Update (1:46 p.m. Eastern): A veteran Chicago firefighter has died after being injured in a high-rise fire in the city’s Gold Coast neighborhood. As noted by the Chicago Tribune, this marks the city’s second firefighter line-of-duty death in two days.
Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt told reporters that Lieutenant Jan Tchoryk of Tower Ladder 10, 55, went down while taking the stairs on the 11th floor. His cause of death was not immediately known.
The Tribune said Lieutenant Tchoryk had been with the Chicago Fire Department about 25 years and had served in Desert Storm.
Three other firefighters and two civilians were also injured.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration notice, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, the Chicago Fire Department responded to a fire at a high-rise building on Lake Shore Drive. While heading down the stairway departing the fire floor, Lieutenant Jan Tchoryk collapsed. He was immediately treated by crews on the scene and transported to the hospital where he passed away a short time later. The cause of death has yet to be determined.
Original story: A Chicago firefighter was deemed “very critical” after being injured Wednesday morning at a high-rise fire where another member was also injured.
The fire occurred at 212 North DuSable Lake Shore Drive, according to the Chicago Fire Department’s social media.
Firefighters lost all elevators in the building while battling a fire on the 27th floor of the building. One firefighter was injured but deemed in good shape. The fire went to a 3-11 alarm and EMS Plan 2.
A Mayday was declared on the fireground and another firefighter was critically injured, removed, and transported.
Firefighters managed to knock down the main body of fire and confine it to a large apartment on the 27th floor, the department reported. There were reportedly no sprinklers on that floor of the building.
This event comes a day after Chicago Firefighter Jermaine Pelt, 49, died in a multialarm fire that struck a home in the city’s West Pullman neighborhood.
