Chicago City Council passes “Price Ordinance” protecting firefighters on rooftops

The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance Wednesday Oct. 9, 2024 designed to protect Chicago firefighters when they battle blazes on the city’s rooftops and are confronted with potentially dangerous falling hazards like skylights and other roof openings.

Named the Price Ordinance, the legislation honors Chicago firefighter Lt. Andrew Price, who died in the line of duty Nov. 13, 2023 after falling through a light shaft on a roof in a four-story building in the 2400 block of Lincoln Ave. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Alds. Marty Quinn (13) and Samantha Nugent (39) introduced the proposal last month, which requires openings on flat roofs, like skylights and light shafts, to be covered.

The ordinance applies only to new construction, new roofs, roof replacements or renovation projects that increase the area of a home or business by more than 50%.

Database image: One firefighter was injured but was later released by the hospital after battling a fire at a home in Orland Park early Tuesday morning, officials of the Orland Fire Protection District said. The fire was reported at 3:35 AM on Tuesday Feb. 20, 2024 at the 147th Block of Holly Court in Orland Park. Photo courtesy of the Orland Fire Protection District

“I am proud to honor Drew Price’s memory and work to protect our brave firefighters from unnecessary harm,” Quinn said. “This common-sense measure is just the first step in ensuring we better protect Chicago’s firefighters from serious injury and death when they battle rooftop fires.”

“The Price Ordinance is a critical first step in keeping our firefighters safe and protecting them from preventable accidents, injury and death,” Nugent said. “I am committed to developing additional steps to ensure Chicago’s firefighters are equipped with the information and technology they need to come home safely to their families.”

Quinn and Nugent believe the next phase involves collecting data on how many flat roofs currently have uncovered openings that could pose a danger to firefighters. Their hope is to have the city’s Department of Buildings and the Fire Department collaborate on gathering and sharing this information and making it readily available to firefighters when they arrive at an emergency.

The Price Ordinance was sponsored by 30 aldermen and the Chicago Fire Fighters Union – Local 2.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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