CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - A firefighter has died while battling an overnight fire in West Pullman.
49-year-old Chicago Firefighter Jermaine Pelt, an 18-year member of the force, died at the house fire at 120th and Wallace , Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt announced outside Christ Hospital. The fire began at about 3:30 a.m. at a single, two-and-a half story frame house and then spread to two others.
Conditions worsened and firefighters were ordered out of the exposure building. It was then that Pelt went down, Holt said. Pelt was soon quickly found and pulled out of the fire for treatment. Holt said firemen and paramedics performed CPR on Pelt on the scene and en route to Christ Hospital, but he died.
The cause of Pelt’s death is under investigation. Holt noted there was neither an explosion or building collapse.
Holt, who was quite emotional during the press conference, said she knew Pelt and worked with him personally. He spent his entire firefighting career on the Far South Side and had two children, one grown and another six-years-old. Holt said Pelt’s daughter had just gotten married and that she was currently on her honeymoon.
“This is a huge loss to us as a family. Jermaine is our family and, when we lose one of our members, it takes a toll on us, and people just don’t know what firefighters and paramedics go through daily when they respond to these calls not knowing if they’ll come home the next day,” Holt said.
Two other firefighters were injured in the fire. They were listed in stable condition.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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