City of North Charleston police have responded to so many false alarms, the city council is enacting a new ordinance that carries a hefty fine for false alarms.
According to the city’s spokesman, Ryan Johnson, between January and mid-July there were 6,620 false alarms within city limits. From those, the top 10 businesses shared 436 alarms between them. Though the city didn’t have a cost associated with responding to the alarms, Johnson said it’s responsible for many man-hours.
There is also a concern for public safety when fire or police are sent on calls for false alarms.
The ordinance passed unanimously on Thursday. This allows the city to fine someone if their alarm goes off more than 4 times in a calendar year. The fine is up to $1,092.
