Chicago Apartment Fire Kills 8, Smoke Detectors Not Found
A fire in a three-story apartment building in Chicago has resulted in eight deaths. Six children and two adults were killed after the fire broke out at 4 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26. Additionally, a teenager and young adult were taken to the hospital and are listed in critical condition. A firefighter was also injured while fighting the blaze. The building did not have a fire sprinkler system. Firefighters were unable to find working smoke detectors in the building. This is Chicago's largest fire fatality loss since the Cook County Administration Building high-rise fire that killed six people in 2004.
Chicago does not require fire sprinklers in existing apartments under 80 feet in height, and when new apartments are constructed fire sprinklers are not required until wood construction exceeds 30 feet in height. There have been three attempts to adopt the International Code Council (ICC) codes, which require all new apartments to have fire sprinklers and existing apartment buildings under 80 feet to have fire sprinklers when renovations occur in the building. Advocates have been educating and encouraging a change in the law for years; however, all attempts have been opposed by numerous building and real estate stakeholders.