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Alarmed
08/02/2010 9:03 PM by John M
Jim has found a problem seeking a solution:
Since noon today, the empty house at 511 North 28th Street, has had an alarm blaring away. Calls to the police have brought no solution. The police say there is nothing they can do, because they don”t know who owns the property (even though this is a matter of public record). Not only is this annoying, and keeping kids awake, it is obviously a violation of the city’s noise ordinance. Can someone tell why there is no city entity that can fix this problem?
The Richmond city web site under real estate assesment should have the owner listed. google them to find a phone number. just a thougt. my other ideas are probablly illegal.
Street Address: 511 N 28TH ST Richmond, VA 23223-7303
Owner: PERKINS, CLIFF & LUCILE
Mailing Address: 511 N 28TH ST, RICHMOND, VA 2322300000
http://map.richmondgov.com/zoning/
just go to the back yard, break open the power meter box and pull the master circuit.
illegal – highly.
effective – highly.
you choose.
Why not just cut the power to the house? Find the master breaker and flip d switch. I know it is technically illegal, but it sounds like the owners are mia here.
the popo is too busy writing tickets for whatever music the ticketing officer doesnt like. charles samuels is a well meaning dunce whose attempt to craft a coherent law is an abysmal failure. as for those advocating illegal action……real brave to volunteer for such hazardous duty.buddycorbett p.s. so now in the fair state of va.you can carry your gun into a crowded bar after the passing of the new law but smoking a cigarette is a bigger risk than catching a bullet fro an overzealous patron. oh and you can go to jail for playing music that an officer finds too loud. am i the only one saying WTF?
Our neighbor told us that the alarm had been going off since noon, but we came home to it around 5:30. Just as I was about to call the local news channels, this issue got resolved 6 1/2 hours after the alarm started blaring, and it was not resolved by the city.
Despite repeated attempts to get the police, the dispatchers and the fire dept to do something about this, the only answer that I got from a dispatcher is that there is nothing that the police/fire dept can do about it because the house was abandoned and they don’t know where the owner lives.
I told them that the owners are dead and that the son comes over occasionally to do maintenance on the property, so the ownership listed on the property records would do them no good in contacting someone to turn off the alarm. The dispatcher told me that the neighbors would have to wait until the battery on the alarm wore out, or wait until the power goes out – seriously, that is what he told me. I said, “So this could go on for weeks?” and the dispatcher said “Yeah, maybe.”
Truly one of the most inane and absurd dealings I have had with the city – and I’ve had plenty!
Same thing happened in the 300 block of N. 27th about four years ago and after two days/night, enough was enough!. A big ladder, wire cutters and two motivated individuals, did something techically illegal but highly applauded by all – Do what needs to be done.
p.s. a good look out is also highly recommended.
@Oh My – your post made my day!!
I’m not at liberty to say how the issue was resolved, but a little ingenuity was involved.
How is it “illegal” for the police to disable an alarm system that is violating the noise ordinance? Isn’t that “just cause?” Are they afraid of being sued for trespassing/disabling a faulty alarm?
What about their job of maintaining the peace?
Silencing an annoying alarm in a vacant house without the owner’s permission isn’t the worst atrocity to ever occur in CH.
Did anyone try and contact the alarm company or was it just a private alarm system?
I had they samething happen to me, it was on a Oliver Lawrence house, alarm had been going off for 3 days. I couldn’t get the police to do anything. I finally found Ollie’s phone number and called him.
I think if a owner has a alarm on a house the police should be allowed to go into the house to cut it off. Even if they have break the door down.
There has got to be a better way. If the alarm was goin off, there’s a good chance the home was been burgalarized. Even if it is vacant, the thieves could have been ripping out the copper pipes or causing other damage.
Once the alarm is disabled, I guess the vacant property could then become “home” to anyone that wanted to break in.
If the owner is out of town, there needs to be a way to contact them. Or have the police department shut off the alarm. I am sure most alarm companies are able to cut it off if contacted. Destroying private property is the wrong answer here.
In most municipalities, the police can bill the homeowner for responses, after numerous falls alarms. It seems like the same alarm going off for several days would also trigger this fee.
Wait – where is the responsibility of the home owner causing the alarming situation??? Why didn’t they give a code or cut off process to a friend, relative or point of contact etc., to the alarm company, (I did with my system). This is about more than an alarm its about an attitude and being a good neighbor/member of a caring community.
I heard that alarm when I came home from work that night. Thank you #9 or whoever had the “ingenuity” to make the noise stop. It could be heard blocks away! Sorry the police refused to do anything but I’m glad it stopped however it happened!
Code of the City of Richmond, VA
Sec. 46.1-68. Duties of alarm system owners and users.
(c) A person responsible for the care and management of any unoccupied building, including a temporary period of vacancy, that is protected by an alarm system which emits an audible signal or which results in the department of fire and emergency services being notified of the signal activation shall silence such audible signal within 20 minutes of being notified of such signal’s activation and coordinate restoring that fire protection to normal with the fire code official. Failure to respond to the property in the prescribed time frame shall be a violation of this city ordinance and shall be punishable as a class one misdemeanor.
http://search.municode.com/Highlighter.aspx?DocId=181&Index=E%3a\Indexes\16118&HitCount=11&hits=85+90+7f5+a56+a61+a7f+a92+aa1+ac5+ae2+b28+&coll=16118
The above is for certain fire alarms.
FYI: The alarm was not hooked up to a service. Many people have alarms and don’t pay for a service, so the alarms just blast away until someone silences it.