Man in custody after triggering fire alarm

Workers from nearby buildings were evacuated to the ground of First Church following the fire...
Workers from nearby buildings were evacuated to the ground of First Church following the fire alarm activation yesterday. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
A Dunedin man has been remanded in custody after he admitted responsibility for maliciously triggering a false fire alarm in the city's central business district yesterday afternoon.

Timothy Vannisselroy (32), painter, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this morning on one Fire Service Act charge of knowingly giving a false alarm of fire, at Dunedin on May 15.

He pleaded guilty immediately, through counsel, but no summary of facts was available.

Sergeant Ross Hutton told Judge Kevin Phillips other charges were likely.

The judge said he intended remanding Vannisselroy in custody to next Tuesday so the other matters Counsel John Westgate asked for bail for Vannisselroy who had described setting off the false alarm as "a prank''.

The defendant had "got the message'' and was willing to report daily to the police if granted bail, Mr Westgate said.

Judge Phillips declined to grant bail. He said the charge in itself might not be serious, but there had been serious repercussions for the public at large.

He believed Vannisselroy should remain in custody until his next court appearance to allow the matter to ''simmer down''.

 

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