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September 28, 2005
NAPERVILLE – Today Nicor Gas announced that it will participate in 41 Fire Department Open Houses (see schedule) across its service territory to educate the public on natural gas safety. The kick-off for this natural gas safety tour begins October 2 and will run through October 29. Fire Department Open Houses are usually held in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week, which this year is October 9 -15. This is the second year in a row that Nicor Gas has supported the local Fire Department Open Houses and this year's program has expanded from 26 to 41 locations.
The Fire Department Open Houses, held to inform families about the many ways they can prevent fires, provide community residents with information about the services fire departments offer, in a family-friendly, fun environment. At each location Nicor Gas will display a colorful tabletop exhibit of a family home with callouts to key natural gas safety tips. To help showcase the importance of replacing brass appliance connectors, the exhibit will also feature samples of "correct" and "incorrect" appliance connectors that guests can examine. To engage the younger audience, Nicor Gas' exhibit also includes a prize giveaway at each location. To enter the prize drawing, participants just need to answer a few simple but important questions about natural gas safety. The winner will receive a Lego® Fire House (includes fire house, fire truck and two fire fighters).
As part of the company's commitment to safety, more than 80 Nicor Gas "employee ambassadors" will be on hand to staff the Nicor Gas exhibit and impart important safety information to customers. "Nicor Gas is committed to delivering safe and reliable gas service to our customers and contributing to the well-being of our communities. The open houses are great opportunities for us to educate our customers on natural gas safety as well as allow us to spend time in the communities where we work and live," said Margi Schiemann, director of community relations for Nicor Gas.
"Fire department Open Houses are a great way to get the community out to their local fire stations to learn about fire prevention and have some fun. We have enjoyed working with Nicor Gas on a number of initiatives and value their partnership. Nicor Gas' involvement in so many open house events is just one example their commitment to working together with the fire service." said John Wu, fire chief from the City of Naperville.
"These open houses are very important to the fire departments with whom we work closely throughout northern Illinois," said Schiemann. "Supporting our local fire departments is important, especially in these times when fire services personnel have given so much. We hope that by answering questions our customers may have about ways to use energy safely in their homes, we can support our local fire departments with preventive education."
Nicor Gas is one of the nation's largest gas distribution companies. Owned by Nicor Inc. (NYSE: GAS) a holding company, Nicor Gas has provided safe and reliable natural gas services for 50 years. The Company serves more than 2.1 million customers in a service territory that encompasses most of the northern third of Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. For more information, visit the Nicor Web site at www.nicorgas.com. | 
