Decades-long Devil's Night is dead in Detroit. Fires disappear on Halloween eve

[demmiblue]

For decades in Detroit, Halloween eve was synonymous with fire.

Photographers from around the globe flocked to the city to witness what became known as Devil’s Night, the notorious tradition of setting fire to houses, buildings, cars and dumpsters.

Between 1979 and 2010, more than 100 fires broke out each year. The worst year was 1984, when firefighters responded to more than 800 blazes that covered the entire city in an eery, smoky haze on Halloween morning.

Over the past nine years, the fires steadily declined.

For the second year in a row, Devil’s Night was nothing more than an average night for firefighters on Wednesday. Only seven fires broke out, and some were accidental, Detroit Deputy Commissioner Dave Fornell tells Metro Times.

“There is going to be a new generation of kids who remember Halloween as dressing up and getting candy,” Fornell says. “The city is changing.”

On Halloween evening, firefighters will be handing out candy at fire houses.

https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/decades-long-devils-night-is-dead-in-detroit-fires-disappear-on-halloween-eve/Content?oid=23012915

(plus a to Dennis Archer)