Administrative Assistant Colleen Madera, Secretary Mya Clements, Property Maintenance Inspector Kim Burnett-McCloud, Project Specialist II Jason Greenly and Intern Rachel Buchler from Neighborhood Services Department attended the After the Fire presentation hosted by the Central Illinois Rental Property Professionals (CIRPP) on Thursday, June 19, 2014. Fire Marshal John Koller, Deputy Fire Marshals Janet Maupin and Randy Smith and Acting Fire Chief David Ferber from the Fire Department were also in attendance. The hour video presentation of After the Fire detailed the January 19, 2000 dormitory fire at Seton Hall that killed 3 and injured 58 students. Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, freshman roommates who were two of the several burned victims, were featured in the video that detailed their struggle to battle through their injures with the support of friends and family. In addition, both Shawn and Alvaro were present during the video and answered questions afterwards.
Neighborhood Code Compliance Manager David Oliver, who is the City liaison board member of CIRPP, suggested this presentation after the group expressed interest in bringing in presenters for various topics for their members. It was decided that this presentation would be good for the landlord/property owners to see how fire affects an individual from the tenant’s perspective. Neighborhood Programs Division also extended invitations to the local homeless shelter providers to learn more about shared living space and fire safety. Courage Connections (formerly The Center for Women in Transition) attended the presentation also.
This presentation has also been presented three other times in Champaign; twice at the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) and once at the Fire Factor Academy for the University of Illinois students on September 17, 2013.
Read more about the presentation from the News-Gazette here:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-06-20/fire-was-living-hell.html