USA Fire Protection Blog

High Rise Life Safety

jamie.reap — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:35:59 +0000

The nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB) has constructed a new website devoted to the benefits of retrofitting fire sprinklers into residential high rise buildings. While the site does specifically focus on Chicago, the consumer-oriented information presented significantly raises fire safety awareness for anyone considering high rise living. Before signing a lease or accepting a dorm assignment, consider carefully what your options will be in a fire emergency when you are above the reach of the highest ladder truck.

As posted elsewhere on this website, United States Alliance Fire Protection (USA Fire) has the experience and corporate stability necessary for bringing complicated retrofit projects in on-time and on budget. We understand that sprinklers consistently save lives and property everywhere they are installed and maintained, but we are especially proud of making high rise buildings a place to live.

USA Fire Protection Honored With 2011 ASA Chicago Safety Award

jamie.reap — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:45:53 +0000

United States Alliance Fire Protection is proud to report that the Association of Subcontractors and Affiliates (ASA Chicago) has once again awarded their annual safety award to us “for continuing efforts in maintaining an exemplary safety program” in 2011.

The ASA Chicago Safety Award is a 3 year look back at the safety record of the company. This is the 5th consecutive time that we have been honored with the ASA Chicago Safety Award (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

Dave Curran, USA Fire Protection’s Director of Safety and Risk Management, commented, “Our organization operates with the philosophy that quality, safety and productivity work collectively to deliver greater value. We are dedicated to safety and risk management and this award affirms that commitment.”

Fire Sprinklers Eighty Feet Up; A Concept Who’s Time Has Come

jamie.reap — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:32:11 +0000

The recent fatal fire at 3130 N Lake Shore Drive may not shrink from view as quickly as it might have in light of two new wrinkles. First there was the announcement that the victim’s family intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the building owner and presumably the fleeing neighbors that propped the door open. Second, the “Home Rule” showdown created by the IL State Fire Marshal citing the building owner for 19 state fire code violations. These developments are significant. Both instances challenge the autonomy of the City of Chicago and its resulting ability to quietly restore status quo. Up until 2004, the typical response to a fatal high rise fire in Chicago included much bluster but little else. Action finally did come in 2004 when the City Council passed the High Rise Substitute Ordinance adding Chapter 13-196 to the Chicago Municipal Code, creating new fire safety requirements for buildings over eighty feet tall. Unfortunately, that was followed by little enforcement culminating in December 2011 with the City Council voting to extend the Life Safety Evaluation (LSE) deadline for three more years, citing economic hardship. That unanimous vote may bring another, little known aspect to light; the actual LSE adopted by the City of Chicago is a unique document that over-values “compartmentation” relative to the nationally recognized LSE used everywhere else. This creates an avenue for residential high rise owners to avoid the expense of fire sprinklers in favor of passive protection measures which do not put the fire out. Sadly there is at least one documented case of a residential high rise that experienced a fatal fire several years ago. They did comply with the LSE requirement, but decided to install a new voice communication system to come into compliance instead of sprinklers…then experienced a second fatal fire in 2010. Stay tuned as the Chicago and national media begin to recognize a concept whose time has come.

Business As Usual In Chicago

jamie.reap — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:32:18 +0000

In December of 2004, the Chicago City Council accomplished a monumental task; they amended the Chicago Municipal Code to improve fire safety in buildings over 80’ tall. The Substitute Ordinance as it was called added new Chapter 13-196 which prescribed many steps to be taken, timeframes for compliance and stiff fines for noncompliance. Seven years later, it is unclear to what extent compliance has occurred since the city has revealed little of that information, but some insight may be gained from a recent 49-0 City Council vote last month extending the deadline for compliance by three years citing economic hardship.
What if instead Chicago had enforced the Fines and Penalties section of the ordinance from the beginning, before times really got tough? The $500 to $1,000 per day per building revenue stream should have been attractive yet was seemingly avoided altogether. Would adopting a punitive attitude have changed the landscape enough to render life safety upgrades attractive? Would there be one less victim today?
It is sad that the only time this issue sees the light of day is immediately following another fire fatality in a high rise building. The City Council’s unanimous vote leaves no political cover for anything but regrets. The day after the most recent fatality at 3130 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel urged affected building owners with this statement, “I expect you to use this time to put in place a sprinkler system and the safety and security systems you need. … I don’t expect you to use the time all the way to the end.” Let’s all pray that it happens that way. The public has a short memory and it will be business as usual all too soon.

Sign up for USA Fire Protection Newsletter

jamie.reap — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:01:18 +0000

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http://www.usafireprotectioninc.com/news.php

It’s The Most Flammable Time Of The Year

jamie.reap — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:39:08 +0000

Many folks have had Christmas trees set up in their homes since Thanksgiving. Fresh trees will transpire amazing amounts of water, if deprived of water they will dry out quickly and become serious fire hazards in the home. It’s true that Christmas trees contribute to only a tiny percentage of home fires but when they do the results are catastrophic. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, has a number of startling videos on their website depicting what can happen. You may be shocked. http://fire.nist.gov/tree_fire.htm

Headline: Fire Put Out Early, No One Killed!

jamie.reap — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:23:25 +0000

The fire sprinkler industry has long suffered from a lack of recognition; dramatic fires are headlines, sprinkler saves are below the fold on page five. Simply put, the preemptive nature of fire sprinklers promotes their under appreciation.

Despite the fact that more than 3000 people die annually in residential fires, the myths about fire sprinklers abound. These are dutifully refuted everyday by advocates then rehashed by opponents the very next.

As one observes the ferocity with which opponents to residential fire sprinklers fight to eliminate their wider acceptance, the words of Mark Twain come to mind, “There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.”

How do we capture the imagination of the public with a new image of fire sprinklers in a clever way that does not involve capitalizing on the next tragic headline?