Fatal house fires are a tragic reminder of why fire sprinklers are in national codes
Tinley Park, IL (April 3, 2025) – A fire in a split-level Carpentersville home with no fire sprinklers tragically resulted in the deaths of three young brothers on March 30. The boys, a one-year-old and two-year old twins, were too young to escape the home’s basement on their own. Two of the family’s dogs also perished in the fire.
The fire occurred mid-morning as all three boys were sleeping in the basement. Firefighters arrived on scene within four minutes of the fire being reported, but flames were coming out of the windows on the front of the house. According to officials, three other family members were also trapped inside the home but eventually got out with the help of responding firefighters. The children’s grandmother was treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation and is expected to recover. Even with a quick response from the fire department, the fire moved too quickly to get the children out of the home – highlighting an all-too-common occurrence in modern home fires across the country.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it may have been caused by a space heater. During a press conference, officials said the home did have working smoke alarms. The home is uninhabitable and suffered $350,000 in damages. The village social worker has been working with the family to deal with the trauma and loss.
Unfortunately, the tragic fire in Carpentersville follows another recent example of a house fire that moved too fast for occupants to safely escape in Naperville on February 18. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found heavy flames engulfing the first and second floors with a person trapped on the second floor. Efforts to reach the second floor were hindered by the intensity of the fire, flames erupting from nearly every window, the collapse of an interior stairwell, and holes in the second-story flooring.
A 75-year-old man, who had limited mobility, was eventually found dead on the second floor. His wife was taken to the hospital for treatment. According to the fire department, the fire, which was caused by unattended candles, displaced five people and caused estimated damages of $800,000.
Today’s fires can become deadly in as little as two to three minutes due to a variety of factors such as petroleum-based plastic furnishings that burn faster and more toxic, building practices such as lightweight construction materials that fail quicker and open-concept designs that allow smoke to travel more freely, and the emergence of problems with an increasing number of lithium-ion batteries in homes.
Both recent fires in Chicagoland are a tragic reminder of why fire sprinkler requirements are present in national building codes. More than 110 Illinois communities currently require fire sprinklers in all new construction homes. Fire sprinklers are individually heat activated, controlling a fire while it is small, which limits the smoke, and allows occupants to safely escape while the fire department responds. In approximately 90 percent of residential fires, only one fire sprinkler activates to control or extinguish the fire.
According to Erik Hoffer, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, cost is often cited as the reason fire sprinklers are amended out of the national model codes when adopted on a local level, however, that puts residents and responding firefighters at unnecessary risk.
“Families affected by these recent home fires not only have to face the reality of lost loved ones and cherished possessions, but also the insurmountable costs associated with recovery from a devastating fire, such as medical care for injuries, long-term displacement, and property loss,” states Hoffer. “The savings offered by fire sprinklers far outweigh their initial cost. Fire sprinklers are proven to be the best solution to reduce fire risk while protecting residents, firefighters and property.”
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