press releases Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board

HFSC Will Award $750 Stipends to 40 U.S. Fire Departments for Home Fire Sprinkler Outreach

The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) will select 40 fire departments to each receive a $750 stipend to conduct a Home Fire Sprinkler Week outreach program during the week of May 11-17, 2025. The stipend program is generously funded by a grant from State Farm®. Applicants for the stipend must sign up for the free Built For Life Fire Departments (BFLFD) program and describe their plan to use and evaluate their awards.

Home Fire Sprinkler Week is co-sponsored by HFSC and the NFPA Fire Sprinkler Initiative, the week communicates the dangers of home fires to residents and firefighters and promotes the crucial safety advantages of constructing new homes and retrofitting existing residences with fire sprinklers.

Fire departments of any size or type can use the $750 stipend to:

* Create and print customizable materials from the Home Fire Sprinkler Studio
* Build a Home Fire Sprinkler NFPA 13D Display following the HFSC guide
* Produce an educational banner or canopy tent utilizing HFSC display graphics. Fire department logos may be added.
* Purchase a monitor to play HFSC’s educational videos
* Purchase a virtual reality headset to play HFSC’s VR video
* Post HFSC videos or graphics on their fire department Facebook page and use the stipend to boost the messages
* Build or refurbish a side-by-side demonstration

Participants in Fire Prevention Week can take advantage of the free resources of the HFSC Studio at Home Fire Sprinkler Studio to create a wide range of educational materials for their fire sprinkler community outreach initiatives.

With this easy-to-use online tool, fire departments can design their own flyers, posters, and social media cards; share messages through their social media platforms; and print customized materials to distribute at community events such as home shows and open houses, and during Fire Sprinkler Week and Fire Prevention Week.

Now in its eighth year, Home Fire Sprinkler Week has grown increasingly popular with fire departments in the US and Canada, and HFSC anticipates widespread participation again in 2025. Every day will feature a different theme focusing on key facts about home fire sprinklers and how they protect people living in homes, firefighters and the entire community. This year’s themes will be:

Monday: Fire is Fast, Sprinklers are Faster
Tuesday: The Cost to Communities Without Fire Sprinklers
Wednesday: Fire Sprinklers are Part of a Fire-Safe Community
Thursday: It’s Easy to Live with Home Fire Sprinklers
Friday: Protect What You Value Most

Installed fire sprinklers significantly reduce home fire injuries, deaths and property loss. “That’s why all national building codes require sprinklers in new construction,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of outreach and advocacy and president of the HFSC. “Every new home built without fire sprinklers is substandard threatening Community Risk Reduction for decades. Our Home Fire Sprinkler Week resources underscore not just that we can do better; they underscore exactly how to do better.”

Fire Departments can apply here: 2025 HFSC Stipend Program. The deadline to apply for the stipend is March 3, 2025.

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Lisa2025-02-04T15:19:25-06:00February 4th, 2025|Comments Off

Two Years After Fatal Harper Square Fire, the Trauma Continues as Residents in Nearly 80 Units Remain Displaced

Tinley Park, IL (January 30, 2025) – On January 25, 2023, the Harper Square fire was the first of 17 fires in unsprinklered residential high-rise residences in Chicago that year. It resulted in one fatality, multiple injuries, hundreds of residents displaced, and millions of dollars in property loss and displacements.

Erik Hoffer, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, compares the incident to the early 2025 California wildfires. “Losing more than 100 residences due to fire in a high-rise building should be viewed as no less tragic than that number of residences lost to fire in a neighborhood. They are both equally devastating to the residents themselves who face long-term displacement and deserve the attention of the public and elected officials,” he says.

For Harper Square residents, the last two years have been a time of uncertainty, stress, frustration and exhaustion as costs mount and insurance coverage has been exhausted. Unfortunately, a similar tragedy could strike again since fire sprinklers are not being retrofit during reconstruction after the fire.

Harper Square was built before the 1975 City of Chicago Code requiring fire sprinklers in all new high-rises. Today, more than 600 residential high-rise buildings in Chicago stand without full fire sprinkler protection, with cost often cited as the reason not to retrofit fire sprinklers.

However, the real question of cost is, “What is the cost of NOT installing fire sprinklers when a fire occurs?” Harper Square is a model example of post-fire costs far exceeding the cost of installing fire sprinklers.

Fire sprinklers prevent these tragedies. Heat from a fire individually activates each sprinkler to extinguish or control the fire while it is small, allowing residents to safely escape. Fire sprinklers are the most effective solution to reduce fire risk, protecting residents, firefighters and property.

“Fire may have shaped Chicago’s history, but we mustn’t let it shape our future,” states Erik Hoffer, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board. “The time is now for our city leaders to readdress fire safety in Chicago’s high-rises – passive fire protection is not enough. Fire sprinklers are the answer.”

For more information about the 17 Chicago high-rise fires in 2023, please visit: https://highriselifesafety.com/high-rise-fires-in-2023/

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Lisa2025-03-14T13:29:36-05:00January 30th, 2025|Comments Off

Village of Richton Park Updates Residential Code With Home Fire Sprinkler Requirement

Richton Park, IL – Earlier this year, the Village of Richton Park adopted updated fire and building codes requiring all new construction homes to be equipped with home fire sprinklers. In meetings leading up to the fire and building code updates, Fire Chief Mick Smith and Community & Economic Development Director Pete Saunders emphasized the importance of retaining the NFPA 13D home fire sprinkler requirements included in the 2018 Edition of the International Residential Code (IRC). Having learned about the faster speed of today’s home fires and the quick, lifesaving benefits of fire sprinklers, and with the approval of Village Manager Regan Stockstell, Chief Smith and Director Saunders presented the updates to the Village President and Board of Trustees. The President and Board voted in favor of the updates, taking a significant step toward establishing a fire-safe community.

Not only does the updated edition of the IRC require the installation of fire sprinklers in all new residential properties, but there are also local amendments mandating fire sprinklers in homes undergoing major renovations.

“Across the country, fire damage is in the billions of dollars every year, and fire deaths are in the thousands every year,” Fire Chief Smith states. “With this requirement, the Village of Richton Park has taken critical steps forward in reducing the damages that can be caused by a fire as well as the lives that could be lost due to residential fires.”

Congratulations to the Village of Richton Park for implementing this code update that will protect its housing stock and residents for generations to come.

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Lisa2025-01-09T13:07:33-06:00January 6th, 2025|Comments Off

Fire Sprinkler Inspections, Testing & Maintenance Full-Day Course

Fire Sprinkler Inspections, Testing & Maintenance Full-Day Course
Instructor: Ron Ritchey, Great Lakes Services Coordinator, National Fire Sprinkler Association
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
8:00 am – 4:00 pm (Central) (Check-in begins at 7:30 am)

MAAC Emergency Services Training Campus
4203 Montdale Park Drive
Valparaiso, IN

Class is limited to 90. Please register by Thursday, January 2.
Register at www.bit.ly/nfpa25valpo
Class is FREE with gift card # GIFT-01040 (After typing gift card number, you MUST click on the button to apply the credit.)

View Flyer Here: Flyer-ITMClass-01.07.25

Lisa2024-12-06T11:37:57-06:00December 6th, 2024|Comments Off

City of North Chicago Updates Codes Including Home Fire Sprinkler Requirement

North Chicago City Council

North Chicago, IL—The city of North Chicago updated its codes and will now require the installation of fire sprinklers in all new-construction, single-family dwellings. The codes were updated following North Chicago’s August 24, 2024, adoption of the 2021 editions of the International Residential Code (IRC), International Building Code (IBC), and International Fire Code (IFC).

North Chicago Economic and Community Development Director Taylor Wegrzyn and Fire Chief John Umek both discussed the safety and economic perspectives of adopting this code for the community.

“It’s an extreme help to the community just from a safety standpoint,” Umek said, noting that fire sprinklers give the fire department the ability to have a faster response to a fire by holding a fire in check before fire crews arrive.

Wegrzyn agrees that safety is the major reason for the code adoption including home fire sprinklers. “From an economic development perspective, we believe it will increase overall home values and have numerous positive trickle-down impacts in our local community.”

Wegrzyn and Umek also noted the value of third-party resources and expertise, including the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, to emphasize the importance of installing fire sprinklers in homes.

“Today’s fires are becoming deadly in as little as two to three minutes,” said NIFSAB Executive Director Erik Hoffer, noting that Lake County has seen an unsettling number of recent home fire deaths. Those include a three-fatality fire in Zion and a one-fatality fire in Round Lake, both on October 29th, and a one-fatality fire in Hawthorn Woods on November 9th.”

Hoffer was present at the City Council meeting on November 18th to recognize the proactive fire safety measure taken by the City Council and staff. North Chicago joins nearly 110 other Chicagoland fire-safe communities, including neighboring Waukegan and Lake County, that protect news homes with fire sprinklers.

Congratulations to the community of North Chicago for adopting this code!

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Lisa2024-11-20T10:37:21-06:00November 19th, 2024|Comments Off

Industry-Donated Fire Sprinkler System Protects Goat Barn at Nonprofit Elawa Farm Foundation

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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Lisa2024-10-28T17:30:39-05:00October 28th, 2024|Comments Off

Live Burns During Fire Prevention Week to Demonstrate Effectiveness of Home Fire Sprinklers Versus Quick Growth of Today’s Home Fires

Tinley Park, IL (September 4, 2024) – This fall, as part of national Fire Prevention Week education efforts, the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB) will be working with greater Chicago area
fire departments throughout September and October to present live burn demonstrations at their open house events.

Fire Prevention Week is scheduled for October 6 to 12 and this year’s theme is “Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work for You!” Smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers together make a great team by providing early warning and giving occupants time to safely escape a home fire. According to a March 2024 “U.S. Experience with Sprinklers” report from the National Fire Protection Association, home fire deaths are reduced by 92 percent when fire sprinklers and hardwired smoke alarms are present compared to when neither are present.

Nothing is more powerful evidence of that NFPA statistic than a live side-by-side demonstration of home fires. These dramatic burns are remarkably effective at showing people how fast fires can become deadly and the crucial, life-saving benefits of home fire sprinklers.

In the side-by-side burn demonstrations, two similar rooms with smoke alarms are set on fire. However, one room contains a single fire sprinkler, while the adjoining room does not. Attendees can witness the rapid spread of fire in the unsprinklered room in stark contrast with how quickly the fire sprinkler responds and controls or extinguishes the fire in the other room.

In addition to these demonstrations, Chicago area fire departments will discuss the importance of early warning with working 10-year-sealed-battery smoke alarms, typical 9-1-1 dispatch and fire department response times, and well-practiced escape plans for families.

“With today’s home furnishings, a fire can turn deadly in just two minutes,” said NIFSAB Executive Director Erik Hoffer. “Home fires are more deadly because our furniture and belongings are made of plastics and synthetic materials that make fires burn faster and produce more toxic smoke, while open-space design concepts cause fires to spread more quickly from room to room. Evolving technologies such as lithium-ion batteries are also adding new fire challenges, driving quicker growth of fires.”

“With these riveting demonstrations, audiences can see fire sprinklers in action. They do not all activate at once as the movies incorrectly portray, but instead are individually activated by the extreme heat of a fire, providing life safety by stopping a fire in its track and limiting the spread of smoke.”

More than 110 Illinois communities have adopted national model codes requiring fire sprinklers in all new construction homes. Leaders in those communities recognize that fire sprinklers not only help safeguard residents and property, they also protect the lives of first responders from fire and cancer-causing carcinogens associated with the smoke.

Below is a list of upcoming fire and sprinkler burn demonstrations*. Please contact NIFSAB or the fire departments for more details.

Saturday, September 7:
Elgin Fire Department
Inverness Fire Protection District
Lake Villa “Celebration of Fall” (Lake Villa Fire Protection District)

Tuesday, September 10:
Will County Public Health/Safety Committee (Joliet Fire Department)

Saturday, September 14:
Batavia Fire Department
MAAC Foundation’s “First Responder Appreciation & Demonstration Day” (Valparaiso, Indiana)

Wednesday, September 18:
Elk Grove Village Fire Department – Citizens Fire Academy (Fire Sprinkler Demo Trailer)

Saturday, September 21:
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District
Buffalo Grove Fire Department
Des Plaines Fire Department (Fire Sprinkler Demo Trailer)
Glenview Fire Department
Plainfield Fire Protection District
Pleasantview Fire Protection District
West Dundee Fire Department
Wheeling Fire Department

Sunday, September 22:
Roselle Fire Department

Saturday, September 28:
Fox River Grove Fire Protection District
La Grange Park Fire Department (Fire Sprinkler Demonstration Trailer)
Naperville Fire Department
St. Charles Fire Department

Sunday, September 29:
Mundelein Fire Department

Wednesday, October 2:
Warrenville Fire Protection District

Saturday, October 5:
Aurora Regional Fire Museum’s “Community Hero Day”
Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District
Elk Grove Village Fire Department (Fire Sprinkler Demo Trailer)
Hammond (Indiana) Fire Department
Harlem-Roscoe Fire Protection District
Hobart (Indiana) Fire Department
Homewood Fire Department
Lake Bluff Fire Department
Lansing Fire Department
Lemont Fire Protection District
Northbrook Fire Department
Norwood Park Fire Protection District
Palatine Fire Department

Sunday, October 6:
Belvidere Fire Department
Countryside Fire Protection District (Fire Sprinkler Demo Trailer)
Lake Zurich Fire Department
Lockport Township Fire Protection District
McHenry Township Fire Protection District
Merrillville (Indiana) Fire Department

Monday, October 7:
Lake Villa Village Board Meeting (Lake Villa Fire Protection District)
Moraine Valley Community College – Fire Science Program
Westchester Fire Department
Western Springs Fire Department

Thursday, October 10:
La Grange Fire Department

Friday, October 11:
Beecher Fire Protection District
Richton Park Fire Department (Fire Sprinkler Demo Trailer)

Saturday, October 12:
Berwyn Fire Department
Hillside Fire Department
Hinsdale Fire Department
Hoffman Estates Fire Department – Station 24
Rolling Meadows Fire Department
Romeoville Fire Department (Fire Sprinkler Demo Trailer) Waukegan Fire Department
Streamwood Fire Department
Wauconda Fire Protection District
Waukegan Fire Department

Sunday, October 13:
Evanston Fire Department
Roberts Park Fire Department

Wednesday, October 16:
Chicago Ridge Fire Department

Saturday, October 19:
Bloomingdale Fire Protection District
Hoffman Estates Fire Department – Station 23

Monday, October 21:
Hampshire Fire Protection District

Saturday, October 26:
Oswego Fire Protection District

Sunday, October 27:
Forest View Fire Department

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Lisa2024-09-30T13:22:03-05:00September 4th, 2024|Comments Off

Wheeling’s Revamped Grant Program for Businesses Adds Fire Suppression Incentives

The Village of Wheeling has revamped its previous grant program for commercial businesses in the Town Center II or North Milwaukee Avenue TIF Districts, now including installed fire suppression systems.

The original grant program, which was established in 2005, focused on facade improvements and expanded in 2011 to cover additional exterior projects such as landscaping. Now known as the Wheeling Restaurant, Entertainment, and Build-Out Grant Program, it has been further expanded to include entertainment spaces and incentivizes interior enhancements such as permanent interior plumbing and electrical installations, ADA-compliant bathrooms, and fire suppression systems and alarms.

The grant has expanded the original separate program categories: Program A is the Sit-Down Restaurant Grant, which offers funding up to $150,000 for new or existing sit-down restaurant operators to renovate commercial spaces. Eligible applicants must be new to the area or have an existing sit-down restaurant located within the TIF Districts.

Program B is the Wheeling Food and Beverage, Retail, and Shopping Center Grant. It offers funding up to $50,000. To be eligible, the applicant must propose a new food, beverage, or retail business or already have one. Alternatively, they can be an existing commercial shopping center.

The newest addition to the grant program is Program C, the Anchor Restaurant, Entertainment Venue, and Retail Grant. The grant is for restaurants occupying at least 6,000 square feet of space, retail stores occupying at least 20,000 square feet, and entertainment venues occupying at least 15,000 square feet. All these spaces are eligible for funding up to $225,000.

In each category, the approved grants may be used for permanent improvements to the building, including the following: kitchen infrastructure, fixtures related to bar and prep spaces, walk-in coolers, permanent seating fixtures, interior plumbing, electrical and HVAC equipment, fire suppression systems and alarms, flooring materials, bathrooms (including ADA-compliance modifications), grease traps, exterior façade elements, permanent improvements to outside seating areas, new parking lot lighting, permanent landscaping-bed improvements, and new parking lot installation. Other interior building improvements deemed permanent by the grant administrator may also be included.

Wheeling Fire Chief Scott Salela believes these improvements are significant. “This grant benefits the community by enhancing the appearance and safety of existing key buildings, whether retail or restaurant,” he stated.

Wheeling Economic Development Director Len Becker provided more details about fire suppression in this grant. “Life safety issues are of utmost importance to the village. So, not just fire suppression but also exit doors and ADA compliance, which were added specifically with this iteration to qualify for the grant. Understanding life safety is critically important.”

Active since 2005, the grant program will continue so long as the Village of Wheeling has the resources to fund it, Becker anticipates. Read more details about the Wheeling Restaurant, Entertainment, and Build-Out Grant Program.

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Lisa2024-08-08T10:52:48-05:00August 7th, 2024|Comments Off

With Update to International Residential Code, Waukegan Implements New Home Fire Sprinkler Requirements

The city of Waukegan recently updated its codes and now requires all new construction one- and two-family homes and townhomes to be protected with home fire sprinklers. The upgrade in home fire sprinkler protection is a result of Waukegan updating to the 2021 edition of the International Residential Code (IRC). The city also updated its editions of the International Building Code (IBC), and (International Fire Code (IFC).

Waukegan Fire Marshal Todd Zupec participated in the Waukegan City Council process to establish the new code update, attending multiple meetings to decide which codes should be added or removed. Throughout the process, he advocated for adding the home fire sprinkler requirements according to the NFPA 13D standard.

Zupec applauded city officials for the decision to move forward with this code adoption, noting that it will greatly benefit the entire Waukegan community. “We are always striving to create a safer community,” he said. “With the adoption of these codes and fire sprinkler requirements, we are making our buildings and homes much safer and thereby lowering the risk for injuries or deaths in the event of a fireAs most of our fires are in residential buildings, this is a great step forward in helping reduce the number of fires and increase safety.”

Congratulations to the city of Waukegan for adopting this code!

Lisa2024-08-07T13:52:38-05:00August 1st, 2024|Comments Off

Elgin Offers Fire Sprinkler Grants to Encourage Downtown Residential Conversions

11 - 15 Grove Street, Elgin, IL

19 - 21 Douglas Street, Elgin, IL

Downtown Elgin, IL

Elgin, IL—In 2018, the city of Elgin created the Fire Sprinkler Assistance for Residential Conversions Grant Program to incentivize property owners to convert vacant or underutilized upper floors of downtown buildings into code-compliant residential units.

The grant program funds the installation of new fire sprinkler systems or code-required improvements or upgrades to existing systems for upper floor residential unit conversions in existing buildings. The grants will reimburse property owners up to $4 per square foot of the floor area protected by fire sprinklers. Additionally, the program waives fees for building permits, plan reviews, inspections, and/or utility and tap fees associated with such projects.

The Community Development Department and the Fire Prevention Bureau of the Elgin Fire Department work closely together to ensure the buildings are safe and up to code. The Community Development Department reviews the building plans, issues permits and conducts building inspections while the Fire Prevention Bureau reviews plans and performs inspections related to fire sprinklers and fire alarm systems.

Community Development Director Marc Mylott believes the grant program helps the Elgin community in many ways. “The city has long pursued opportunities to have more people live downtown. More people downtown leads to more people who frequent our restaurants and shops. This grant is another opportunity to create more places for people to live in downtown Elgin,” Mylott said. “In addition, upper floor apartments provide another housing opportunity for persons who may not be in a position to afford the purchase of a new single-family home.”

The Fire Sprinkler Assistance for Residential Conversions Grant Program is intended to continue until 2025, depending upon funding. The grant is funded by the Central Area Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, which will expire at the end of 2025. The City of Elgin is currently pursuing an extension for this TIF district. Information can be found at www.cityofelgin.org/88/Grants.

Congratulations to the city of Elgin on this grant program, which will protect residents and firefighters, while also investing in the redevelopment of the city’s downtown.

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Lisa2024-04-29T14:41:28-05:00April 29th, 2024|Comments Off