Family grieves man killed in Belmont Central fire that also claimed the life of Chicago firefighter
CHICAGO - Nicole Gomez was three years younger than her brother Eladio and the bond between them was "stronger than anybody could imagine."
"Nobody messed with my big brother," she said. "I would be like, you gotta get through me before you get to him, and I highly doubt you’re gonna get through me."
"We didn’t need anybody else," Gomez added.
Eladio Gomez died in a fire last week at his home in Belmont Central, at a time in his life where everything seemed to be coming together for him, his sister said. A firefighter, MaShawn Plummer, collapsed while battling the blaze and died days later.
On Tuesday, Eladio Gomez’s family attended a memorial service for Plummer at his firehouse. Nicole Gomez said it was important to show Plummer’s family that they understood the grief they were feeling.
"We’re not just grieving my brother, but we’re grieving their son and their brother also because he risked his life for my brother, and I can’t explain in words how much that means to me," she said. "So I get it and they needed to know that we are with them 100%, and I wanted them to know, face-to-face, that we gained some new members to our family."
Eladio Gomez worked at CoinFlip, a company that specializes in virtual currency, and he was in line to get a promotion next month, his sister said. The company had started out small and was now looking at opening up locations in Canada.
"That’s what hurts us even more is that things were coming his way and he didn’t get a chance to show it," she said. "I’d never seen my brother so happy with his life."
Eladio Gomez
He loved to fish, go to movies and play video games, Nicole Gomez said, adding that Eladio had every video game console you could imagine. He loved to eat, and sushi was one of his favorite foods.
Eladio "would drop everything" for his family, Nicole Gomez said. The two would take a yearly trip to Six Flags Great America and frequently had dinner together.
Her brother "had a kind heart" and was a great uncle to her two daughters, Nicole Gomez said. "He was somebody very special in this world."