Ryan supers approve penalties for false fire alarms

BARNESVILLE – False fire alarms in Ryan Township will now be met with a fine and a bill from the fire department.

Township supervisors approved an ordinance on the matter at Monday night’s meeting.

Supervisors Chairman Clyde ‘Champ’ Holman told the Sentinel the Ryan Township Fire Co. requested the ordinance after a recent up-tick in false alarms.

The ordinance allows for a fine for the second and subsequent false alarm within a 12-month period. Alarms caused by severe weather and related power surges or an approved test would not count towards that total.

If that total is exceeded, the fire company and bill the business for administrative costs and its time and resources spent on a call with hourly fees set by apparatus type: $400/hr for a ladder, $350/hr for an engine or rescue, $150/hr for a command vehicle, and $65/hr per fire police officer.

Any time less than an hour will be counted as an hour.

The ordinance also sets an appeals procedure and a summary penalty with a fine of no less than $500, up to $1,000.

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Kaylee Lindenmuth

Kaylee Lindenmuth is a Shenandoah native with a passion for journalism and the community she calls home. She is a 12-time Keystone Media Award winner, a PAB Excellence in Broadcasting award winner, and has been nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy award.

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