Homewood & Flossmoor Recognized as Fire-Safe Communities at Illinois Fire Service Event

On Wednesday, March 6, at the Illinois Residential Fire Sprinkler Symposium in Addison, the Villages of Homewood and Flossmoor were honored for making themselves fire-safe communities for residents and firefighters alike by passing fire sprinkler ordinances for new construction homes in 2012. They are two of 88 jurisdictions in Illinois to have such an ordinance.

Homewood Deputy Fire Chief Clint Johnson and Flossmoor Assistant Chief Keith Damm and Fire Inspector Scott Bugner were awarded plaques by state fire service organizations, including the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, Illinois Fire Inspectors Association, and the Illinois Fire Sprinkler Coalition, as well as the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).

The award was presented in front of over 230 attendees, which included municipal fire and building department officials from throughout Illinois and representatives from state and national fire organizations.

“Congratulations to Homewood & Flossmoor for recognizing the important life-safety protection that fire sprinklers provide in homes,” says Tom Lia, executive director of NIFSAB. “New homes in Homewood & Flossmoor will now have the ultimate protection for current residents and firefighters and future generations.”

The symposium also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the passage of Village of Long Grove’s home fire sprinkler ordinance, which was the first in the State of Illinois, and has resulted in over 1,500 fire sprinkler-protected homes thus far. Dave Grupp, retired fire chief of the Long Grove Fire Protection District, was the guest of honor at the symposium for his successful efforts to enact the Long Grove ordinance in 1988.

Among many notable presenters at the symposium, California State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover was the keynote speaker. She discussed her successful efforts to pass a statewide code in California that requires fire sprinklers in all new construction one- and two-family homes built as of January 1, 2011, in an effort to better protect residents and the firefighters that respond to fires.

“The summit was extremely successful because it provided a great forum for various professionals from life-safety organizations, including fire and building officials, fire safety engineers and industry officials to share information and methods in support of residential fire sprinklers and their lifesaving value here in Illinois and across the nation,” says Fire Chief Bob Tinucci, director of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and chairman of the Illinois Fire Sprinkler Coalition.