Chicago Tribune news : Chicago

To prevent the quick spread of fires at = mobile home=20 parks, Cook County officials have proposed setting the homes = farther=20 back from the street and requiring fire hydrants at all of = the parks=20 within a decade.

The changes would require mobile = homes to be=20 set back at least 10 feet from a private street to allow = better=20 access for firetrucks. The changes also would affect the = space=20 between mobile homes to help reduce the spread of fire. = Proposed=20 rules would require at least 10 feet between the sides of = homes, 8=20 feet between a home's end and another's side and 6 feet = between the=20 ends of each home.

The rules would apply to the 30=20 mobile-home communities within the county's unincorporated = areas and=20 to future developments.

The regulations would = represent the=20 first time the ordinance governing mobile homes has been = updated=20 since 1972. The Cook County Board would have to approve the=20 revisions.

They're a welcome change considering = recent fires,=20 said Terry Nelson, president of the 2,000-member Mobile Home = Owners=20 Association of Illinois. In April 2004 a blaze destroyed six = mobile=20 homes in Elk Grove Township after food wrapped in foil = exploded in a=20 microwave, igniting a fast-moving conflagration.

"It = would=20 allow more time for people to get out before it could = possibly=20 spread," Nelson said. "It's good sense. It'll help=20 everyone."

County Board President John Stroger = introduced the=20 changes to the Mobile Homes and Mobile Home Park Ordinance = at a=20 meeting Wednesday. The issue will be reviewed at a joint = meeting of=20 the Health and Hospitals Committee and Building and Zoning = Committee=20 within the next few weeks, said Sean McDermott, an official = with the=20 county Department of Public Health who helped develop the = proposed=20 amendments.

Fire officials advised that the county = adopt the=20 setback standards of the National Fire Protection=20 Association.

"The greater the separation, the less = likelihood=20 of a fire bridge forming and numerous homes being burned to = the=20 ground," McDermott said.

Mobile homes today are = constructed=20 with more synthetic materials than in the past, so when they = catch=20 on fire they emit dangerous gases and hold heat in, said = Robert=20 Buhs, executive director of the Illinois Fire Chiefs=20 Association.

"They burn hotter," Buhs said. "It's not = giving=20 us much time to get inside."

Buhs applauded the = proposal to=20 add fire hydrants to mobile parks within 10 = years.

Buhs=20 suggested that the proposed amendments go one step further = and=20 require residents to install sprinkler systems in their = mobile=20 homes.

"Having a residential sprinkler in every = mobile home=20 is like having a firefighter standing there every day," Buhs = said.

McDermott said county officials considered = making=20 sprinklers mandatory but decided against it. The cost could = be too=20 high for residents living in older mobile homes to retrofit = them=20 with sprinklers, especially if they are living on fixed = incomes, he=20 = said.

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jfrancisco@tribune.com