The Chicago Fire Department lost a responder for the second day in a row on Wednesday while tackling a high-rise fire. The firefighter was a veteran.
The Chicago Fire Department lost a responder for the second day in a row on Wednesday while tackling a high-rise fire. The firefighter was a veteran.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Lt. Jan Tchoryk, 55, passed away while directing a ladder crew to the 27th floor of an apartment building in the city’s famed Gold Coast neighborhood. The newspaper reported that there were two more injured firefighters.
Jermaine Pelt, a 49-year-old Chicago firefighter, passed away on Tuesday while battling a fire in the West Pullman section of the city, according to WBBM-TV. The two fatalities occurring back-to-back days were deemed “unprecedented” by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Tchoryk had been using the stairs because there were no functional elevators in the building, Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt informed the media. The Tribune stated that he passed out on the eleventh floor.
“This has been a tragic week for us,” Nance-Holt added during the news conference on Wednesday. “I can’t tell you how this impacts us, losing two members in two days.”
Tchoryk has worked for the department since 1997, according to Nance-Holt, according to WLS-TV. In the American Navy, he had served in Desert Storm. The news station reported that his son had recently graduated as a Chicago police officer.
According to Nance-Holt, there was no evident cause for Tchoryk’s passing. Per the Tribune, Larry Langford, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department, it might have been a “medical emergency.”
“The wind didn’t help us,” Nance-Holt said to reporters. “The wind drew the fire.”
“To have two go down this way, back-to-back, it’s very hard on the members,” Langford stated. “It’s very hard on command. It’s just very hard.”
Tchoryk was given CPR on the spot and taken down to the building’s lobby, according to WMAQ-TV. According to the news station, he was transferred to a local hospital where he later passed away as a result of his wounds.
As reported by WLS, the structure is a condominium and apartment complex with more than 260 apartments. According to fire officials, there were no sprinklers on the 27th story.
According to the Tribune, one of the two injured firefighters was discharged from a nearby hospital. According to the publication, the other firefighter was in critical condition but his injuries weren’t thought to be life-threatening.
The Tribune claims that two locals also sustained injuries.
“As I said yesterday, this job is dangerous,” Nance-Holt said to reporters. “You never know if you’re coming home despite the training and the equipment that we can provide.”
