ILLINOIS FIRE INSPECTORS
ASSOCIATION

The 2023 Fire & Life Safety Conference is quickly approach. The conference is scheduled

March 22-24 with a pre-conference event occurring March 21st. This is a great opportunity to

obtain continuing education credit, including ICC Preferred Provider hours, and network with

colleagues. This will be an excellent conference with over 30 exhibitors scheduled. Don’t forget

that ICC Preferred Provider hours will be provided for all the sessions.

 

At the Thursday banquet, we will have some great raffle prizes such as a White Sox jersey, 4 Cubs

tickets, a 50” TV, and much more.

 

James Rivera has been appointed to serve as the next Illinois State Fire Marshal. He most recently

served as Deputy District Chief for the Chicago Fire Department.

 

The 2023 calendar for certification classes is available on the website. A Fire Inspector II class will be beginning in April in New Lenox. The Public Fire Life Safety Educator course is currently full. If you have interest in this class, please contact the office to be placed on a waiting list.

 

Smoke alarms. The office has approximately 200 smoke alarms. To put those to good use, we have decided to give small amounts to fire departments. We are providing six smoke alarms for departments to carry on their vehicles. Then, if you go to a home that does not have any smoke alarms you will be able to install one of the ones caried on your vehicle, and immediately reduce a risk. This is not meant to be a smoke alarm campaign, but rather a method to handle an immediate need you come across. We do not have a good way to ship this, so you will need to pick these up, or make arrangements to acquire them. If you are interested in this, contact our office with your department and contact information.

 

There are several new legislative bills introduced that may have interest to your departments. These bills are in various stages of review; however, none have been passed.

 

• Fire Sprinklers Tax Incentive (HB 2221/SB 1683). This bill would amend the Illinois Tax Act to provide an income tax credit for homeowners that install an approved NFPA 13D system in a new or existing home. The credit would be worth up to 50% of the cost of installation but not to exceed $10,000.

• Building and Residential Codes (SB 2368). This bill would create the State Building and Residential Codes Act. This act would adopt a Building Code that establishes minimum requirements for construction of commercial buildings. The act would also adopt a Residential Code that establishes minimum and maximum construction requirements for residential buildings. The act would preempt home rule powers.

 

Membership renewals were previously sent out. Please verify with your department that you have renewed your membership. The cost is only $100 per year for fire departments, districts, and municipalities, and $150 for associate members. These memberships help support the IFIA in our mission of reducing death and injuries from fire and other dangers through education, enforcement and engineering.

 

For those interested in participating further with the IFIA, there are a variety of committees that help support the organization. These committees include: Codes and Standards, Fire and Life Safety, Certification, Pyrotechnics, Legislative, Public School Safety, and Social. Please contact the office or one of the board members if you would like further information or would like to participate.

 

Our next mini-seminar will be April 28th. It will be in person, in Elk Grove Village, and be on Mass Timber Construction. This will be at the Carpenter’s Local Training Hall, and will include mock ups to see. Stay tuned for the details. We’re sure that this is class that your building officials would benefit from attending.

 

To see the latest in the State for CRR, visit their website at www.illinoiscrr.com. For those on Facebook, they have a page on there as well for you to follow. Enter Illinois Community

Risk Reduction in the search box.

 

 

 

Check the website for the following upcoming events:

Fire Inspector II- Apr 5,12,19,26, May 3, 2023 in New Lenox, IL 

FLSE: April 24 – 26 and May 1 – 2, Downers Grove

Inspector 1: August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Downers Grove

Inspectors Day at the State Fair – August 20 – eligible for ICC credits

Inspector 2: September 7, 14, 21, 28 and October 5th, Romeoville