Mary Kay Ludemann, Fire Marshal and Jon Stratton, Fire Chief, of the Plainfield Fire Department
PLAINFIELD, IL (February 15, 2019) — The National Fire Sprinkler Association extends its heartiest congratulations to our partners in life safety: Plainfield Fire Chief Jon Stratton, Fire Marshal Mary Kay Ludemann, their Board of Trustees and the Village of Plainfield, Illinois, upon the enactment of the Plainfield Historic Commercial District Fire and Life Safety System Grant Program. The grant program is designed for existing commercial structures that require the installation of a fire sprinkler system in the historic downtown area. The Village the and Fire District will split the cost of the reimbursement grants 50/50. Chief Jon Stratton says: “The primary goal of this program is to enhance the safety of the business environment while lessening the financial burden a business/property owner may incur, but it also encourages the reuse and repurposing of Plainfield’s oldest structures. By incentivizing this safety requirement, the hope is to expedite this change creating an all-around safer business district for all property owners, businesses and patrons.” Fire Marshal Mary Kay Ludemann states that this program is in combination with the new tax reform act, which allows a business owner to expend the total cost of a system, which will remove all financial and political obstacles to retrofitting a building as needed. NFSA commends the Mayor of Plainfield, Michael P. Collins and the Village Trustees, along with the Fire District Board President William Barnes and the District Trustees for supporting the initiative and making the program a reality. “It’s always a pleasure to promote proactive leadership that creates public policy that enhances and preserves the history of our communities,” shares Shane Ray, NFSA President. “We use the tagline it’s not preserved until it’s protected for a reason and it’s great to see Plainfield’s leadership preserving their community in this way.” The nuts and bolts of the program: 20% of the total cost of qualified improvements below and maximum grant reimbursement of $20,000 (or maximum $100,000 total project cost of qualified improvements). The following are the qualified improvements that can be considered reimbursable under this GRANT program: • Fire sprinkler system equipment/installation. • Associated fire alarm systems/installation. • Architect costs directly associated to the fire sprinkler system installation (qualified cost not to exceed 10% of the construction costs). (A similar program in neighboring Lockport utilized video gambling funds and fire district tax breaks.) The National Fire Sprinkler Association would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mayor Steven Strait and the building and city official of Lockport, Illinois for also implementing a fire sprinkler grant program. About the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA): NFSA was founded in 1905 and wants to create a more fire safe world, and works to heighten the awareness of the importance of fire sprinkler systems from homes to high-rise and all occupancies in between. The Association is an inclusive organization made up of dedicated and committed members of a progressive life-saving industry. This industry manufactures, designs, supplies, installs, inspects, and services the world’s most effective system in saving lives and property from uncontrolled structural fires.
For more information about fire sprinklers, how they work and access to additional resources and information, visit www.nfsa.org for the latest material, statistics and a dedicated team of fire safety advocates ready to serve all stakeholders in order to fulfill the vision of a safer world. SOURCE: National Fire Sprinkler Association / via PRNewswire