Donation helps Joliet Junior College fire science program

PRNewswire

ORLAND PARK — Students in the Fire Science Technology program at Joliet Junior College now will be able to see how a fire sprinkler system works thanks to a fire sprinkler valve display donated with the help of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

The NIFSAB helped to secure a fire sprinkler valve donation from Tyco and the provided the labor to install it on a display pedestal donated by Sprinkler Fitters Local 281.

“The vast majority of the students in our program are visual learners, so the actual physical presence of a functioning fire sprinkler valve that they can touch and see will be highly beneficial in the classroom. It’s a big difference from the videos and photographs of valves that we showed in the past,” says Duane Stonich, coordinator for JJC’s Fire Science Technology program. “It’s a neat, new learning aid that will complement our new facility that we have only been in since January.”

NIFSAB Executive Director Tom Lia presented the donation at the JJC campus before the start of the fall semester.

“The valve will prove itself as a valuable learning tool for current and future students. It’s important for them to be able to have equipment that they can actually handle and manipulate, rather than simply reading about it,” notes Lia.