Schaumburg Fire Department Awarded Grant to Purchase Safe Cooking Equipment for Residents
The Schaumburg Fire Department has been awarded a grant of $7,600 to purchase SmartBurner™ cooking ranges as part of the department's new village-wide home safety inspection program. Schaumburg is one of 17 municipalities in northern Illinois to receive the inaugural Powering Community Safety grant provided by ComEd and the National Safety Council.
With the grant, the department will purchase 40 Smart Burners™ to offer to residents free of charge who take part in the department's home fire prevention inspection program, which is focused on replacing conventional electric stove top equipment to help prevent residential fires. The department will also purchase an additional 15 units to be used in the program.
The SmartBurner™ cooking system is a new product engineered to help prevent stovetop cooking fires before they start. Unlike other products that alert occupants after a fire has started or try to suppress an existing fire, the SmartBurner™ helps prevent the fire from occurring in the first place through a special temperature controlled cooking system. SmartBurners™ may only be used to replace standard electric stove burners and cannot be used on gas stoves.
"Since 2010, residential home fires in Schaumburg represented 77 percent of all fires occurring in town, with 42 percent of those fires caused from cooking," said Schaumburg Fire Chief Dave Schumann.
"We've identified a problem and we're committed to proactively working with the community through our home safety inspection program to give residents fire prevention information, and now, as a result of the grant, some SmartBurner™ devices, that we hope will reduce their likelihood of experiencing a fire."
ComEd and the National Safety Council (NSC) awarded more than $137,000 in Powering Community Safety grants for improvements made to advance municipalities' journey to safety excellence. Grantees were recognized at a reception held Sept. 22 in Oakbrook.
The Schaumburg Fire Department's Home Inspection Program is expected to begin later this year. Members of the fire department will conduct scheduled home visits lasting approximately 30-45 minutes where they will discuss fire safety and fall prevention topics as well as review how to install smoke alarms. An inspection of the property will also be conducted to identify any potential safety issues. For additional information and to schedule an appointment, please call the Schaumburg Fire Department at (847) 885-6300.