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By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer
May 17 -- The City Council responded Tuesday to
a burning request from fire officials to stamp out excessive
false fire alarms by giving the go-ahead to a law that fines
businesses and residences in Santa Monica.
Expected to pass on second reading at the end of the month,
the law allows a business or residence only two false alarms
in the course of a fiscal year without being fined. A third
instance will cost $125, while every instance after that would
draw fines of $165.
Santa Monica's Fire Department responded to a total of 3,597
false alarms between 2003 and 2005. Of those, 264 were from
the same locations that required three or more visits by emergency
crews.
“Responding to false fire alarms requires significant
staff time and negatively affects the overall safety of the
community by diverting fire department personnel and resources
from actual emergencies," Fire Marshal Jim Glew wrote
in a report to the City Council.
In 2006, it cost the department an estimated $337 for each
false alarm response, Glew said.
If the law had been in place in 2005 -- when there were a
total of 88 false alarms -- the City would have recovered
nearly $28,800 in fines, according to Glew.
Residents and businesses will be notified of the ordinance
as firefighters respond to call for service.
Going into affect July 1, the law is similar to those in
Beverly Hills, El Segundo and Culver City.
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