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INTRODUCTION Legislation affecting the fire and burn problems within the State of Illinois has always been a prime concern of the Alliance. Beginning with the successful state-wide smoke detector initiative in the 1980's, the Alliance has continued to support state bills which promote fire and burn prevention and expansion of fire safety requirements at the state and local levels.
IFSA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE by Margaret Vaughn, IFSA Lobbyist From the May 2010 newsletter...
IFSA HOSTS McHENRY COUNTY LEGISLATIVE FORUM On Saturday, April 17th the IL Fire Safety Alliance hosted its second annual McHenry County Legislative Forum. The event was attended by State Sen. Pam Althoff (R-Crystal Lake), Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) and Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) as well as fire officials from throughout McHenry County. IFSA Lobbyist Margaret Vaughn provided an overview of the legislation IFSA has been working on this session. The three legislators provided an overview of the current state of affairs in Springfield followed by a question and answer session. Both legislators and fire officials found the event informative and everyone agreed that would like IFSA to host the McHenry County Forum annually. IFSA will be planning several more legislative forums throughout the year. We are looking at coordinating a suburban forum as well as one downstate. FIREWORKS ADVERTISING WARNING PASSES HOUSE One of IFSA’s top issues for the 2010 legislative session is HB 6252. Sponsored by Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) and Sen. Toi Huntinchson (D-Chicago Heights) this bill would require all advertising mediums for consumer fireworks to include a warning stating that “Illinois Law Prohibits the Possession of Fireworks without Proper Permits. Check with Law Enforcement Prior to Purchase”. These fireworks companies that are targeting the general public are not registered fireworks retailers with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, as required by law nor are they checking to insure that the people they are selling the fireworks to have the proper permits, which is also in violation of state law. There are very few communities in Illinois which even allow consumer fireworks with a permit and they are illegal in the majority of the state. Illinois residents could be spending their money in local communities watching professional pyrotechnic shows and our emergency rooms would see a lot less injuries. HB 6252 passed the House and is in the Senate awaiting consideration. FRATERNITY/SORORITY FIRE SPRINKLFER BILL PASSES HOUSE HB 5664, sponsored by Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago) and Sen. Mike Frerichs (D-Gifford) requires all fraternities and sororities to be sprinklered by January 2019. This gives the same 8 year time line that colleges and universities were given to install fire sprinklers in their dormitories. In the past decade, 110 fires have occurred in Fraternities and Sororities. 10 students have died as the result of these fires including one at Millikin University in Decatur. It is estimated that the systems pay for themselves over 12 years. Some insurance companies have reported as much as 40% reduction in insurance rates because of fire sprinklers. HB 5664 passed the House and is in the Senate awaiting consideration. TOY LIGHTER BAN HB 5139, sponsored by Rep. Don Moffitt (R-Galesburg) and Sen. Mike Noland (D-Elgin) prohibits the sale of novelty toy lighters. These toy lighters do not meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission Standards and are also full of lead. The bill passed the House and is waiting Senate consideration. ONLINE OPTION FOR BUDGET POSTING PASSES SENATE SB 3336, sponsored by Senators AJ Wilhelmi (D-Joliet)-Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), Pam Althoff (R-Crystal Lake), gives FPDs the option of publishing their budgets online to meet the public notice requirements of the current law. When you factor in the number of FPDs across the state and the amount of money they are currently spending on newspaper advertisements, this could mean an additional $1 million that could be used for public safety and prevention rather than newspaper print. If FPDs decide to use the online option, they must still publish the website address of where the budget could be found and the FPDs phone number. Despite opposition from the Illinois Press Association, the bill passed the Senate Local Government Committee unanimously and passed the Senate 49-4. Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) is sponsoring the bill in the Senate. IFA would like to salute Sen. Wilhelmi for his leadership on this critical issue. He has been subjected to negative attacks by local newspaper editors who are more concerned about newspaper advertising dollars than public safety. Rep. Jack Franks has asked the Legislative Research Unit to conduct a study on publishing requirements for other taxing bodies, so far we have found counties, municipalities, municipal fire departments; townships, park districts, libraries, public schools, etc. do NOT have to publish their budgets in the newspaper.
ENACTING LOCAL FIREWORKS ORDINANCES Click here to view a sample fireworks ordinance from the Village of Mount Prospect, IL.
Alliance of Supporters Click here for a partial list of organizations that support the effort to bring about a ban on the possession and sale of sparklers.
IFSA Sparkler PSA Click here to view the IFSA Sparkler PSA and here for a helpful Sparkler Handout Card.
"A Sparkler Story" DVD Order your copy here and return the form to: Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Request for Support from Sean Hannon (Counselor - IFSA Burn Camp I AM ME) As summer approaches, those of us in the Fire Service anticipate an increase in the incidence of deaths and injuries from fireworks that will mar our summer celebrations. As a Paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department, I have had first hand experience in the treatment of young burn victims. In addition, as a counselor with the IFSA (Illinois Fire Safety Alliance) Burn Camp “I am Me,” I have witnessed over and over again, the needless burn injuries, and physical and emotional impairment endured by these young survivors. Despite the efforts of the fire service to educate the public to the dangers of fireworks, parents remain unaware of the potential dangers, when it comes to sparklers. A parent who innocently puts a sparkler in the hands of his or her child does not realize that a sparkler burns at a temperature of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. To put this in perspective, steel will warp, melt, and sag when heated to temperatures of about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. Nor does that parent realize that just the touch of a lit sparkler can ignite a child’s clothing, causing third degree burns within 30 seconds. Sadly, the child and parents are left to deal with the physical pain and the emotional scaring. It is true that we associate fireworks with the celebration Independence Day, the Flag, and our American way of life. Our children happily and innocently go off to parks, to neighbors, and even to our own backyards for this annual celebration. Unfortunately, they are coming home with battlefield injuries—missing fingers, 2nd and 3rd degree burns about the hands and face, injuries to eyes with permanent vision loss. Our celebration of the Fourth of July, our nation’s birthday, should be spent with family and not in a hospital room. The IFSA, whose mission is to increase safety and reduce the incidence of burns and injuries to children and adults, is taking major steps towards addressing the injuries from fireworks, and in particular, from sparklers. To accomplish this goal, we must work together on two fronts simultaneously. We must work to amend the existing laws to prohibit the possession and sale of sparklers. And, to make such a change in the law truly effective, we must also continue the campaign to educate and inform the public of the dangers of sparklers, especially to children. Among the obstacles we face is the public's naive and uninformed notion that sparklers are actually innocent and relatively safe playthings for their children. A poster, made by an IFSA volunteer, illustrates the erroneous nature of this conclusion better than any words. He compares the dangers and the damage, which children can sustain from sparklers to that of a kitchen stove, and asks “Wouldn't we step in to prevent a child from touching the hot kitchen stove? Then why would we allow that child to play with a sparkler that reaches and can exceed one thousand eight hundred (1,800) degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, I leave you with this question: “Are the few seconds of pleasure from fireworks worth the risk of injury, permanent scaring, or even death?”
News Releases Check out the following news releases regarding Sparkler Safety.
Burn Videos
Burn Photos Below are some photos of actual burn injuries caused by sparklers.
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