City Fire Codes “Inadequate,” Trade Group Says

As the controversy continues over the stark discrepancy between the Illinois and Chicago fire codes, the Illinois Fire Alarm Association, an industry trade group, weighed in on the debate on Tuesday, calling the Chicago codes "woefully inadequate."

A woman died two weeks ago in a high rise fire at 3130 N. Lake Shore Drive.

The building was not equipped with fire sprinklers, as is required by the state code, but was in compliance with Chicago's code, which is less stringent.

"Sadly, politicians tend to bow down to the special interests who contribute to their campaign chests, rather than giving first consideration to fire safety," the organization said in a statement. "We strongly advocate a balanced approach of early warning smoke detection and fire sprinklers for fire safety in the City of Chicago."

Planned Property Management, which owns the Lake Shore Drive building, was cited by the state fire marshal for 19 code violations.

<a href="http://

News breaks at inconvenient times. Take NBCChicago.com with you on your iPhone app and be in the know whereever you go. Visit the app store and download it today!