But Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said she wants similar penalties implemented to deal with the roughly 30,000 false alarms the Los Angeles Fire Department responds to each year.

"It is illogical for the false-alarm billing policy to apply when the LAPD is called (but) not the LAFD," Greuel said.

"Closing this loophole will allow us to save money while serving as a deterrent to these amateur pranks."

The LAFD gets about 82 false-alarm calls each day. Roughly 80 percent of those are triggered by automatic alarms. About 12 percent are initiated by smoke detectors and water alarms.

The fire-alarm fee was proposed by United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, whose members suspect that security companies are simply calling the LAFD instead of the LAPD to avoid false-alarm fines.

"The alarm companies are starting to call the Fire Department when these alarms go off -- whether they be fire or burglar alarms - - because they know we'll respond," said Jon McDuffie, vice president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, which represents rank-and-file firefighters.

"Our guys have gone, thinking they're going to a fire, and shown up at the same time as private security guards with guns."

California Alarm Association officials said that's unlikely. They said calling for a fire response to a burglar alarm would be illegal under city law and, potentially, a criminal violation.

Association Executive Director Jerry Lenander said there have been proposals over the years to fine or limit response to repeat false-alarm offenders, but fire officials are usually reluctant to deter fire-alarm use.

"I would defer to the Fire Department," said Lenander. "Ultimately it's their responsibility and their judgment on how they would use their resources ... because they're ultimately responsible for public safety."

LAFD officials said the department supports Greuel's proposal, with the hope that it will cut down on false alarms and allow better use of firefighters' time.

"What we don't want to do is have a response to something that's not real versus one that is a real emergency," said spokesman Capt. Armando Hogan.

The City Council and mayor established fines for false security alarms in 2004 after a long, drawn-out fight with alarm companies, homeowners and the police commission.

Under the LAPD rule, property owners are fined $115 for the first false burglar alarm. The fine escalates by $50 for each subsequent false alarm.

Several other Southern California municipalities -- including Beverly Hills and Culver City -- charge false fire-alarm fees for repeat offenders.

(c) 2008 Daily News; Los Angeles, Calif.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Written by Kerry Cavanaugh