A North Carolina man who impersonated firefighters on an emergency radio channel and canceled a call to a house where an alarm was ringing now faces a fine of nearly $40,000, the FCC announced Thursday.
The Federal Communications Commission recommended a $39,278 penalty to Ocean Hinson, who was arrested in the Surry County town of Mount Airy last year.
In October 2017, Surry County dispatchers sought a unit from the Westfield Volunteer Fire Department after an alarm got triggered at a nearby house, according to a news release. Hinson, a civilian using a radio in his car, answered the call, identifying himself as “Westfield VFD unit 7331” and reporting himself en route to the scene.
Four minutes later, the release said, Hinson called the dispatcher and canceled the call though no fire trucks had arrived at the house.