ORLAND PARK, IL (March 13, 2019) – The city of Rock Island is the first to be recognized as a Five-Star Fire Safe Community, a new program introduced by the Illinois Fire Sprinkler Coalition (IFSC). The organization has recognized more than 100 communities in Illinois as fire safe communities for their upgraded codes that require fire sprinklers in all new construction including single-family homes.

The new Five-Star Fire Safe Community program expands the requirements to include adopted codes that require fire sprinklers in new homes, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in all homes, achieved optimum ISO fire insurances rating for community size and resources, implanting a Community Risk Reduction (CRR) plan and community wide compliance with the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance (ITM) of fire sprinkler systems in commercial buildings.

In addition to Rock Island, the Village of Alsip, Country Club Hills and the Plainfield Fire Protection District meet the requirements. In all four cases, city and village administrators, elected officials and leadership from the fire service must work closely together.

“We are very excited to be the first Five-Star Community,” said Greg Marty, Rock Island Fire Marshal. “It is important for us to be diligent to pass and enforce a complete fire code to reduce the loss of life and property in the City of Rock Island. Through public education and quality fire inspection and code enforcement programs we work very hard to make Rock Island a great place to live and work. Being recognized as a Fire-Star Community validates those efforts.”