NEW ASSISTANT HEAD OF MAINTENANCE
Welcome to Bob Krstic who joined 345 on April 28.
NEW VALET GARAGE HIKER
And welcome to Ahsan Zaidi who joined the Standard Parking crew on April 30.
PLEASE SIGN
State Representative Sara Feigenholtz’s PETITION
to show support for House Bill 4609
This bill would ensure that any mandate for statewide sprinkler laws be debated with full transparency, adequate public input, and open discussion in the General Assembly.
http://www.staterepsara.com/get-involved/fire-safety-petition/
We thought we had won this battle last year when the Governor requested the State Fire Marshal to withdraw his mandate that pre-1975 Chicago high rises be retrofitted with fire sprinklers. This year, the State Fire Marshal has made clear in committee his eventual intent to impose this mandate on us by means of a vote in the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz’s Bill 4609 requests the establishment of a Task Force on Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Education that would have representation from firefighters, builders, homeowners associations, insurance experts, the sprinkler pipes trade, and others. And it ensures that any mandate would be issued only after debate in the General Assembly. The Bill has been re-referred to the Rules Committee. It is important to support it NOW.
Retrofitted fire sprinklers mandated at 345 by the State Fire Marshal would cost millions and mean large special assessments. There would also be exposed pipes in every room, because we are not allowed to channel anything into the ceiling.
Chicago already has stringent fire safety rules in place, with which 345 is now fully compliant. Chicago also enjoys the right of Home Rule, which means that some regulations deemed necessary for the rest of the state are not imposed on Chicago if the city has equal or better, though different, rules in place.
The Chicago Fire Department has much faster response times than departments downstate. They also have use of the ‘Hero Pipe’ device (a remote-controlled, periscope-like pipe that can extinguish high-rise fires from the floor below by spraying up to 625 gallons per minute through a window) invented by Chicago firefighting captain Michael Wielgat and now in use in Chicago and New York City.
The next Board of Directors Meeting will be held on May 22, 2014, at 10:00 AM in the Board Meeting room, West Tower sub-basement. (This is 2 days later than originally scheduled.)
345 Fullerton Parkway 