Illinois Veterans Home will receive safety improvements

QUINCY, ILL. -- The Illinois Veteran's Home at Quincy was established in the 1800s and has grown considerably in the past century.

Today, the veteran's home has 25 buildings sitting on 210 acres inQuincy.

But as time has passed many things have changed ...for example safety standards.

"They were in compliance with the codes at the time they were built and codes have changed over time and we've sort of gotten away from it," Gwen Diehl, the Veterans Home Coordinator for the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, said.

The new sprinkler system will be added to areas like the multi-purpose area, chapel, attics, food services freezers and also outdoor porches.

The sprinkler system is one of many projects that have already taken place and will continue to take place over the next year.

"We completed the renovation of the power plant and its been a very long project so about a year and a half ago, you may have seen the chimney being reconstructed," Diehl said.

The Veterans Home owns and maintains its power plant.

The upgrades will allow the home to remain independent and free of outside help and insure it will continue to stay around for future veterans.

The sprinkler system safety improvement will take 290 consecutive days to complete with an end date on May 9, 2015.

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Illinois Veterans Home will receive safety improvements