New rules regarding false fire alarms in Greensburg are set to go into effect Jan. 1.
Greensburg council on Monday unanimously approved updating an ordinance that holds property owners accountable for alarm malfunctions, particularly when firefighters repeatedly respond to the same building.
Fire Chief Tom Bell said firefighters have been called to the same address four times in the past month for false fire alarms caused by mechanical issues. That’s the type of situation he is hoping to address.
“With this ordinance, it should help,” said Bell, who was sworn in Monday for a new three-year term as chief.
The new ordinance will levy fines on property owners in an effort to reduce demand on first responders and equipment. As many as seven trucks manned by volunteers hit the streets every time Greensburg Fire Department gets a call for an automatic fire alarm.
About 20% of the time, such a call turns out to be a false alarm, typically caused by some kind of mechanical or programming malfunction with the automatic fire alarm system. That type of call unnecessarily puts a lot of resources on the road, just to turn around and head back to their respective stations. Bell has said there are ongoing issues at apartment buildings in the city.
Fire calls for situations such as burnt food or smoking do not qualify as a false alarm because the fire alarm was working as intended.
Property owners would be fined when there are three false alarms in a 30-day period and five in a year, and each time someone fails to respond within 30 minutes to reset or repair the system. Owners of commercial residential structures would face a $250 fine for violations and owner-occupied homes would be fined $100.
Failure to pay fines could result in revocation of occupancy permits and a lien on the property for the city to recoup costs related to repairing the alarm system. Violations can be waived if the alarm system is fixed within 36 hours.