CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- More people in Chicago have died in fires so far this year than in all of 2020.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford on Friday said 22 people in the city died in fires last year. Fire deaths this week have already put Chicago's total this year above that — at 23.
“We just checked with some other fire departments across the country. It’s not unique in Chicago,” Langford said of the uptick.
Fire investigators think the emotional and financial stresses caused by the lingering pandemic are making some people less careful about fire hazards in their homes, he said.
Langford points out some of Chicago's fire deaths this year happened in buildings without working smoke detectors. He said smoke detectors might have given people more time to get out safely.
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