Police are investigating after Clearview fire has had to deal with a rash of hoax emergency calls, anonymous callers phoning in emergencies that don’t exist.
According to the Clearview Fire Department they have received five calls for a house fire since Sunday, all nonexistent.
“It’s too bad that all these people have to come out to protect the places,” says area resident Paul Forbes. “They have to go and end up being a false call, it’s an awful prank to be playing.”
“You still have to investigate it, you still have to see what’s going on. Where it really affects people is the homeowner,”says Clearview Fire Deputy Chief Roree Payment.
Police have been dealing with a number of similar cases in recent months, it’s called swatting: calls which send officers to fake emergencies.
According to police, earlier this month a 16-year-old from the Town of New Tecumseth was charged related to swatting. South Simcoe Police helped the FBI catch two teens from Ohio who were making prank called to the area as well.
In Clearview the frustration is growing. “It’s disappointing that someone would tax our resources this way,” says Clearview Fire Chief Colin Shewell. “But again, the deputy and I respond accordingly, until it’s determined it is a false alarm.”
The Clearview Fire Department has passed along information from all of the latest calls to the OPP and an investigation is now underway.
