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Fire Department: Errant Fireworks Could Spark Deadly Blazes

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With the Fourth of July less than a week away, fire officials are worried that errant fireworks could start deadly fires.

As WBBM Newsradio's Bob Roberts reports, the Chicago Fire Department always takes a dim view of fireworks, but spokesman Larry Langford says the extremely dry weather has made conditions ripe for brush fires -- and far worse.

"Buildings are dry. Rooftops are dry. Shingles are dry. The vegetation is very dry," he said. "It may just sit there and smolder for a while. Later on it could spread to a garage, a garage could spread to building, and you have yourself some serious fire problems."

Langford says the problem is not difficult to identify. He says no matter how skilled someone is at firing fireworks into the sky, they come down somewhere.

He recalls seeing a church lose its roof in less than five minutes several years ago during drought conditions in Englewood, when a bottle rocket lodged under a shingle.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bob Roberts reports

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