Death By Fire at 25-Year Low

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Jan 4, 2005 3:44PM

So we've all been hearing about how Chicago is no longer the murder capital (Congrats, NYC on your new title!) and how in 2004 there were 155 fewer homicides, right? But did you know that the number of fire fatalities in the city is at a 25-year low? The Chicago Fire Department says the city had 35 fire-related deaths last year - compared to 55 in 2003, 185 in 1980, and a record of 196 in 1977.

Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter said, "We will continue to develop policies and educational programs that promote fire safety and prevention to even further minimize these fatalities." He credited improved fire safety programs and enhanced fire prevention policies for the reduction in deaths.

60% of last year's fires were in two-story structures and 97% of those buildings didn't have working smoke detectors. So here's Chicagoist doing our good deed of the day - GO HOME AND CHECK YOUR DETECTORS! Be safe this year!

Image via chicagofirestore.com