Fighting False Alarms
Updated: February 1, 2007
Champaign firefighters go out on about 16 calls a day, but one in five.. is a false alarm., and it's putting everyone at risk.
A campus landlord is trying out a new program with police to stop the fake calls, and so far.. its helping.
It could be expanded to the rest of the city.
The university group says, its gotten a lot of reports of people pulling fire alarms for fun. So many, the fire department has starting fining them a thousand dollars each time. Now.. they're passing that price onto those.. pulling the pranks.
Living with other university students isn't always quiet, but for Jimmy Murray living here was just too noisy. He remembers one time, "It was probably about 12:30 and it got kinda loud outside, we started hearing the fire alarm, and I didn't smell smoke, i didn't think there was a fire.."
It was a false alarm, just like many before and many after.
He says, "me and my roomie came out there, said what's going on out there, i said god, this is getting annoying."
It got so bad, Murray would ignore the alarms.
"We would lock our doors, shut the lights off, and hide there, because we know there's not a fire." That's what the university is worried about.. University Group General Manager Chris Hamelberg says "It's one of those things you shouldn't have to get used to, because it's dangerous to our residents." To stop the danger, they started a pilot program with Police five months ago. They're using posted signs all over the building. They warn students, pulling the alarm for fun, could land them in jail,cost them a thousand dollars, and even cost them their degree, and it seems to be working.
Hamelberg says since the program started they haven't had any false pulls.
It's a good sign, for residents like Murray who finally has the peace and quiet he's been looking for.
The university group says, its gotten a lot of reports of people pulling fire alarms for fun. So many, the fire department has starting fining them a thousand dollars each time. Now.. they're passing that price onto those.. pulling the pranks.
Living with other university students isn't always quiet, but for Jimmy Murray living here was just too noisy. He remembers one time, "It was probably about 12:30 and it got kinda loud outside, we started hearing the fire alarm, and I didn't smell smoke, i didn't think there was a fire.."
It was a false alarm, just like many before and many after.
He says, "me and my roomie came out there, said what's going on out there, i said god, this is getting annoying."
It got so bad, Murray would ignore the alarms.
"We would lock our doors, shut the lights off, and hide there, because we know there's not a fire." That's what the university is worried about.. University Group General Manager Chris Hamelberg says "It's one of those things you shouldn't have to get used to, because it's dangerous to our residents." To stop the danger, they started a pilot program with Police five months ago. They're using posted signs all over the building. They warn students, pulling the alarm for fun, could land them in jail,cost them a thousand dollars, and even cost them their degree, and it seems to be working.
Hamelberg says since the program started they haven't had any false pulls.
It's a good sign, for residents like Murray who finally has the peace and quiet he's been looking for.
