A Chicago fire lieutenant passed away Wednesday after collapsing while battling a high-rise blaze in the city’s Gold Coast neighborhood Wednesday, marking the second firefighter death in as many days in the city.
A Chicago firefighter has died after being "very critically" injured while battling a high-rise blaze in the city's Gold Coast neighborhood that injured another firefighter Wednesday morning.
The fire sparked just before 7:30 a.m. on the 27th floor of a building in the 1200 block of north Lake Shore Drive, according to fire officials.
One firefighter was injured originally but was said to be in good condition.
The department said elevators were stopped and the fire had been put out just minutes later, though hot spots remained.
Soon after, the department tweeted a second firefighter was injured as smoke remained "heavy" due to the blaze.
At 8 a.m., a mayday was called for a "firefighter down."
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The second injured firefighter was said to be in "very critical" condition and was being transported to an area hospital. Officials later said the firefighter, a lieutenant, had died.
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About an hour later, fire officials said the main body of the fire had been put out and that the flames were contained to one unit on the 27th floor, which does not have sprinklers.
Lt. Jan Tchoryk, a more than 20-year veteran with the department and a Navy vet who collapsed while climbing stairs up to battle the flames, was identified as the firefighter who passed away.
"He was making his way up to the fire floor, they had to take the stairs because the elevators were out, and then he went down," Nance-Holt said. "He was with his crews when he did, a mayday was called for help. The crews then started treating him right away by doing CPR on the scene and got them back to the lobby where they continued and ambulance 66 took him and they continued CPR to the hospital along with members ... despite their best efforts he succumbed to his injuries."
A cause of death was not immediately known, officials said.
The death marks the second firefighter death in two days, coming just one day after a fire on the city's South Side left one firefighter dead and two others injured.
Check back for more on this developing story.
