retrofit Archives - Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board

Fifty Single-Family Homes Retrofitted with Home Fire Sprinklers When Converted to Student Housing

Fifty single-family homes converted to student dwellings, located just off the Lindenwood University’s Belleville, Illinois campus, have been retrofitted with home fire sprinklers.

Belleville Fire Department assistant chief, JP Penet, said “the ‘change of use’ from private homes to university-owned student dwellings triggered the installation of fire sprinklers, in order to comply with Illinois’ adoption of the 2000 NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. Fire sprinkler system installation followed NFPA 13D, with guidelines specific to residential dwelling fire protection.
The design and installation work proved to be quite a challenge, as the buildings range in age from 40 to 100 years old. Self-contained tank and pump systems were installed in all but three of the homes. The project began in 2014 with initial research and conversations, and was completed in spring of 2018

Penet said there was a striking safety gap between the students living in fully-sprinklered on-campus dorms, and students living unprotected in these off-campus, university-owned student dwellings.

“We had to help bridge the knowledge gap between life safety code requirements and how to get these homes sprinklered,” Penet said. “We worked closely with the university and city leadership, to ensure the safety of the off-campus student community.”
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 94% of fatal fires occur in off-campus housing. “Protecting off-campus student housing provides peace-of-mind,” Penet said. “More than 260 students are now protected from fire in these 50 homes. Those are numbers everyone can live with.”

According to Penet, support from the fire service community was essential, including the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, the St Louis Metropolitan Fire Marshals Association, the Illinois Fire Inspectors Association and the Illinois Chapter of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.

Fifty single-family homes converted to student dwellings, located just off the Lindenwood University’s Belleville, Illinois campus, have been retrofitted with home fire sprinklers.

Boyer Fire Protection was the fire sprinkler contractor on this project.

Self-contained tank and pump systems were installed in all but three of the homes.

This is test.

Mary Lukens2019-08-15T12:28:01-05:00December 6th, 2018|0 Comments

Fire Sprinkler Saves Evanston High-Rise Residents, Yet Again, in 2016

The Mather in Evanston (photo courtesy of Google Maps Street View)

On December 20, a single fire sprinkler extinguished a fire after a stovetop burner was left on and ignited nearby boxes of food in a residence at The Mather, a 10-story senior living facility in Evanston. According to fire officials, no one was injured and over $150,000 in damage was prevented thanks to the quick action of the fire sprinkler.

The sprinkler save marks the second time this year that fire sprinklers prevented major fires at residential high-rises in Evanston. In March, a single fire sprinkler extinguished a kitchen fire in an apartment unit of the 11-story Housing Authority of Cook County’s Perlman Apartments high-rise. The building recently had been retrofitted with fire sprinklers in November 2015.

When the Mather was built in the late 2000s, former Evanston fire officials Michael Rons (plan reviewer), Tom Janetske (fire marshal) and Alan Berkowsky (fire chief) oversaw the fire safety system installations, including the fire sprinklers, which were installed by USA Fire Protection from Lake Forest.

“Both of the buildings where the fire sprinkler saves occurred this year have senior residents that are at high risk in the event of fires, according to the NFPA. Also, there is the added risk due to limited escape routes in high-rises,” says Evanston Fire Captain John Roche. “In each case, a single fire sprinkler averted a potentially serious incident.”

“By following national model codes that require fire sprinkler protection in high-rises, Evanston city officials are ensuring the safety of high-rise residents. That gives the city a huge life safety advantage over the city of Chicago, which unfortunately does not require all high-rises to be sprinklered,” says Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

Mary Lukens2023-10-05T11:29:33-05:00December 21st, 2016|0 Comments

Fire Sprinklers Prevent Major Fire at Lawson House YMCA Residential High-Rise

On November 18, fire sprinklers controlled and extinguished a fire in a trash compactor room at the Lawson House YMCA at 30 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. The 24-story residential high-rise, which was built in 1934, is the largest single-room occupancy supportive housing facility in the Midwest with nearly 600 apartment units.

“Some of the residents in the low-income building are formerly homeless, so a fire that could potentially displace them again would be devastating. Fire sprinklers saved the day for the hundreds of people that live there,” says Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

Lia also notes that the fire sprinkler save is a good reminder to Chicago high-rise building owners that the city’s deadline to retrofit high-rises with fire sprinklers by January 1, 2017, is fast approaching.

Mary Lukens2023-10-05T11:34:24-05:00November 18th, 2016|0 Comments

Video: Fire Sprinklers Save Lives in High-Rises

Have you ever stopped to think about how safe a residential high-rise building would be in the event of a fire? If it doesn’t include fire sprinklers, the answer is simple: it’s not safe enough.

Residents of high-rises without fire sprinkler systems are much more likely to die in a fire, and those fortunate enough to escape could still face injury and significant property losses. The National Fire Protection Association reported that from 2007-2011, high-rise fires caused nearly $219 million in property damage each year.

Why even risk the potential of such loss when a fire sprinkler system can easily be retrofitted to any building

Fire sprinklers are easier to install in existing high-rises than most people think. The infrastructure is already in place, making fire sprinklers a cost-effective solution for fire safety.

If a fire starts, the heat from the fire will activate only the sprinkler closest to the fire, limiting damage to a single area and preventing the release of deadly smoke and toxins. Fire sprinklers are the only technology that proactively control or extinguish a fire, prevent it from spreading, and provide time for residents to escape.

Also, owners and residents of high-rises protected with fire sprinklers receive discounts on their fire insurance.

View the video and more information at HighRiseLifeSafety.com.

Mary Lukens2023-10-05T11:30:15-05:00March 10th, 2016|0 Comments

FEMA Grant Helps Funds Fire Sprinkler System for Wheeling’s Last Unprotected Fire Station

Mary Lukens2023-10-05T11:35:20-05:00January 30th, 2013|0 Comments