On Jan. 26, 1986, the day Chicago celebrated the Bears' Superbowl win, firefighter Lt. Edmund Coglianese ran into a burning hotel to rescue people trapped inside.
He did not make it out.
Twenty-five years later, his family and fellow firefighters honored his heroism with a service and the official unveiling of a new memorial wall for all Chicago firefighters killed on duty.
"It's truly a great honor that my father is remembered and that all the firemen we have lost in the city have been honored. Especially those we have recently lost," Coglianese's daughter, Alison, said Wednesday at the historic Water Tower Firehouse where her father served.
In her remarks, she alluded to the recent deaths of firefighters Ed Stringer and Corey Ankum, who died in a roof collapse on Dec 22.
All of fallen firefighters' names are now permanently etched into a mobile memorial in the lower west lobby of the John Hancock Center, where it'll remain until Feb. 19.
"Firefighters and paramedics are not the type to stand on the corner or outside the firehouse patting themselves on the backs and reminding anyone who will listen how important or dangerous our job is," said Local 2 Union President Tom Ryan. "But we are deeply committed to honoring those among us who have given their lives to doing our jobs no matter what the cost. Whether it's been in the last four months, 25 years, or even a century."
The memorial is on display along with photographs and news articles describing the heroic acts behind many of the names. It is now open for the public to visit.
