Cops Probing Fake Pa. Emergency Radio Traffic
Source Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
April 11--Hazleton firefighters have heard enough from someone they claim provided wrong information to crews responding to an April 4 emergency call and apparently have turned over their complaint to city police.
Firefighters declined comment Wednesday, citing an ongoing investigation.
However, according to the department's Facebook page, Luzerne County 911 dispatched city firefighters at 7:24 p.m. to South Vine and Chestnut streets, where a pedestrian was hit by a train. After assisting at that scene, firefighters were dispatched to the Broad Street Business Exchange at West Broad and Laurel streets for a fire alarm.
While firefighters were en route to one of those incidents, they heard unauthorized radio chatter canceling their response.
The Facebook post states the radio incident was added to a documented list of similar incidents believed to have been done by the same person, and has been turned over to authorities for investigation. The post asks if other departments have had trouble with unauthorized radio transmissions and recommends they also lodge a complaint with police.
Hazleton Police Chief Frank DeAndrea did not return a request seeking comment Wednesday.
Deputy Fire Chief Brian Mandak said firefighters arrived at the Broad Street Business Exchange and followed smoke on the second floor to a kitchenette area at Luzerne County Community College, where they found a fire in a microwave and extinguished it.
No damage resulted and no injuries were reported.
When firefighters arrived, all occupants had evacuated the building. Mandak said people were allowed to re-enter the building about 30 minutes after the alarm sounded.
He said firefighters routinely investigate alarms even if they are canceled prior to their arrival to ensure they was no safety hazard at the location.
Fire alarms can sound for many reasons other than an actual blaze, he said, including burning food which could be as minor as toast, equipment malfunctions or even dust caused by construction.
Mandak said there have been a few times where firefighters found a safety problem upon checking a called deemed a "false alarm."
Copyright 2013 - Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
