Excerpts from nbcchicago.com:
Chicago Firefighter Jermaine Pelt
The cause of death for fallen Chicago Firefighter Jermaine Pelt was revealed by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office on Wednesday afternoon.
Pelt, 49, died of carbon monoxide toxicity due to inhalation of smoke and soot while battling a fire in the city’s West Pullman neighborhood. Two other firefighters were injured in the blaze.
Pelt, a father of two who recently celebrated his 49th birthday, had been a member of the department since 2005 and worked in the city’s Roseland community for his entire career.
The blaze started around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 12000 block of South Wallace Street. before spreading to two other buildings.
Pelt was manning a hose in one of the burning buildings when conditions worsened. All firefighters were ordered out of the building, but Pelt went down just as that order was being issued.
He was quickly found near the hose line by his lieutenant – who was also hospitalized but is in good condition – and brought out for treatment.
Despite the best efforts of firefighters and paramedics, they worked on Jermaine doing CPR all the way from the scene to Christ Hospital where he passed away.
