Two Chicago firefighters died, on Wednesday, in a blaze at an abandoned laundry building on East 75th Street, South Side.
Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer were among four firefighters buried in debris after a roof and wall collapsed on them.
They were putting out the fire and searching for squatters in the abandoned, burning building.
Firefighters rushed in to rescue their trapped colleagues. Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff said every firefighter at the scene “did the best they could to save their brothers,” according to AP.
Hoff said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that 19 firefighters in total suffered injuries from the blaze.
Stringer, 47, had been with the Fire Department for about 12 years, while Ankum, 34, was a former Chicago police officer with almost two years’ experience with the department.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said both firefighters died of trauma, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Both men were “excellent men, excellent firefighters, excellent parents, excellent friends,” a Fire Department District commander said, according to Vancouver Sun.
The deaths of Stringer and Ankum occurred on the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Fire Department’s greatest loss of firemen—apart from the September 11 attacks—the Union Stock Yards fire killed 21 firefighters and 3 civilians.
Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer were among four firefighters buried in debris after a roof and wall collapsed on them.
They were putting out the fire and searching for squatters in the abandoned, burning building.
Firefighters rushed in to rescue their trapped colleagues. Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff said every firefighter at the scene “did the best they could to save their brothers,” according to AP.
Hoff said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that 19 firefighters in total suffered injuries from the blaze.
Stringer, 47, had been with the Fire Department for about 12 years, while Ankum, 34, was a former Chicago police officer with almost two years’ experience with the department.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said both firefighters died of trauma, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Both men were “excellent men, excellent firefighters, excellent parents, excellent friends,” a Fire Department District commander said, according to Vancouver Sun.
The deaths of Stringer and Ankum occurred on the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Fire Department’s greatest loss of firemen—apart from the September 11 attacks—the Union Stock Yards fire killed 21 firefighters and 3 civilians.
