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When a fire broke out in the laundry room at the People’s Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.) of Tinley Park in January 2024, staff, volunteers, firefighters, and local veterinary professionals worked together to safely evacuate and care for the shelter’s 108 cats and dogs. Although no animals were lost, the incident highlighted a critical need: the nearly 30-year-old shelter did not have fire sprinkler protection.
Today, thanks to a collaborative effort led by the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB) and supported by fire service, industry, labor, and municipal partners, P.A.W.S. is now protected with a newly installed automatic fire sprinkler system that will help safeguard the shelter’s animals, volunteers, and visitors for years to come.
Current P.A.W.S. President Terri Buckley recalls how quickly conditions changed the day of the fire. “It was an awful day,” Buckley said. “We had 108 animals in the shelter. The volunteers worked fast…the whole place filled up with smoke so fast you couldn’t see where you were going.”
The fire reinforced the strong support P.A.W.S receives from the surrounding community, but it also brought attention to the building being grandfathered under earlier codes and lacking fire sprinkler protection. But the traumatic experience changed how the organization viewed fire protection and offered another opportunity for community collaboration.
P.A.W.S. Board Member Nancy Mulvihill, who is also a local fire official, reached out to NIFSAB to see if the donation of a fire sprinkler system and retrofit installation was a possibility.
“When Nancy reached out, we were all in. We wanted to make sure that a fire could never again prevent P.A.W.S. from continuing its benevolent mission of placing cats and dogs in loving homes,” said NIFSAB Executive Director Erik Hoffer.
NIFSAB immediately reached out to Tinley Park Fire Marshal Steve Lorendo to see how the Village could assist with the project, but also to fire sprinkler industry partners for material and labor donations.
Fire Marshal Lorendo recognized the unique opportunity to improve the shelter’s level of fire protection – working through the village of Tinley Park to streamline the project by waiving permit and plan review fees. He even secured a separate donation of a new fire alarm system for the facility. “I thought it was a good thing to do,” he said. “P.A.W.S. is an organization that’s been in town for a very long time and now, hopefully, a much longer time to come.”
Kicking off the donations for the retrofit project, fire sprinkler contractor USA Fire Protection visited the site to provide the fire sprinkler system design and hydraulic calculations. After determining the necessary materials for the fire sprinkler system, Ferguson Fire & Fabrication provided everything from pipe, valves, gauges, fittings, hardware, and sprinklers, while Mid-Continent Marketing and Watts Water Technologies provided the backflow preventer connecting the fire sprinkler system to the incoming water service line.
An occasional challenge with retrofits, the original water service line to the building was insufficiently sized. However, underground contractor Airy’s, Inc., stepped forward to donate labor and materials to provide a new four-inch water service line under the parking lot to the building, while also rerouting the existing interior plumbing from the original service line. “We chose directional drilling as our method of installation to limit the disruption of business and avoid costly restoration,” stated Vice President/Field Superintendent Thomas Land. In addition, the village of Mokena water department waived the associated water service fees.
Sprinkler Fitters Local 281 UA donated the fire sprinkler system installation labor through its union apprenticeship program. Lead Apprentice Instructor Don Ott noted that the project provided valuable hands-on experience for apprentices. “The P.A.W.S. job was unique in that it was a retrofit of an occupied, finished, and working facility,” Ott stated. “Many of the apprentices involved on this project have only been on new construction projects.”
Unlike a typical prefabricated installation, apprentices fabricated much of the sprinkler system onsite while working around shelter staff, volunteers, and the animals themselves.
Ott emphasized that projects like this benefit both apprentices and the community. “This collaborative effort helped a not-for-profit organization accomplish a project that otherwise could have been a possible financial burden forcing them to cut back on the services they provide for the community,” he noted.
Automatic fire sprinklers are designed to control or extinguish a fire while it is still small, limiting fire growth and allowing time for safe escape. Fire Marshal Lorendo emphasized that early fire control is especially important in facilities caring for animals that cannot escape unaided. “Sprinklers save lives. If we can stop a fire in the incipient stage…people aren’t out of business. Pets, people—nobody’s lives are in danger.”
“When we were offered this fire sprinkler system, it was like a miracle,” Buckley said. “We sleep much better knowing that the sprinkler system is in place, and that our animals aren’t in danger.”
Looking ahead, Buckley says fire sprinklers will remain a priority for the organization. As P.A.W.S. prepares for a potential future addition to the shelter, installing fire sprinklers will be among the first considerations.
The P.A.W.S. fire sprinkler retrofit demonstrates what can be accomplished when the fire service, industry partners, organized labor, and the community work together toward a common goal. Their combined efforts have provided lasting protection for one of Tinley Park’s most valued nonprofit organizations, helping ensure that the shelter’s animals—and the people who care for them—will be safer for years to come.
About the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB)
The Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting progressive legislation, raising public awareness, educating code officials and governmental policy makers by demonstrating the proven performance of fire sprinklers in saving both lives and property.
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Left to right: Don Ott (Local 281), Eric Pettit (Local 281), Beth Berenson (P.A.W.S.) and Erik Hoffer (NIFSAB)
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
P.A.W.S. Tinley Park – People’s Animal Welfare Society
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Steve Lorendo, Fire Marshal, Tinley Park Fire Department, showcases the fire sprinkler riser with a couple of P.A.W.S rescue cats.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Steve Lorendo, Fire Marshal, Tinley Park Fire Department, showcasing a fire sprinkler that provides protection for the rescue animals at P.A.W.S.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Rescue kittens checking out the fire sprinkler riser at P.A.W.S.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Rescue kittens checking out the fire sprinkler riser at P.A.W.S.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Rescue kittens checking out the fire sprinkler riser at P.A.W.S.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Fire Sprinkler Riser at P.A.W.S.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Doris, a rescue kitten at P.A.W.S., enjoying the peace of mind that comes with fire sprinkler protection.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
P.A.W.S. team members with rescue dog, Sweetie. Left to right: Susan Lawrence, Beth Berenson, and Fran Jochum.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
P.A.W.S. team member PAW escorting one of the rescue dogs back to its crate, with visible fire sprinkler pipe and fire sprinklers protecting the room.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Lead Apprentice Instructor Don Ott (right) and Eric Pettit (left) of Sprinkler Fitters Local 281 UA inspecting the riser.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Eric Pettit of Sprinkler Fitters Local 281 UA preparing for a flow test of the fire sprinkler system.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Fire sprinkler protecting rescue animals in the kennel room.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Fire sprinkler protecting rescue animals in the kennel room.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
P.A.W.S. volunteers taking a few of the rescue dogs for a walk on the property.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).
Lead Apprentice Instructor Don Ott (left) and Eric Pettit (right) of Sprinkler Fitters Local 281 UA with Artemis, a rescue dog.
Photo Credit: Diane Smutny / NIFSAB
Photos courtesy of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).