Tag: Tom Lia
Death of elderly couple in fire underscores need for home sprinklers
June 27, 2014SSN Staff
ORLAND PARK, Ill.—An elderly couple died in a house fire one month after a local board voted to omit a sprinkler requirement in new construction, according to the National Fire Protection Association's Fire Sprinkler Initiative newsletter.
The Illinois couple, one of whom had mobility issues and used an oxygen tank, was unable to escape in time, according to local media. Older adults are among groups most at risk of fire death and injury, the newsletter said.
“This fire is a tragic reminder...
Statewide residential fire sprinkler effort derailed in Illinois
August 12, 2013Tess Nacelewicz
ORLAND PARK, Ill.—Illinois this summer appeared poised to become the third state in the nation to adopt residential sprinkler requirements statewide, with the Illinois State Fire Marshal recommending the state's first update of its fire code in 11 years.
But facing strong opposition from Chicago city officials, homebuilders' and realtors' groups, Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis on Aug. 2 withdrew his proposal to update the state fire code, NFPA 101: Life Safety Code, from the 2000...
Illinois advocate is home sprinkler champion
May 13, 2013Tess Nacelewicz
QUINCY, Mass.—This year marked the fifth year the National Fire Protection Association has held its annual Fire Sprinkler Summit—and the first year the organization gave out a Home Fire Sprinkler Champion Award.
The winner of the award was Tom Lia, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board. NFPA President Jim Shannon presented the award to Lia at NFPA's 2013 “Bringing Safety Home” Fire Sprinkler Summit, held in Chicago on April 15-16.
Maria...
Illinois enacts new law on dorm sprinklers
September 24, 2012Tess Nacelewicz
ORLAND PARK, Ill.—Parents of college students should be able to rest easier as the result of a new law requiring fire sprinklers in on-campus dormitories at public and private colleges and universities in Illinois by September 2014, according to the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.“The last thing on students' minds is what to do if there's a fire,” Tom Lia, executive director of the advisory board, which advocated for the new law, told Security Systems News.He said...
Illinois home fire sprinkler initiatives under way
July 11, 2012Tess Nacelewicz
ORLAND PARK, Ill.—Whether it's through a town-by-town adoption of new residential fire sprinkler requirements or via a new effort to require sprinklers in homes statewide, Illinois is making progress toward mandating the life safety devices in more and more homes, according to Tom Lia, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB).In June, Lia said, the village of Gurnee, Ill., joined a growing number of communities in the state that have adopted residential...