Tag Archives: Illinois

Residential, Residential High Rise

Chicago, IL – Fire in 24-story high rise condominium tower contained by sprinkler system

On the night of February 23, a fire was contained to a single condo unit by a fire sprinkler system on the 14th floor of the Erie on the Park high-rise in Chicago. The information was obtained through an email sent to the residents by the property manager of the 24-story, 125-unit condo building at 510 West Erie Street. The building was required by the city to install fire sprinklers when it was completed in 2002.

Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, says that the successful fire sprinkler activation is an excellent reminder of the life-saving benefits that fire sprinklers provide in high-rises. But he also points out the glaring difference in fire protection between newer and older high-rises in Chicago.

“There are hundreds of residential high-rises in Chicago that were built before the city’s fire sprinkler requirements in 1975 that do not contain fire sprinklers,” notes Lia.

Approximately 100 of the older high-rises chose to install fire sprinklers to comply with the city’s Life Safety Evaluation (LSE) ordinance that had a deadline of January 1, 2015. That’s another 100 high-rises that will be in the “with” column for fire sprinklers, leaving less and less high-rises “without.”

Yet, the majority of the remaining high-rises chose other measures that will not fully protect residents unprotected from fires.

“As evidenced by last night’s sprinkler save, fire sprinklers are the only technology that actively control a fire and provide residents with a safe route of escape,” adds Lia. “High-rise owners, residents and prospective buyers must be mindful of the presence or absence of fire safety features, especially fire sprinklers, in their buildings.”

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Des Plaines, IL – Single sprinkler controls matress fire at long-term care and rehabilitation center (NO MEDIA COVERAGE)

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

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Marengo, IL – Overnight fire in restaurant mostly extinguished by sprinkler system

Reports of a possible structure fire at Joe’s Place, 19716 E. Grant Highway, came in to the Marengo Fire Protection District at about 12:50 a.m., Capt. John Kimmel said. The small dryer blaze activated one sprinkler head, which had largely extinguished the flames prior to firefighters’ arrival, Kimmel added.

“We used pump cans to extinguish the rest, then it was more about ventilating the smoke,” he said. Kimmel continued, saying there were no occupants in the restaurant at the time of the fire and no firefighters were injured during the hour-and-a-half response.

“There was significant smoke damage and they’re probably going to lose some product that was in the area,” he added.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Glendale Heights, IL – Sprinkler system extinguishes early morning fire at produce store

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** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Sprinkler Contractor Reported **

A call was received last Wednesday morning at 4:30 am from Valli Produce at 155 North Avenue in Glendale Heights.  An electrical fire started in a storage room that contained Cardboard and Styrofoam. Three of the four sprinklers within the room activated. The fire was extinguished by the time the Fire Department arrived.  All four sprinklers were replaced and the system was returned to service. The store opened Wednesday at its normal time.  The sprinkler system was installed in December of 2013.

 

Apartment Building, Residential

Normal, IL – Apartment fire that started in clothes dryer contained with help of sprinkler system

A fire in a clothes dryer caused at a Normal apartment building Monday morning has left one family displaced. The fire reported at 12:25 a.m. at 101 Northfield Drive, Building H. A sprinkler system helped prevent the fire’s spread, said Normal Fire Department spokesman Matt Swaney. There were no injuries and the cause remains under investigation.

Normal firefighters met a resident outside who said a clothes dryer inside her apartment was on fire, and it was spreading. They found heavy smoke inside the apartment and used a thermal imaging camera to locate the laundry room. Due to the number of residents in the building, a second alarm was ordered, calling in off-duty Normal firefighters and a Rapid Intervention Team from Bloomington Fire Department. 

There was heavy fire and smoke damage to the apartment’s laundry room and moderate heat and smoke damage to the rest of the apartment. Damage is estimated at $10,000 to the building and $5,000 in the contents, according to a news release from the department.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Lincolnshire, IL – Christmas day fire at restaurant controlled by sprinkler system

No one was injured, but many Christmas dinner plans were altered by a small kitchen fire at Wildfire Steaks, Chops & Seafood restaurant in Lincolnshire around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Nemeth said the restaurant, at 235 Parkway Drive in Lincolnshire, will be back in business during its regular hours on Friday.

Batalian Chief Scott Knesley with the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District said the kitchen’s sprinkler systems put out most of the fire before fire crews arrived on the scene. He said firefighters had to take apart some of the duct system by the stove and oven to extinguish the rest of the blaze.

Knesley said everyone evacuated the building properly and no one was hurt.  “All of the employees did a great job,” Knesley said. Wildfire will be open from 11:15 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Chicago, IL – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) High-rise condominium fire controlled by sprinklers

*** No Media Coverage – Contractor Reported ***   – A grease fire on an electric stove in an interior one-bedroom condo on the 23rd floor started on Saturday evening (12/20/14).  The owner attempted to extinguish it with a towel, but it didn’t work.  A sprinkler operated and controlled the fire. The building is located at 1629 S Prairie in downtown Chicago ( Adler Place, formerly called 1600 Museum Park)

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

DeKalb, IL – Overnight fire at wood products manufacturer contained with help from sprinkler system

The fire started in a dustbin at Premium Wood Products in DeKalb about 1 a.m. Friday, authorities said. Crews from the DeKalb Fire Department responded to an alarm at the business at 436 E. Locust St. at 12:54 a.m. When they arrived, they found heavy smoke and flames near a bin for collecting dust and wood shavings, according to a news release from the fire department.

The fire activated the sprinkler system, which controlled the fire until firefighters could extinguish it, the release said. Firefighters had the fire under control after about 45 minutes and remained on scene for about two more hours to ventilate the building. Crews determined the fire was accidental. Business operations resumed fully after the fire, authorities said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Naperville, IL – Sprinkler system keeps early morning fire from spreading in commercial building

Firefighters were called to the 2100 block of Corporate Lane about 5:23 a.m. after an alarm was activated and a security guard reported seeing smoke, according to a news release from the fire department.  Crews responding to the scene found a hanging heater unit in an engineering room had caused the fire, officials said.  However, it was located directly beneath a sprinkler so the fire did not spread.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fire marshal credits sprinkler with averting disaster in overnight apartment fire (Grafton, IL)

There were no news trucks outside 100 Forest Lane at 3 a.m. Thursday, no reports of deaths from a terrible fire, no flames filling the darkened skies.

Oh, there was a fire at an apartment at the 10-unit building and there was some damage to an apartment, but by the time firefighters arrived, the blaze was out because a single sprinkler head had been activated and doused the flames. No one was hurt.