Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

Goonbell, St Agnes at 27/06/2010 19:02

Firefighters from Perranporth and Redruth were mobilised following a report of a pavilion on fire. Following an extensive search by the fire crews no fire could be found. The caller was recontacted and the person that answered stated that their friend had made the call and that he knew nothing about a fire.

This hoax call has put lives at risk. Whilst the firefighters were responding to this call they were not available to answer a genuine call for help. The delay in firefighters attending from further away, may be the difference between life and death.

It is a criminal offence to call out the fire service maliciously. The police are now dealing with this crime. In some cases, those caught for making hoax calls to the fire service have received a custodial sentence.

It is a breach of contract between the subscriber and the telephone company, to allow the telephone to be misused in this way. The telephone company may disconnect the line and make the telephone number useless, even if the subscriber was not the one that made the call.