New fines to curb 'nuisance' fire alarms come into effect in Ottawa

Emergency crews responded to a hazardous materials call at a daycare on Glencoe Street in Ottawa's south end. (Colton Praill/CTV News Ottawa)

Building owners responsible for a false fire alarm in Ottawa will now be charged a fine as a way to maintain adequate firefighter service levels.

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The city's new enhanced false fire alarm strategy came into effect on Monday after council approved the policy in February.

The fee would apply to "nuisance alarms," the most common type caused by an equipment malfunction or negligence by building owners.

"Any calls that we can reduce, we're hoping that that going to save time where we can have members respond to real emergencies and maintain the coverage in the areas of the city that they should be serving," said Ottawa fire chief Paul Hutt on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work on Wednesday.

The City of Ottawa says that out of the nearly 30,000 calls Ottawa Fire Services responded to in 2022, more than 10,000 were for false alarms.

The new fee will apply at commercial, institutional, industrial or multi-residential properties. It will not apply to residential single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums that do not require a fire alarm system under the Ontario Building Code.

Fines would not apply to alarms caused by accidents, weather or vandalism.

"Quite often with these nuisance alarms, what happens is the alarm company will be doing work on the system and they will fail to notify us. So we're responding across the city thinking it's an emergency, only to find out that they just failed to notify us that they were working on the system," Hutt said.

First offenders will be given a warning and provided with information about proper use and maintenance of a fire alarm system.

A second false fire alarm offence will cost owners $500, while a third offence will cost $1,000. $1,500 fines will be handed for the fourth and subsequent offences.

City staff say the policy is expected to reduce false fire alarms by 10 to 20 per cent over the next three years. Staff will evaluate and report back on the effectiveness of the strategy in 2027.