By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Reading City Council voted unanimously Monday to amend city code, setting a flat $500 fee for each needless or false fire alarm.
- The change follows roughly 300 needless alarm responses by the Reading Fire Department over a three-month period.
- The new flat fee replaces a tiered schedule that previously ranged from no charge for a first annual false alarm up to $550 after 13 false alarms.
- Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said the ordinance targets alarm systems that are poorly maintained or inspected, not alarms that function as intended.
- Officials said enforcement will follow an initial focus on education, and property owners may appeal charges.
READING, Pa. — City Council has approved a higher, flat fee for false fire alarms after the Reading Fire Department responded to about 300 needless alarms in three months. Council voted unanimously at its regular meeting Monday to amend the city code, setting the fee at $500 per needless or false alarm.
The new flat rate replaces a tiered fee schedule under which a property’s first false alarm in a calendar year carried no charge, with fees then increasing from $80 for a second alarm to as much as $550 after 13 false alarms in a year. The ordinance defines needless alarms as activations caused by something other than smoke, fire or the system’s intended use, including unprotected detectors during construction work, defective medical alarms and intentional activation without an emergency.
Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said the fee is not intended to penalize alarms that function properly, such as detectors triggered by cooking smoke. He said most needless alarms instead stem from systems that have not been properly inspected or maintained, and that the department’s goal is to encourage owners to fix their systems rather than simply collect fines. Searfoss said the department frequently waives fees when owners invest in corrections.
The legislation initially proposed a $400 fee before council raised it to $500 following a recommendation from Councilman Rafael Nunez and discussion of the impact on residents and small businesses. Searfoss said small businesses account for a small share of the problematic alarms and that property owners may appeal charges. He said city officials compared the fee to those in Scranton, Allentown and Bethlehem and found some of those cities charge more.
Officials said the department will prioritize education before enforcement action against property owners with repeated needless alarms.