as set forth in 3 RCNY § 109-01(c)(2).
(6)Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to preclude the Department from utilizing other means of enforcement with respect to unnecessary or unwarranted alarms that meet or exceed the number set forth in 3 RCNY § 907-01(c)(2).
(7)For purposes of this section, the malicious transmission of a false alarm by activation of a manual fire alarm box shall not be construed as an unnecessary alarm.
(d)Alarm Log Book.
(e)Smoke Detector Maintenance and Recordkeeping.
(f)Compliance with Other Laws, Rules and Regulations. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to authorize any installation, alteration or repair of electrical wiring or other component of a fire alarm system that any other law or rule, including the Electrical Code or the Building Code, requires to be performed by a licensed electrician.
