To the Editor
On November 4th, the Huntley community had a tragic event in which a resident passed away in a house fire. The Huntley Fire Protection District extends its heartfelt condolences to the Horn family.
Since the fire, we have had several inquiries and questions regarding the cause and origin of the fire as well as the circumstances surrounding this death. Unfortunately, we only have limited information to offer in the way of an explanation. The fire investigation is ongoing. The initial investigation was done by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. It was determined that the general area of origin was the kitchen or the adjacent family room. However, no specific area has been pinpointed. The cause is still undetermined and a more detailed follow-up investigation will be done by the insurance companies over the next few months. If the cause of the fire is relevant to the public safety, we will provide a press release.
Other questions asked include: âHow did this fire get to an advanced stage so quickly prior to the arrival of the fire department?â and âWhy was the resident not able to exit his house after the smoke alarms went off?â At this time, we do not have an answer and may never have one. There are theories and rumors but nothing that can be validated. We will continue to pursue more information in an effort to provide clear answers.
One question that we can respond to is, âHow do we prevent this from happening in the future?â Fire safety education is one answer. Maintaining smoke detectors and practicing exit drills in the home will provide a measure of safety in the early detection of fire and safe exiting from a burning structure. Also, maintaining a fire safe home and adopting fire safe practices can prevent fires. However, the best way to ensure that you and your family are safe is to have a residential sprinkler system in your home. It is known that fire will more than double in size for every minute it free burns. The activation of one or two sprinkler heads has proven to be effective in controlling a fire in its early stages before it reaches the free burning stage. A fire sprinkler head will activate in a matter of seconds above the area of a fire and only the sprinklers in direct proximity to the fire will activate. Even the best fire department, with the best trained personnel and the best state of the art equipment, cannot respond as quickly and as effectively as a residential sprinkler system for most interior house fires. Our response time to this fire was documented at three minutes, and it was not fast enough! We have always advocated sprinklers and will continue to work for the adoption of residential sprinkler requirements in new homes.
The fact is that residential fire sprinklers save lives. They also minimize property damage from fires and they protect firefighters from a deadly fire condition called flashover that did occur in this fire.
We recognize that it is costly for existing homes to install residential sprinkler systems, and in these economic times it may not be realistic for many. However, we urge communities to adopt residential sprinkler requirements for newly constructed homes and in the absence of these codes, we remind new homeowners that they can voluntarily install these systems. Residential fire sprinkler systems are advocated by the Illinois Fire Chiefâs Association, the International Fire Chiefâs Association, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, and every fire service organization that I know. If you need further information on residential sprinkler systems or fire safety in the home, please contact your local fire department or district.
Fire Chief Jim Saletta
Huntley Fire Protection District
Hi Chris,
Your last newspaper dated 11-17-11 was interesting, as all of your papers are. This one caused me to respond to some comments regarding the latest Sun City election.
Yes, maybe someone was trying to get a “Ticket” of 3 candidates. I think that is very silly to complain about. We, my wife and I, had already picked out 2 of those 3 candidates prior to that announcement. We were in debate about the 3rd candidate. The 3-person so-called “Ticket” had NO influence on the third person we voted for. We have no problem with anyone telling me who they feel are their choices for an election – that is what happens for every government election, and we vote for who WE believe is the best candidate.
I think what I am trying to say is, why can’t the people vote for whom they feel are the best candidates? We believe most people should not be influenced by comments, said or written, regarding any candidate. So we do not know what all the fuss is about. Probably because someoneâs candidate did not get elected.
Only 1804 homes voted out of about 6,000. What does that tell you? Not many people care. That is a big shame, because we should all be concerned who will be ruling our community.
The other upsetting item is the interview of one candidate and putting it on the SCCAH website. I feel that all candidates should have also had the opportunity to be interviewed and put on the website. Why only one candidate?
Jim Bartunek
Sun City Resident
Sam,
Read both your columns (Dining Out with Geezers / Cooking with Geezers); agreed with your review of Checkers, as we’ve been there and would also go back. As for cooking, it will be tough to outdo your recipe for dressing; although, I have one that is unique and, if I get the courage, may submit it!
Loved your family history story tying into the recipe!
Douglas Dunlap
Sun City Resident
