North Carolina § 14-286 - Giving false fire alarms; molesting fire-alarm, fire-detection or fire-extinguishing system.

§ 14-286. Giving false fire alarms; molesting fire-alarm, fire-detection or fire-extinguishing system.

Offense. - It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to wantonly and willfully give or cause to be given, or to advise, counsel, or aid and abet anyone in giving, a false alarm of fire, or to break the glass key protector, or to pull the slide, arm, or lever of any station or signal box of any fire-alarm system, except in case of fire, or willfully misuse or damage a portable fire extinguisher, or in any way to willfully interfere with, damage, deface, molest, or injure any part or portion of any fire-alarm, fire-detection, smoke-detection or fire-extinguishing system. Penalty. - Any person who willfully interferes with, damages, defaces, molests, or injures any part or portion of a fire-alarm, fire-detection, smoke-detection, or fire-extinguishing system in a prison or local confinement facility is guilty of a Class H felony. Any person who commits any other violation of this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. For purposes of this subsection, the term "local confinement facility" means a county or city jail, a local lockup, or a detention facility for adults operated by a local government. History (1921, c. 46; C.S., s. 4426(a); 1961, c. 594; 1969, c. 1224, s. 5; 1975, c. 346; 1993, c. 539, s. 182; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2019-134, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2019-134, s. 2, made the rewriting of this section by Session Laws 2019-134, s. 1, effective December 1, 2019, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2019-134, s. 1, effective December 1, 2019, divided the former paragraph into two subsections, (a) and (b), and added the introductory wording of "(a) Offense. - " and "(b) Penalty. - "; added the first and third sentences of subsection (b); and substituted "who commits any other violation" for "violating any of the provisions" and "is" for "shall be" in the second sentence of subsection (b). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note.