The Independent

The Brooke Fire Service Chief says if the municipality wants to charge people for false fire alarms, he should have some discretion to lay charges.

Councillor Jenny Redick recently asked about a false alarm bylaw for the department. The OPP already has
fee in place if they respond to multiple nuisance home and business alarms.

Chief Steve Knight, in a report to council, said property owners should be given time to repair faulty alarms that go off and fines should only be levied to owners with monitored fire alarm systems when there is not an actual emergency.

And Knight said fines should be refunded if the property owner can show an invoice to prove the problem has been fixed.

The chief added it is not necessarily a bad thing to respond to 911 calls for false smoke and CO alarms because they “provide the community with a sense of security and trust that the municipality and their fire service cares more about their safety than the opportunity to recover the costs for providing public safety.”

He added each alarm callis a public education opportunity.

Knight estimated it costs up to $500 to send two trucks out to a false alarm.