RICHLAND, Wash. – The city of Richland is taking steps to reduce the number of false fire alarms that are wasting valuable time for first responders. The city council has approved an ordinance aimed at addressing this issue, which will take effect next week.

Between August 2023 and August 2024, the Richland Police Department responded to nearly 1,500 alarm calls. However, a staggering 98% of these turned out to be false alarms, leaving fewer than 50 legitimate calls.

A representative from the police department explained the impact, stating, "It does cause officers to respond to calls for service that are false. And it takes their time where they could be using that, for other duties."

On average, each false alarm occupies two officers and wastes 20 minutes of their time, resulting in a

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