Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills Fire Departments Setting Fires to Prevent Fires

Submitted by the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

Although firefighters are often tasked with extinguishing fires, during the month of October members of the Illinois fire service will be starting fires to correspond with national Fire Prevention Week (October 4-10) and Fire Prevention Month.

To educate the public about the important life- and property-saving benefits of fire sprinklers, numerous Illinois fire departments and fire districts will be conducting live fire and sprinkler burn demonstrations with assistance from the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

The Hinsdale Fire Department will host an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Police and Fire Building, 121 Symonds Drive, Hinsdale. The demonstration will take place some time during the open house.

The Clarendon Hills Fire Department will host its open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 3 at the fire station, 316 Park Ave., Clarendon Hills. The fire demonstration will take place at about noon.

Each side-by-side comparison demonstration will feature two similarly furnished rooms — one with fire sprinklers and one without fire sprinklers. Audiences will be able to feel the extreme heat and view the quick growth of fire in the unprotected room and compare it with the quick response and cooling action of the fire sprinkler in the other room.

“Fire Prevention Month is an annual opportunity time to remind people about the dangers of fire and the technology available to suppress fires, such as fire sprinklers,” says fire safety advocate and NIFSAB Executive Director Tom Lia.

With nearly 100 communities in Illinois now requiring fire sprinklers in new homes and over 100 communities requiring fire sprinklers in all new commercial buildings regardless of size, these dramatic demonstrations will help audiences understand how fire sprinklers work to control or suppress fires in the places they live and work.

“Also, fire officials will communicate the facts about fire sprinklers and dispel movie myths such as fire sprinklers being set off by smoke or all activating at once,” adds Lia.

Below is a full list of fire and sprinkler burn demonstrations occurring during the month of October:

• Sat., Oct. 3: Bartlett Fire Protection District, Clarendon Hills, Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection
• Sun., Oct. 4: Lake Zurich, Manteno Community Fire Protection District, St. Charles
• Mon., Oct. 5: Moraine Valley Community College (Palos Hills), Western Springs
• Wed., Oct. 7: Downers Grove, Westchester
• Sat., Oct. 10: Alsip, Crystal Lake, Hinsdale, Homewood, La Grange Park, Lemont Fire Protection
• Fri., Oct. 16: Hampshire Fire Protection District
• Sat., Oct. 17: Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District

Additional fire departments throughout Illinois will be hosting live burns in fire sprinkler demonstration trailers provided by the Northern Illinois Fire Inspectors Association, Illinois Fire Inspectors Association, Lake County Fire Chiefs Association/Gurnee Fire Department, and NIFSAB.