Officials: Deadly Chicago High-Rise Fire Was Accidental

Officials: Deadly Chicago High-Rise Fire Was Accidental
Chicago Firefighter Mose Demasi looks up at the Harper Square cooperative residential building after he and others fought a multi-floor fire at the high-rise in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago on Jan. 25, 2023. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo
|Updated:
0:00

CHICAGO—Chicago authorities said Thursday that a deadly fire in a high-rise apartment building was caused by someone smoking in a bedroom.

In a brief statement, the Chicago Fire Department called the fire accidental and said investigators traced the cause to “careless use of smoking materials.” Investigators also found that a smoke detector in the unit where the blaze broke out was not working.