Cornelius Frolik, Staff Writer at the Dayton Daily News, contributed to this story.
VANDALIA, Ohio -- A Butler High School graduating senior could face as many as eight years in prison for activating a fire alarm that caused the evacuation of the school.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office has approved a charge of inducing panic against Jordan Ramsey, 18, a second-degree felony when it leads to the evacuation of a school.
Authorities said setting off a fire alarm at a school is a serious offense that could lead to harmful consequences, and the law reflects that.
Ramsey was caught on camera May 12 activating the alarm at the school, according to a Vandalia police report.
Ramsey told police he triggered the alarm accidentally, but alarms at the school are designed to prevent unintentional activations. Users must reach under a protective cover and then raise the handle before the alarm sounds.
Surveillance footage from the school showed Ramsey walking by the alarm, returning to it and intentionally setting it off, according to police.
Firefighters, police and medical personnel were dispatched to the school, which was evacuated.
Ramsey was suspended for three days. His family has declined to comment for this story.
Vandalia Lt. Dan Swafford said pulling a fire alarm as a prank or for any other reason carries more serious legal consequences today than in the past.
"When we did it back in school, it maybe was not that big of a deal," he said. "But if you yelled 'fire' in a movie theater, they would not slap a felony on you, and now they'll do it in a heartbeat."
Burglary, engaging in sexual conduct with a minor and making a terrorist threat are all lesser felonies than inducing panic, with school specification.
The case has yet to go before a grand jury, which could reject the charge or approve a different charge.
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