The East Hampton Village Board targeted false fire-alarm scofflaws at a special work session held on Friday, raising the penalty incurred for causing village police or firefighters to mobilize needlessly.
A first false alarm remains free. The penalty for a second false alarm in any given year has been raised to $400; it was previously only $50. The third and fourth false alarms move from $100 to $500 and $750, respectively. The fifth, and all subsequent false alarms in each calendar year, will cost the homeowner $1,000.
“I did not think we were going up to $400,” said Carrie Doyle, a trustee. “Seems very steep.”
Christopher Minardi, the deputy mayor and once a volunteer firefighter, said, however, that “to fire up 10 trucks and have everyone scramble, and the cost of gas and wear and tear on the machines — there used to be a couple of places that the call would go over all the time, for something that they should just fix.”
Faulty sensors are the main culprit. Mayor Jerry Larsen, who owns a security business and recused himself from the vote, said that contractors, house cleaners, and the like also routinely triggered false alarms.
“They have about a thousand false alarms a year in our fire department,” he told the board. “The police have even more.”
The increase puts the village in line with the amounts charged for such infractions in East Hampton Town.