Friday, April 27, 2012

Firefighters in St. Tammany Parish will torch two structures in name of education



Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 4:12 PM     Updated: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 4:19 PM
To help drive home the importance of sprinklers, firefighters in St. Tammany Parish will torch two buildings this weekend - one with a sprinkler, the other without.
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"There's nothing like the heat and smoke of a real fire to help adults and children understand just how fast a home fire is," said Jason Kaufmann, fire prevention officer for St. Tammany Parish Fire District No. 4,headquartered in Mandeville.
Kaufmann said the demonstration will allow people to see firsthand how fast a home fire can spread and potentially become deadly. The event takes place at 11 a.m. Saturday at the district's training facility, 1800 North Lane off Louisiana 59 north of Mandeville. Firefighters, fire engines and educational material will also be available. The public is invited.
The fire department built two structures and equipped them with similar furnishings and a smoke alarm. But only one of the rooms has a sprinkler.
"By providing this unique live fire comparison, people not only gain an appreciation for fire power; they also realize what an incredible advantage it is to have a fire sprinkler system installed if fire breaks out," Kaufmann said in a news release.
The fire district is working with the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition to put on the demonstration. Several area businesses - Lowe's, Home Depot, Carpet Showcase, Omni Storage of Hwy. 59 and Merit Sprinkler Co. - also contributed to the event, Kaufmann said.
Related topics: st. tammany

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Officials recommending fire sprinklers in homes



Posted: Apr 23, 2012 7:22 PM PDTUpdated: Apr 23, 2012 8:19 PM PDT
CAPE CORAL -
Last Tuesday, Sonshine Christian Academy Pastor Bob Calvert lost everything after a brush fire tore through his home in Buckingham.
"It's overwhelming. It's what happens to someone else all the time," Calvert says.
Fire officials want to prevent situations like this for Calvert and all homeowners.
On Monday, Island Harbor Construction and firefighters held a demonstration on fire sprinklers.
"They are effective, they save lives. Bottom line, they are efficient," says Cape Coral Fire Department Fire Marshal Alan Carter.
Carter says sprinklers are effective for four types of people – children who may run and hide in their home, elderly and disabled people, and firefighters. But, they can benefit everyone.
"This is to show the public that there is an option when you build a house. This is one of the things that need to be in there," Carter says.
During a demonstration burn, the non-sprinkler side was totally engulfed in flames in just under four minutes while the side with sprinklers quickly extinguished itself.
"Absent that sprinkler you're going to have major structural damage or possible loss of life or injury," says Bobby Dewar, VP of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
Structure damage at the Calvert home is estimated at around $200,000. Fire officials say sprinklers could cut damage costs in almost half.
But overall, they could save lives.
"You've got three minutes to get out of the house or it's too late," Dewar says. 
Councilman Chris Chulakes-Leetz says he is currently working to put together a home fire sprinkler ordinance that will require construction to have sprinklers and will also make it cost-affordable for existing homeowners to retrofit their homes as well.

Council mulls fire alarms, sprinklers, utility tax, incentives


Updated: April 26, 2012 2:34AM
 

ELGIN — In an effort to give staff direction on potential ordinances and to provide updates on items already under way, the city council met for nearly three hours Wednesday afternoon in the The Centre downtown.
In all, 10 items were discussed. Here are some highlights from that session:
The consensus was to move forward with conducting a study about what to do regarding the high number of false fire alarms. Fire Chief John Fahy said last year there were about 1,000 of such calls.
Late last year, city staff members had been researching options for creating a city-operated firealarm monitoring network but had made no formal proposal. The council then tabled the matter after hearing complaints for some in the business community who felt the measure was headed toward the city requiring all businesses to get such service from the city.
The city already works with more than 200 companies on providing alarm service, but Mayor Dave Kaptain said any solution under consideration would not make getting fire alarm service from the city mandatory. Rather, Kaptain noted that without any incentives or disincentives in place, some places are using the fire department “to make poor systems acceptable.”
On another fire department issue, Fahy and Community Development Director Marc Mylott are working out details of a residential sprinkler system ordinance brought up to International Residential Code.
New home and townhome construction already in various stages of development would have to have either a basement sprinkler system or use dimensional lumber in construction, adding $1,000 to $4,000 to the cost of building. Developments not yet brought forward would be required to be in full compliance with having sprinklers, which adds about $8,000 to building costs.
Staff also is working on a draft ordinance establishing a stormwater utility tax. City Manager Sean Stegall said the process would include putting out to bid in the next month or so a request for proposal for an engineering analysis to measure the amount of impervious surfaces (concrete, asphalt, rooftops) to be found on lots in the city; that process would take a year.
According to Corporate Counsel William Cogley, about 600 municipalities across the nation have such a tax in place, including 15 in Illinois, along with another 12 in this state considering one. Cogley said such taxes sometimes give credits or incentives for environmentally friendly moves such as adding rain barrels to a home.
Giving an update on the city’s economy, Assistant Manager Rick Kozal noted that signs are still mixed. The city’s retail sales tax revenues are up to pre-recession levels. While doing better, retail and auto sales are not as improved as in a good deal of the rest of the Chicago area. And the Central Business District TIF (tax increment financing) district has taken in about $500,000 less than anticipated.
Kozal also noted that the council next month will discuss formalizing an economic development agreement, a last-of-its-kind arrangement that had been in the works before the council decided not to offer any more such arrangements.
That is, the proposal would grant business consultants Mueller & Co. up to $40,000 in cashincentives for relocating to the Sanfilippo & Son Inc. campus off Randall Road. The company intends to consolidate Elgin and St. Charles offices at this site. The package is set to include giving the firm $1,000 for every new employee or for anyone moving from the St. Charles office and $1,500 for anyone who lives in Elgin for any job paying $40,000 or more per year.
The company has 55 employees currently working in Elgin and another 22 in St. Charles. It has told the city it hopes to have a staff of about 80 at the new office and would keep the office open for at least five years if granted the package.
Councilman John Prigge said he would not support any such plan in part because he doesn’t think there needs to be any incentive to bring workers coming from an office in a town so close to Elgin.
With council members Robert Gilliam and Tish Powell both absent and attending to family matters, discussions were tabled concerning allotting $250,000 to 14 nonprofits and $28,000 to four arts groups from the city’s take of casino revenues. The matter is to come before the council at its first session in May.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Officials recommend fire-sprinklers


Officials recommending fire sprinklers in homes

Posted: Apr 23, 2012 7:22 PM PDTUpdated: Apr 23, 2012 8:19 PM PDT
CAPE CORAL -
Last Tuesday, Sonshine Christian Academy Pastor Bob Calvert lost everything after a brush fire tore through his home in Buckingham.
"It's overwhelming. It's what happens to someone else all the time," Calvert says.
Fire officials want to prevent situations like this for Calvert and all homeowners.
On Monday, Island Harbor Construction and firefighters held a demonstration on fire sprinklers.
"They are effective, they save lives. Bottom line, they are efficient," says Cape Coral Fire Department Fire Marshal Alan Carter.
Carter says sprinklers are effective for four types of people – children who may run and hide in their home, elderly and disabled people, and firefighters. But, they can benefit everyone.
"This is to show the public that there is an option when you build a house. This is one of the things that need to be in there," Carter says.
During a demonstration burn, the non-sprinkler side was totally engulfed in flames in just under four minutes while the side with sprinklers quickly extinguished itself.
"Absent that sprinkler you're going to have major structural damage or possible loss of life or injury," says Bobby Dewar, VP of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.
Structure damage at the Calvert home is estimated at around $200,000. Fire officials say sprinklers could cut damage costs in almost half.
But overall, they could save lives.
"You've got three minutes to get out of the house or it's too late," Dewar says. 
Councilman Chris Chulakes-Leetz says he is currently working to put together a home fire sprinkler ordinance that will require construction to have sprinklers and will also make it cost-affordable for existing homeowners to retrofit their homes as well.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fire sprinklers can prevent tragedies


Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 3:37 PM     Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 3:38 PM
To the Editor:

Tragedy struck Bridgeton in the early morning on April 9, 2012, when a fire claimed the life of a 13-year-old girl who was visiting the residence. Firefighters responded to the fire at 3:15 a.m. to find the house fully engulfed in flames.

Despite multiple attempts, rescue personnel were not able to enter the burning home. Four other occupants of the home were members of the same family who reside at the residence on Church Street and were able to escape. The family was treated at local hospitals for their injuries, which appeared to be non-life threatening.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, however, this terrible tragedy could have been prevented.

New Jersey has seen an increase in the number of house and apartment fires recently, resulting in tragic fatalities and catastrophic property loss. In many cases, properly installed and maintained fire sprinklers control (and typically extinguish) a fire before the fire department even arrives on the scene. More importantly, the presence of fire sprinklers mitigates the risk to individuals affected by the blaze, including inhabitants of the structure and firefighters who battle the fire. 

Fire sprinklers are the only proactive form of fire protection, providing firefighters the time they need to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible, and helping to avoid potential tragedies like the one that occurred in Bridgeton this week.

David Kurasz
Executive Director,
New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board
North Brunswick