Lavonia Institutes Fines For False Alarm Calls

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

Lavonia City businesses and homeowners with alarm systems will now have to pay a fine for repeated false alarm calls.

City Fathers are concerned about the high rate of false alarm calls from local businesses and the seeming lack of concern on the part of some of those businesses to fix their alarm problem.

At their work session last week, the City Council held a lengthy discussion on how to curb the number of false calls.

And at their meeting last night, the Council voted to pass a resolution to put limits on the number of false calls a business can have a year.

Under the terms of the new resolution a business will receive a written warning for the first three false alarm calls.

A fourth false call will result in a fine of $300, a fifth false call $400 and a sixth and all subsequent false alarm calls will result in a fine of $600 for each unnecessary fire alarm call.

Assistant City Manager Charles Cawthon said the goal is to limit the number of false alarms.

“What we’re trying to do is maximize public awareness of false alarm issues,” Cawthon said. “We don’t want to fine anybody. We want business and individuals to cooperate in fine-tuning their alarm systems so we won’t have these false alarm calls.”

Cawthon told the council the Lavonia Fire Department and Police received seven false alarm calls so far this year – a couple from the same business.

He said one concern is the “crying wolf” factor, which could eventually put a business in jeopardy.

“One of our deep concerns is that they’re going to have a situation where, for example, someone has a limb caught in a machine and they’re going to call for help and the firefighters are going to say, ‘Well that’s just another false alarm.’ It’s putting people’s lives and health in danger,” Cawthon said.

Another concern, according to Cawthon is the time and expense for both the City and the firefighters when they have to answer a call that turns out to be nothing.

“We want to address the morale of the firefighters,” he said. “These volunteers have to clock

out of work every time a call comes in. And it’s a real cost to the city. Once a firefighter goes in service then the City is paying every one of those firefighters. Plus, when those red lights go out, you have the safety of those firefighters, the safety of the citizenry out here. Everytime a call occurs, that’s another exposure where something bad could happen.”

Cawthon said it costs the City about $250 per firefighter every time they have to suit up to answer a false alarm, not including the wear and tear on fire trucks and equipment.

Cawthon said no fine would be levied under certain circumstances such as severe weather, vandalism, a sign of forced entry, or a test of the alarm system.

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