False fire alarm calls could result in penalties under new Waterloo bylaw

Property owners in Waterloo could face a fine if their fire alarm isn’t reset within 45 minutes of crews arriving on scene.

The city’s new bylaw aims to cut down on the amount of time firefighters spend at false alarm calls.

“It sometimes takes a long time for someone to show up to actually reset the alarm, which means that our fire trucks are tied up and can’t go anywhere else,” Sandy van Solm, the city’s deputy fire chief, told CTV News.

Those crews are then unable to respond to other emergencies in the community.

The bylaw sets strict time limits for property owners.

“It states the owner, or the designated person, has 45 minutes to respond to the fire alarm. After 45 minutes, if the crews are still tied up, we start the clock and basically start charging for our standby fee,” van Solm explained.

That’s because fire crews aren’t able to reset the alarms themselves and they also can’t leave the property until the system is turned off.

The bylaw also requires building owners to install a fire safety box, which must include up-to-date contact information of the designated person.

“Most people, when an alarm goes off, think it’s a false alarm,” said Waterloo resident Mike Rothfelder. “They don’t even leave the building. So 45 minutes is long enough.”

“45 minutes is an eternity in that situation, especially if it’s minus 20 C,” said another Waterloo resident, Michael MacFarlane. “I would say yeah, I’m in favour of that.”

The bylaw is set to go into effect in six months time.

The penalty for not having a fire safety box, the first time, would be $400. If the property owner still doesn’t have one during a second false alarm, the charge would go up to $800. The maximum fee, the city said, would be $5,000 in extreme cases.

As for the time limit, owners could be charged $739.32 if the designated person doesn’t arrive within the first hour of the false alarm. There would be an additional $369.64 charge for every half-hour after that to make up for staff time.

But Waterloo’s deputy fire chief said making money isn’t the goal.

“We’re not after revenue generating or penalties for folks,” van Solm added.