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This afternoon will be sunny and chilly with a high near 24 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 12 degrees. Tomorrow, more sunshine is in the forecast; the high will be near 29 degrees.
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A space heater likely caused a fire that killed a mother and her four young children yesterday in Des Plaines.
That’s the assessment of city fire officials, whose preliminary investigation shows the blaze started at the top of the stairs to a second-floor unit — the only exit from the unit where the family was found.
There were no working smoke detectors on the second floor, Des Plaines spokeswoman Jennie Vana said in a statement. Initial findings don’t point to foul play and the investigation is now focused on how the heater might have ignited the fire, she said.