NO MEDIA COVERAGE — Reported by the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).

Thursday morning, a single fire sprinkler controlled a mattress fire at Ballard Rehabilitation, a skilled nursing facility at 9300 Ballard Road in Des Plaines, until North Maine Fire Protection District crews provided final extinguishment. The fire sprinkler system contained the fire to a single room on the second floor and prevented major damage and possible deaths, thereby validating the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to require fire sprinklers in all new and existing long-term care facilities nationwide.

The CMS federal rule requiring fire sprinklers in long-term care facilities became effective on August 13, 2013, following a five-year phase-in time frame after publication in 2008. The rule, which applies to Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) that are regulated by CMS for Medicare and Medicaid licensure, is a direct result of two deadly nursing home in 2003 — one in Hartford, Connecticut, and the other in Nashville, Tennessee.

Please refer to NIFSAB web site for complete press release and additional information . www.firesprinklerassoc.org