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, according to CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt.
"He just walked his daughter down the aisle for her wedding and she's on a honeymoon right now," Nance-Holt said through tears.
The blaze started around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 12000 block of South Wallace Street, according to fire officials. It then spread to two other buildings.
Pelt was manning a hose in one of the burning buildings when "conditions worsened," authorities said. 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, Nance-Holt said.
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"Despite our best efforts - our firefighters and paramedics, they worked feverishly on Jermaine doing CPR all the way from the scene to Christ Hospital - he passed away," she said.
"This is a huge loss to us as a family," Nance-Holt said. "Jermaine is our family. And when we lose one of our members, it takes a toll on us. People just don't know what firefighters and paramedics go through daily when they respond to these calls, not knowing if they'll come home the next and this is what we saw today."
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