A South Side woman has nothing but the clothes on her back, and she says the Chicago Fire Department is to blame.
What was left of Janice Hooper’s home had to be bulldozed and hauled away Friday [and she ] … says “Maybe if they’d been more assertive maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
She is referring to firemen who initially came to her house after she smelled something burning and called 9-1-1 late Wednesday night. Hooper says they searched the house, found no heat source and left, [but] the smell was so strong she decided to sleep at her mom’s a few houses away. … in a matter of hours her home of 15 years was no more.
She lost everything in the fire, but still believes her decision to leave was the best choice.
The Chicago Fire Department’s Office of Fire Investigation has interviewed the firefighters that first responded, along with Hooper. They’re also testing the thermal-imaging camera that they say was used during the initial investigation, [which] apparently showed no heat signature when firefighters initially checked out the house late Wednesday night.
thanks Dan
