Donated Standpipe Valves Will Be Used at 100 Chicago Fire Stations for Training
More than 100 donated standpipe valves were on display during a presentation at the Chicago Fire Department Quinn Fire Academy. Officers and instructors gathered at the academy to thank members of the fire sprinkler industry for the donation.
The threaded standpipes with swivel attachment/fittings will be used on each of 100 Chicago fire station engines. They will be used for high-rise standpipe training, with flow meters and pressure gauges to help prepare for stairwell operations. The number of stations and companies made it difficult to get the training done at the academy in a timely manner.
Commissioner Richard Ford II, Deputy Fire Commissioner Timothy Sampey, Commander George Dowling, Lieutenant Paul Clark, Lieutenant Michael Divita and Deputy District Chief Walter Schroeder attended the presentation.
Ford said the Chicago Fire Department expresses its gratitude to the companies that supplied standpipe training valves for all of the Department’s engines.
“Fighting a fire in a high-rise has unique complexities and the more training the department can accomplish is always beneficial. These devices were donated to help increase efficiencies related to hi-rise fire responses,” Ford said.
Commissioner Richard Ford II spoke during the presentation at the Chicago Fire Department Quinn Fire Academy. Also in the photo: Deputy Fire Commissioner Timothy Sampey, Commander George Dowling, Lieutenant Paul Clark and Lieutenant Michael Divita.
The project was initiated last year when Commander Jack Mullen contacted Tom Lia, executive director, Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB). Since it was too challenging to train everyone at the academy, the idea was to bring the valves and training to the stations. Lia coordinated the effort working with the contractors and the academy. NIFSAB matched every donation provided by the following donors: The Hill Group, Shambaugh & Son, Nova Fire Protection, United States Alliance Fire Protection, Potter Roemer, C&E Fire Protection, C.L. Doucette, Sprinkler Fitters Local 281, Nelson Fire Protection, Chicago Backflow, Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating, Valley Fire Protection Systems, Chicago Metropolitan Fire Prevention, Century Automatic Sprinkler, Systems Piping, K & S Automatic Sprinklers, RAM Fire Protection, F.E. Moran Fire Protection and Servpro.
“Seeing the valves on display and all of the officers and instructors showed the impact and why this donation is so important,” Lia said. “I thank everyone who made the donations from the bottom of my heart. Our goal was 100 and we surpassed that goal with 108 valves.”
Representatives from some of the companies that donated the valves attended the presentation. (L-R): Pat Connolly (Sprinkler Fitters Local 281), Ed Kadlec (C.L. Doucette), Tom Lia (NIFSAB), Pat Zubricki (Servpro), Commissioner Richard Ford II, Shannon Coomes (The Hill Group), Rick Sawa (The Hill Group), Erik Hoffer (NIFSAB) and Larry Nichols (Sprinkler Fitters Local 281).
Representatives from some of the companies that donated the valves were recognized during the NFSA Illinois Chapter Meeting. (L-R): Tom Lia (NIFSAB), Jamie Reap (United States Alliance Fire Protection), Megan Demereckis (Chicago Backflow), Matt Clegg (Valley Fire Protection Systems), Ed Kadlec (C.L. Doucette), Jack French (United States Alliance Fire Protection), Matt Treutelaar (Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating) and Jim Henry (Potter Roemer).
Ask Your Legislators To Support (S.803) to Allow Businesses To Immediately Deduct the Full Cost of Fire Sprinkler Retrofits
Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) introduced legislation (S. 803) to fix a provision in the 2017 tax-cut law that will allow business owners to receive immediate tax benefits when they retrofit their buildings with fire sprinklers.
Before the law’s enactment, fire sprinkler retrofits in commercial buildings would be written off over a 39-year period. This exceedingly long recovery was a major impediment to fire sprinkler retrofits.
Congress intended for the 2017 statute to allow businesses to write off the full costs of those renovations in the year they were made. Unfortunately, because of a drafting error, property owners cannot realize the tax benefit that Congress intended and are left with the legacy 39-year depreciation schedule. The measure offered by Toomey and Jones would allow businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of fire sprinkler retrofits. The fix would apply retroactively, as if it had been included as intended in the 2017 tax law.
The legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and John Thune (R-S.D.).
Click here to create an email to your legislators. It’s super easy and will allow you to join us as we contact legislators to support this legislative technical correction. Make sure you reference S. 803 in your correspondence.
Rock Island First of Four Towns Recognized as Five-Star Fire Safe Communities
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.”
Successful Activations (Spring Edition 2019)
MAY 2019
Fire in Apartment Building for Veterans Extinguished by a Single Fire Sprinkler
HINES, IL (May 24, 2019) –A single fire sprinkler extinguished a stove-top fire in the kitchen area of a first floor unit at the Freedom Path Hines apartments at 5000 S. 5th Avenue.
The occupant told firefighters that she was warming up grease in a pan when the grease caught fire. The occupant tried to extinguish the fire using water from the sink that caused the fire to spread.
All occupants evacuated the building where audio and visual alarms were present.
“Cooking in a multi-family building account for roughly 46% of all residential fires. The fire sprinkler confined the fire and extinguished it by the time of the fire department’s arrival with minimal damage. This resulted in minimal displacement of occupants and no injuries or fatalities. With the high percentage of cooking fires in a residential setting, sprinklers serve a purpose and save lives and property,” said Lieutenant Anthony Monks of the Broadview Fire Department.
The estimated savings from the fire sprinkler’s quick response extinguishing the fire is $10,000 and more importantly, there were no injuries or fatalities.
Source: Anthony Monks, Lieutenant, Broadview Fire Department
MARCH 2019
A single fire sprinkler extinguished a fire in a Rock Island apartment building
ROCK ISLAND, IL (March 25, 2019) – In the late afternoon on March 25th, a single fire sprinkler extinguished a fire in the Sala Apartments in Rock Island.
A stove fire started on the third floor of the apartment unit of the building. Heat from the fire activated the fire sprinkler putting out the flames before firefighters arrived. “The residents evacuated safely and there were no injuries. This fire was limited to a few hundred dollars instead of a multimillion-dollar loss if the fire had spread throughout the building!!” as stated on the fire department’s Facebook page.
Source: Rock Island Fire Department Facebook
Fire Sprinkler Extinguished a Fire in a Bedroom of Condominium
PALATINE, IL (March 14, 2019) – A fire sprinkler prevented a fire from becoming deadly in a condominium bedroom. The Palatine Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in a fifth-floor unit. Upon arrival firefighters found smoke and water in the hallway. Upon entry, firefighters found the fire was extinguished by the fire sprinkler. Damage was limited to the master bedroom, closet, and bathroom.
The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. There were no injuries.
According to a Palatine Fire Department press release, “Automatic fire sprinklers are highly effective and reliable elements of a total fire protection system. When fire sprinklers are present, fires were kept to the room of origin 97 percent of the time (U.S. Experience with Sprinklers, NFPA report, 2017). This fire is an excellent example of automatic fire sprinkler effectiveness.”
Source: Palatine Fire Department
A fire sprinkler contained a grease fire in apartment unit kitchen
ROCKFORD, IL – (March 12, 2019) – A fire sprinkler contained a cooking grease fire in an apartment unit at a Rockford apartment building early morning on Tuesday, March 12th.
The Rockford Fire Department responded to a call of a grease fire in the kitchen. A pan caught on fire spreading flames toward the lower part of a cabinet. The tenant attempted to put out the fire, but then quickly ran to the door with children she was watching. Upon arrival, the fire crew found the woman at the door. Firefighters saw that a fire sprinkler activated and contained the fire. Fire crews put out the remaining flame.
Paramedics treated the tenant for a minor burn on her arm from moving the pan. There were no other injuries and everyone expected to be OK. Damage loss estimate is $25,000.
Sources: rrstar.com and Sprinkler saves
Fire Sprinkler Extinguished Fire In Lake Zurich Townhome
LAKE ZURICH, IL (March 6, 2019) – A single fire sprinkler extinguished a fire on the upper floor of a three-story townhome in Lake Zurich. Bob Kleinheinz, Fire Prevention Specialist with the Lake Zurich Fire Department said, “We had a save last night, I was first in, fire was completely out.”
According to a release from the Lake Zurich Fire Department, the first units arrived on the scene within four minutes of receiving the call to find the fire extinguished by the sprinkler. There was an preliminary damage estimate of $25,000 with an estimated $350,000 in property and contents was saved. There were no reports of firefighter injuries and one occupant was transported to a local hospital in stable condition with burns. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In September 2009, Lake Zurich passed an NFPA 13D ordinance requiring home fire sprinklers in all new construction single-family and townhomes. More than 110 Illinois towns and fire districts require fire sprinklers in all new construction.
Source: Lake Zurich Fire Department
Kitchen Fire Extinguished by Single Fire Sprinkler in High-Rise Building
SCHAUMBURG, IL – (March 4, 2019) – A single fire sprinkler extinguished a kitchen fire in a residential high-rise building on Valley Lake Drive. During the evening of March 4, the Schaumburg Fire Department responded to a general fire alarm. Upon arrival, firefighters found the fire was extinguished by the fire sprinkler. The cause of the fire was from cooking.
This residential high-rise occupancy was required to install fire sprinklers as part of Schaumburg’s high-rise retrofit ordinance. The fire department kept the sprinkler system isolated on the floor limiting fire damage to approximately $6,000.
Source: Village of Schaumburg Fire Marshal