Firefighters raced to reports of a fire at a property in York – only to discover it was a hoax call.
Crews from Acomb and York were sent to reports of a fire on Cornlands Road, Acomb at 7.21pm last night.
A North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson said: “This resulted in a false alarm caused by a malicious call by a child in a phone box.
“Further details were passed over the police to investigate.”
The North Yorkshire fire service says: “Hoax calls endanger the lives of others – if a fire crew is attending a hoax call they are not available to attend a real emergency.
“Any call that we find out to be a hoax call will be passed onto North Yorkshire Police.”
These are the potential consequences, the service says:
- If you are prosecuted, you may face a fine of up to £5,000 or six months in prison.
- Worse than any fine or sentence one of these calls could coincide with a genuine emergency and will cost someone their life.
