|
Written by Lauren Ohnesorge
|
|
Wednesday, 30 May 2007 05:44 |
|
Crying wolf is no joke- especially when you’re crying fire. Prank calls are not new to firefighters in Avery County.
This prankster was unique, according to Communications Director Jamey Johnson. In fact, he was ten-years-old. Several calls came in last week, one from Zuzda’s in Banner Elk, the caller claiming to see a new house on fire. The calls were traced to a cell phone, which were soon traced to a student aboard an Avery County School bus. The ten-year-old was apprehended and juvenile services intervened on Friday, but firefighters know incidents like these are bound to happen again. Earlier this year, two students from Lees-McRae were arrested after allegedly pulling alarms. It’s a bigger problem than people realize, and firefighters like Beech Mountain Chief Jim Brooks suspect that’s because people do not know what’s involved in a single call. There were close to forty firefighters that responded to this most recent prank. Most firefighters in Avery County are volunteers.
|
