Chicago firefighter dies days after battling fire in Belmont Central
CHICAGO - The small neighborhood firehouse for Engine 94 was quiet all Tuesday night, with bunting over the door and flags at half-staff.
It was a tragic day for the team, who lost one of their own, five days after a deadly apartment fire.
"We ask that everyone keep the family in their prayers," Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Merritt said. "It’s tough to lose a loved one under any circumstances — especially hard during the holiday season, which should be a time of celebration."
There was a long procession to escort Firefighter Mashawn Plummer from where he was being treated at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Five days after fire broke out at an apartment building on North Marmora in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, Plummer succumbed to his injuries.
The 30-year-old just celebrated his one-year anniversary with the Chicago Fire Department.
The exact circumstances that led to his death are not yet public, but the same fire also killed a building resident and two residents were left in critical condition.
Dozens of squad cars and fire trucks lined the procession route from Maywood into the city in honor of Plummer, who leaves behind his mother, father, and four sisters.
A prayer and memorial vigil is going to be held Wednesday morning outside Plummer's fire station at the corner of Grace and Menard.
Maria Walker, director of Early Childhood Education at Rush University Medical Center, said she attends a procession whenever she can.
"I have family members who are first responders and I don’t think we do enough for officers and firefighters," Walker said. "I think this is our opportunity to come and show our respect for them and their families."
The last line-of-duty deaths in the department were two firefighters who died of COVID-19 last year.
Edward Singleton, a 33-year veteran of the department, died April 14 from complications of COVID-19. The 55-year-old worked at the firehouse at Midway Airport and leaves behind a wife and two adult children.
One week earlier, Mario Araujo became the first firefighter of the department to die from the coronavirus. Araujo, 47, joined the fire department in October 2003 and spent most of his career on Truck 25, which operates out of Engine 102 in Rogers Park on the North Side. He was single.
In May of 2018, diver Juan Bucio died while searching for a missing boater in the Chicago River. Bucio, 46, lost contact with his dive partner during the search. Bucio was briefly a Chicago police officer before joining CFD, moving to the dive team as soon as he could.
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.