Glendale Hts. backs fire-resistant walls in converted condos.(News)

Glendale Heights' Safety Town's theme is spreading throughout the village.
Board officials voted unanimously Thursday night to crack down on regulations for apartment buildings that are converted into condominiums. Several building code provisions will be enforced to make sure the buildings are safe.

Each building in Glendale Heights is now required to have fire sprinklers in every unit. The ordinance also requires construction of fire-resistant walls. They will be built so they can block a fire for up to two hours.

Although new requirements will up the costs for builders and developers, Director of Community Development Martin Olsen is confident about the board's decision."I think the safety aspect can't be argued against," said Martin Olsen, director of community development. "It provides an extra measure of safety to anyone who wants to purchase a converted apartment."

Mayor Linda Jackson said the fire at Floyd Brown Drive about a year ago may have influenced the decision. The fire killed a woman and her two children.
Jackson said she was also in favor of the ordinance for safety's sake.
An increase in apartment building conversions brought attention to the existing ordinance.

"There have been a number of conversions that have been done over the past year or two, and we believe that there were some disclosures that should have been made to the new buyers that were not being made," Olsen said. Discussion about fire sprinklers is stirring up throughout DuPage County, and many boards are reviewing their codes. Glendale Heights currently requires newly constructed condominiums and homes to have sprinkling systems built in the structures.