Lower Macungie Township is Tired of False Alarms

It’s not quite a case of the boy who cried wolf, but it’s close.

After learning that a good 30 to 40 percent of the calls that prompt Lower Macungie Fire Department volunteers to spring into action actually turn out to be false alarms, the township decided something needed to be done.

So, township staff has recommended some changes to an existing township ordinance covering false alarms, Commissioner Roger Reis told the rest of the commissioners in his Public Safety Committee report at Thursday night's Board of Commissioners' meeting.

The key changes being looked at Reis explained, are dropping the allowable false alarms from three per year to two and stabilizing the penalty structure to a flat $150 per residential violation and $300 per commercial violation, rather than leaving the penalty up to the magistrate.

“We are not trying to use this as a fundraiser or a funding stream,” Reis said. “Sometimes if people don’t have sanctions on their behaviors, their behaviors don’t change.”

The Public Safety Commission will review the proposed changes to the ordinance, which have already been vetted by the solicitor, at its next meeting on June 6 and the commissioners will have between now and then to look at the changes and bring forth any questions or concerns, Reis said. Then, if all goes well, the BOC can vote to advertise the changes to the ordinance at the full BOC meeting on June 6.

“These false alarms are a waste of time,” Reis said. “They are a waste of money. Many of the firefighters are working and they have to leave their posts to respond and their employers are gracious enough to let them go. We would just like to lessen them.

“In the long run, this will help to protect the citizens,” he said.