Lake Forest, IL – Through combined donations made by the local fire protection industry, a new goat barn at Elawa Farm Foundation in Lake Forest has been equipped with fire sprinklers, protecting the goats that will be social media ambassadors for the organization’s charitable mission.

The farm was constructed in 1917 for A. Watson and Elsa Armour. Mr. Armour was a member of the family that owned Armour & Company, the largest meat packing company in the world at the turn of the 20th Century. In 2002, Elawa Farm Foundation was established to raise support for the restoration of the property. Its mission is to steward a historic farm that enriches the surrounding community with experiential learning, broadening access to education, nutritious food, and the local food system.

Also once sharing the property was The Wildlife Discovery Center. When that program more recently ended, Elawa Farm Foundation took over the vacant animal spaces at the farm with a plan to introduce farm animals including goats, chickens, and ducks.

Elaine Madansky, Director of Farm Operations of Elawa Farm Foundation, spoke about how important Foundation officials felt it was to protect their new goat barn with a fire sprinkler system. “We want to protect the safety of the goats,” Ms. Madansky said. “The city of Lake Forest did not require that we have a fire sprinkler system in that structure, but we felt an obligation to make sure those goats would be kept safe.”

When Josh Hucker, who is the fire plans examiner, life safety inspector and commercial building inspector for Lake Forest, learned of the plan, he suggested getting financial support from the local area and immediately reached out to the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB) for assistance. “I felt it would be a good outreach to the agriculture community,” Mr. Hucker stated.

NIFSAB coordinated with the local fire protection industry to provide the fire sprinkler system in its entirety through industry donations. Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating donated the design work for the system, while product donations came in from Core & Main Fire Protection, Lubrizol Blazemaster, Mid-Continent Marketing/Watts Water Technologies, and Viking SupplyNet.

Century Automatic Sprinkler donated the labor to install the fire sprinkler system in the barn. As a family-owned and operated company for the past 47 years, Century saw this as a great opportunity to give back to the community and protect not only people and property but also animals.

“The building frame was put together very well and the installation process was very simple due to exposed fire sprinkler pipe,” said Century Vice President, Dave Cobian, Jr. “Following the installation, we had the system inspected and tested by Josh Hucker and it passed all of its tests. The system is now in service and the goats are living happily and protected,” Mr. Cobian. Jr. added.

“It is nice to see an organization like Elawa Farm Foundation recognize the need for fire sprinklers to protect people visiting the farm and the animals,” says Erik Hoffer, NIFSAB Executive Director. “It is even more gratifying when members of the fire sprinkler industry step up and donate to further the Foundation’s education efforts and mission.”

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