Happy new year to all of our members and vendors.

 

I would like to thank Dan Riordan for his dedication as a board member on the IFIA. Dan's vision and direction has begun to lead us down a great path with ideas and dedication in life safety. As Dan steps into his fifth and final role as "Past President" , I look forward to continuing to work with Dan on ideas to make our Association a strong voice in life safety for all of Illinois.

 

We continue to evaluate our legislative positions in Springfield. The Board will continue to work with Mike Toika, our legislative rep., and find amicable solutions to get our proposals before the General Assembly. Mike is dedicated to his position and I would like to thank Mike for his hard work in Springfield.

 

I would ask current members to please see if your neighboring towns and fire districts are members of the Illinois Fire Inspectors Association.  We work hard as a volunteer board to provide legislation, training, our yearly Fire and Life Safety Conference, OSFM required continuing education and certification classes by experts in their fields which continues to make Illinois a leader in the area of fire prevention and public education. It is members like all of you that provide this opportunity for us to provide great resources but we need to increase our membership to continue to do so. Please ask your neighbors to join the IFIA so that we can continue to be a strong voice and provide quality educational opportunities.

 

As we move on throughout the year, we will continue new ideas in training and improving our great Association and we will continue to inform you of things as they come up.  

 

I look forward to this new year, and as we progress through it we will continue to build on what we have today.  If you have any ideas, please feel free to reach out to me or Executive Director Bob Morris, and let's continue being a strong team together.

 

Jack Janozik, President

 

 

Thank you to all who attended our holiday event last month. We hope you had a good and safe holiday season. At our luncheon, our tradition has been to swear in the newly elected board members. That was again done by Forest Reeder, Chief of the Tinley Park Fire Department. Your new officers are Jack Janozik, Tinley Park – President; Bill Schmidt, Streamwood – Vice-President; Jamie Brown, New Lenox – Secretary; and new to the Board, Jay Atherton, Palatine - Treasurer. Welcome them the next time you see them they have volunteered to give many, many hours of time over many years to make YOUR Association the best it can be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jay Atherton, Jamie Brown, Bill Schmidt, Jack Janozik

 

Don’t forget that following the holidays, we return to a more normal routine, and our mini seminar classes. Our class on January 25th will be by Rich Ray, and he will discuss the technical requirements of a fire sprinkler submittal. This is a topic that effects every department. We hope to see you there.

 

The annual Fire and Life Safety Conference (formerly known as the Combined Conference) is progressing, and we already have people registered and securing their hotel rooms, so register now. The conference will be held in East Peoria at the Par-a-Dice Casino/Hotel. A full detailed schedule is attached. Here you will find detailed information on the classes that will be provided.

 

We will again be doing a half-day preconference on Tuesday afternoon, which is free to IFIA members. The non-member cost is only $25. The topic of that session is something we all need to know more about – “Human Behavior, in Fire”. Our Wednesday conference keynotes will be two survivors from the Seton Hall fire in 2000, who will talk about going from Fire Survivors to Fire Safety Educators. To get a feel for what they will talk about, check out this link  https://www.alvaroandshawn.com   On Thursday, our keynote will be Sara Gura who will talk about firefighter mental health. With more first responder suicides than line of duty deaths, this is a very important topic.

 

The OSFM is moving forward in their desire to update their Life Safety Code to the 2015 edition. I’m sure there are many questions related to this, so we have attached a fact sheet distributed by the OSFM to answer many of those questions. This update is done through the “Rules” process, so there will be public comment to those that would wish to do so. As we become aware of additional information, we will forward that to you. It would also be suggested to check the OSFM website for additional information as it is released.

 

A west suburban Fire District came across an unusual situation that all fire departments should keep in mind. “We recently had a number of businesses knocked down to make way for a new speculative type building.  While conducting inspections of the new building with the project manager it was brought to my attention that while closing up the self storage facility previously located at this location they encountered several people/families living in their cars which were parked inside the storage units.” While this might be near impossible to detect, you fire personnel should be made aware of this possibility for any fire or fire alarm at these facilities.

 

For those looking to be certified a Youthful Fire Setter Interventionist, there will be a class in Springfield in June. The details are listed below.

 

June 11 & 12, 2019 - 8:30 am to 4:00 pm (Tuesday & Wednesday)

Registration is from 8:00 am to 8:30 am on Tuesday, June 11

 

Place:                         Office of the State Fire Marshal - Auditorium

                                   1035 Stevenson Drive

                                    Springfield, IL  62703

 

There is a fee of $100 per student for this class. Please make the check payable to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and mail it to the Office, prior to the training date:

Office of the State Fire Marshal

Arson Division – YFSIP

1035 Stevenson Drive

Springfield, IL  62703

 

For further information, please feel free to call me at (217) 782-9116.

Simony Capelli, Youth Fire Setter Program Coordinator

Simony.capelli@illinois.gov

 

 

 

The most recent Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls are listed below:

 

Meijer Recalls Children’s Hooded Jackets Due to Choking Hazard:  https://https:/www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Meijer-Recalls-Childrens-Hooded-Jackets-Due-to-Choking-Hazard

Skip Hop Recalls Convertible High Chairs Due to Injury and Fall Hazards:   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Skip-Hop-Recalls-Convertible-High-Chairs-Due-to-Injury-and-Fall-Hazards

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White-Rodgers Recalls Thermostats Due to Fire Hazard:   www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/White-Rodgers-Recalls-Thermostats-Due-to-Fire-Hazard

Dormakaba USA Recalls Stanley Commercial Hardware Locksets Due to Risk of Entrapment in an Emergency:  https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/dormakaba-USA-Recalls-Stanley-Commercial-Hardware-Locksets-Due-to-Risk-of-Entrapment-in-an-Emergency

 

TerraTrike Recalls Adult Tricycles Due to Crash and Injury Hazards:  https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/TerraTrike-Recalls-Adult-Tricycles-Due-to-Crash-and-Injury-Hazards

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The Children’s Place Recalls Infant Snowsuits Due to Choking Hazard:  https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/The-Childrens-Place-Recalls-Infant-Snowsuits-Due-to-Choking-Hazard

 

Manhattan Toy Recalls Children’s Books Due to Choking Hazard:  https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Manhattan-Toy-Recalls-Childrens-Books-Due-to-Choking-Hazard

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Women’s Iron Complete Supplements Recalled by GNC Due to Failure to Meet Child Resistant Closure Requirement; Risk of Poisoning:  https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Womens-Iron-Complete-Supplements-Recalled-by-GNC-Due-to-Failure-to-Meet-Child-Resistant-Closure-Requirement-Risk-of-Poisoning

 

Penn State Industries Recalls Woodworking Jaw Chuck Systems Due to Laceration Hazard: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Penn-State-Industries-Recalls-Woodworking-Jaw-Chuck-Systems-Due-to-Laceration-Hazard

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Miles Industries Recalls Gas Fireplaces Due to Burn Hazard:  https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Miles-Industries-Recalls-Gas-Fireplaces-Due-to-Burn-Hazard

 

Navien Recalls Tankless Water Heaters and Boilers Due to Risk of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:   https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/Navien-Recalls-Tankless-Water-Heaters-and-Boilers-Due-to-Risk-of-Carbon-Monoxide-Poisoning

 

 

Check the website for the following upcoming events:

Jan 25 – mini-sem and meeting

Feb 12, 19, 26, March 5, 12 – Inspector 1 in Palatine

Feb 22 - mini-sem and meeting

Mar 20 – 22 - Combined Conf in East Peoria

April 22 – 24, 29, 30 – PFLSE in Downers Grove

April 26 – mini-sem and meeting