In order to minimize the unnecessary and costly drain on town resources, Chapel Hill should create penalties to dissuade citizens from being careless about pulling unnecessary fire alarms.
Fire alarms are obviously important, especially when they help to save lives. However, some people choose to constantly abuse fire alarms by either pulling them for fun or having faulty systems due to sheer negligence.
Every time a fire alarm is pulled, it is the duty of the fire department to respond. When there isn’t a fire or anything amiss, it is simply a waste of time, energy and resources, including more than $122,000 in taxpayer money over the course of last year alone.
Not to mention that false alarms reduce the ability of firefighters and police officers to respond to real emergencies.
Yes, an appeals process should be created for certain situations where it can be investigated and deemed a fluke accident.
Otherwise, people need to be held accountable for their misuse of something that is meant to save lives. It is not a toy, and fire alarms should not be treated as a joke.
Granted, penalties could add up quickly for the University, as residence halls are notorious repeat offenders. This could finally force the University to take a more active role to find a solution to fake fire alarms.
One possibility is that the fire alarms can be coated in ink to help identify the person who pulled the alarm.
Not only would this reduce costs in the long-run, but it would also fight growing student apathy for fire alarms that often yield no immediate danger.
