Fire Sprinkler Saves Evanston High-Rise Residents, Yet Again, in 2016

Photo courtesy of Google Maps Street View.

The Mather in Evanston (photo courtesy of Google Maps Street View)

On December 20, a single fire sprinkler extinguished a fire after a stovetop burner was left on and ignited nearby boxes of food in a residence at The Mather, a 10-story senior living facility in Evanston. According to fire officials, no one was injured and over $150,000 in damage was prevented thanks to the quick action of the fire sprinkler.

The sprinkler save marks the second time this year that fire sprinklers prevented major fires at residential high-rises in Evanston. In March, a single fire sprinkler extinguished a kitchen fire in an apartment unit of the 11-story Housing Authority of Cook County’s Perlman Apartments high-rise. The building recently had been retrofitted with fire sprinklers in November 2015.

When the Mather was built in the late 2000s, former Evanston fire officials Michael Rons (plan reviewer), Tom Janetske (fire marshal) and Alan Berkowsky (fire chief) oversaw the fire safety system installations, including the fire sprinklers, which were installed by USA Fire Protection from Lake Forest.

“Both of the buildings where the fire sprinkler saves occurred this year have senior residents that are at high risk in the event of fires, according to the NFPA. Also, there is the added risk due to limited escape routes in high-rises,” says Evanston Fire Captain John Roche. “In each case, a single fire sprinkler averted a potentially serious incident.”

“By following national model codes that require fire sprinkler protection in high-rises, Evanston city officials are ensuring the safety of high-rise residents. That gives the city a huge life safety advantage over the city of Chicago, which unfortunately does not require all high-rises to be sprinklered,” says Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

 

2023-10-05T11:29:33-05:00December 21st, 2016|0 Comments

Oakland Fire is Reminder for Chicago to Enforce Sprinkler Codes

john_hancock_building_fire-2016The Oakland Ghost Ship Fire with 36 fire deaths shows us what can happen when fire codes are not followed. Unfortunately, Chicago has a long list of historic multi-fatality fires that resulted in code changes. Here are just a few: Iroquois Theatre fire (602 deaths), La Salle Hotel fire (58 deaths) Our Lady of the Angels school fire (95 deaths), Paxton Hotel fire (19 deaths) and Wincrest Nursing Home fire (23 deaths).

Ironically, January 1, 2017, is the deadline for the commercial high-rise fire sprinkler retrofit ordinance. All high-rises built before sprinklers were required in the mid-1970s are required to be retrofit. Building owners had a dozen years (three, four-year stages) to get the projects completed. This ordinance was the result of the tragic Cook County Administration building fire with six fire deaths in October 2003.

We applaud Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for retrofitting fire sprinklers in the Cook County Administration Building and former Mayor Daley and Mayor Emanuel for retrofitting the Daley Center and City Hall.

But what about the other high-rise buildings? Is there 100 percent compliance?

When there is a fire code or ordinance, it needs to be enforced. Otherwise, it is useless and the people are lulled into complacency, thinking they are protected. Chicago needs to be a city with model fire codes and enforcement where all residents, workers, and visitors can reasonably expect not to worry whether they are fire safe as they go about their daily lives. Chicago does not need to add another tragic fire to its list.

2023-10-05T11:30:46-05:00December 14th, 2016|0 Comments

Preventing Fire Sprinkler System Freeze-Ups in Cold Weather Months

freeze-up-prevention-flyer

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From the National Fire Sprinkler Association

The designers and installers of water-based fire protection systems, like automatic fire sprinkler systems, take into account seasonal variations in temperature. In cases where water-filled pipe cannot be protected from freezing, alternative methods are used. But most of the time, even in the coldest climates, the assumption is that the normal precautions taken to keep the building warm will, in turn, keep the fire sprinkler system from freezing.

NFPA 25, the Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, published by the National Fire Protection Association, is required by code to be followed in most areas of the country. Because of the importance of adequate heat, the standard requires that the owner of the property maintain at least a 40 degree temperature in all areas containing water-filled piping.

Although rare, freeze-ups can and do still occur. Allowing water-filled components of a fire suppression system to freeze can lead to a catastrophic event like a rupture or even worse, the failure of the system to operate in a fire. The time to prevent this from happening is before cold weather strikes. But even during cold weather, there are still important steps that anyone in buildings with fire sprinklers can take to avoid these costly and potentially tragic freeze-up from occurring:

  • Obviously, most important is to make sure heating systems are in good working order and the thermostat is set high enough to prevent freezing temperatures in all areas of the building.
  • In buildings with drop-ceilings, sometime removing a few tiles in each room will allow heat to travel into otherwise cold areas.
  • If cold drafts are noticed, locate the source and take steps to remedy them. Sometimes doors or windows don’t close tightly because of snow or ice, or cracks open up around other openings and need caulking. Doors leading to poorly heated vestibules may need to be left open at night to allow heat into that area.Remember, freeze-ups are not failures of the fire sprinkler system, but the results are just the same. A lack of adequate heat provided to the water-filled components of the fire sprinkler system can be avoided by taking these simple precautions. The qualified sprinkler contractor who does the routine inspection, testing and maintenance on your system can provide you with additional guidance. You can usually find their contact information somewhere on the system riser (where the main control valves are located).
2023-10-05T11:25:17-05:00December 9th, 2016|0 Comments

Successful Activations (Fall/Winter 2016 Edition)

Download a sprinkler save report to record your fire department’s latest successful fire sprinkler activations.

December 2016

The Mather (High-Rise)
Evanston Fire Department

A single fire sprinkler extinguished a fire after a stovetop burner was left on and ignited nearby boxes of food in a residence the 10-story senior living facility. According to fire officials, no one was injured and over $150,000 in damage was prevented thanks to the quick action of the fire sprinkler.

“A single fire sprinkler averted a potentially serious incident,” said Evanston Fire Captain John Roche.

Read the full story.
John Roche, Captain/Inspector,
Evanston Fire Department

Asbury Court Retirement Community
Des Plaines Fire Department

The fire sprinkler system in the five-story retirement community building kept a fire under control until fire crews arrived.
ChicagoFireMap.net

November 2016

McDonald’s
Bolingbrook Fire Department

The fast-food restaurant’s fire sprinkler system extinguished a fire caused by a fryer.
Bolingbrook Patch

Prestwick Senior Community
Galena Fire Department

The fire sprinkler system in the three-story senior living apartment complex put out a fire caused by a stove that was accidentally left on by a resident. No one was injured.
Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Ogilvie Transportation Center (High-Rise)
Chicago Fire Department

The fire sprinkler system in the 43-story commercial building and Metra train terminal extinguished a fire at a newstand on the second floor. There were no Metra delays and no one was injured.
Chicago Patch

Lawson House YMCA (High-Rise)
Chicago Fire Department

The fire sprinkler system in the hotel extinguished a trash can fire in a third-floor room. A small dog was found safe and no person was present in the room at the time of the fire.
Ed Prendergast, P.E.

Public Works Facility
Wheaton Fire Department

The fire sprinkler system in the city’s public works facility held a fire in check that began in the bed of a dump truck in one of the maintenance garage bays. No injuries were reported and the building was open again that morning.
Read the full story.
ChicagoFireMap.net

Park Hill Cleaners
Orland Fire Protection District

The fire sprinkler system in the dry cleaners extinguished a fire that was intentionally set to toilet paper rolls by a young man. No injuries were reported.
Michael Schofield, Fire Chief,
Orland Fire Protection District

October 2016

Presby Hall Parking Garage (University of Illinois)
Champaign Fire Department

Fire sprinklers controlled a fire caused by a brisket being grilled on a cooking unit in the parking garage.
The Daily Illini

South Chicago YMCA of Metro Chicago
Chicago Fire Department

A fire sprinkler in a hallway of the building activated to contain a fire to the apartment of origin.
Dan Kennedy

2023-10-05T11:27:58-05:00December 8th, 2016|0 Comments

Fire Sprinklers Prevent Major Fire at Lawson House YMCA Residential High-Rise

On November 18, fire sprinklers controlled and extinguished a fire in a trash compactor room at the Lawson House YMCA at 30 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. The 24-story residential high-rise, which was built in 1934, is the largest single-room occupancy supportive housing facility in the Midwest with nearly 600 apartment units.

“Some of the residents in the low-income building are formerly homeless, so a fire that could potentially displace them again would be devastating. Fire sprinklers saved the day for the hundreds of people that live there,” says Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

Lia also notes that the fire sprinkler save is a good reminder to Chicago high-rise building owners that the city’s deadline to retrofit high-rises with fire sprinklers by January 1, 2017, is fast approaching.

2023-10-05T11:34:24-05:00November 18th, 2016|0 Comments

Fire Sprinkler System Saves Taxpayers Money in Wheaton Public Works Facility Fire

According to fire reports from November 14, the fire sprinkler system in the Wheaton Public Works facility held a fire in check that began in the bed of a dump truck in one of the maintenance garage bays. Firefighters arrived to find only minor smoldering material and smoke. As a direct result of the sprinkler’s quick response to the fire, no injuries were reported and the building was open again the next morning.

“Thanks to fire sprinklers, this is a great success story for the city of Wheaton,” says Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board. “Had the city’s public works facility not been protected with fire sprinklers, the fire could have caused major damage. The public works department would have lost valuable resources and it would have created a burden on taxpayers, who would end up paying for the loss.”

“Wheaton city officials lead by example, protecting their own public buildings according to the national model codes. The model codes ensure that communities are able to protect their infrastructure, housing stock, citizens and employees, and first responders such as firefighters and police,” adds Lia.

Century Automatic Sprinkler, a licensed National Fire Sprinkler Association contractor from Gurnee, Illinois, installed the fire sprinkler system in the Wheaton Public Works facility.

2023-10-05T11:34:03-05:00November 15th, 2016|0 Comments
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