Chicago news: OSHA tells CFD to improve safety after firefighter deaths

CHICAGO (WLS) -- After four firefighter deaths last year, the Chicago Fire Department is being told to improve safety.

State inspectors sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson, stating the fire department has to stop allowing firefighters to go into building fires alone.

An inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the equipment that firefighter MaShawn Plummer was using failed while he was in a burning building in 2021.

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The agency said no firefighters were near him, and there was a delay in declaring a mayday.

Four firefighters died in the line of duty in 2023.