Hundreds Honor Paramedic/Firefighter Killed in Fall Down Open Elevator Shaft

Dec. 18--In the three days after Chicago firefighter Daniel Capuano died responding to a fire on the South Side, solemn tributes for the fallen first responder have ranged from the Senate floor in Washington, where U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin offered his condolences, to the United Center, where the Chicago Blackhawks held a moment of silence for the dedicated hockey dad.

On the eve of Capuano's funeral service, flags at local fire stations continued to fly at half-staff Thursday as firefighters, who wore their formal uniforms with white gloves and a black-band badge, joined Capuano's family members and friends for visitation at the chapel of St. Rita of Cascia High School.

Capuano, 42, worked at a busy firehouse with Tower Ladder 34 on the South Side. He and his wife, Julie, had been married 20 years. They have a 16-year-old daughter, Amanda, and two sons, Nick and Andrew, 12 and 13.

Several hundred people spanned the length of two corridors and mourners at the end of the line, at one point, were advised it would be about a two-hour wait to reach the front of the chapel, which was brimming with an arrangement of red roses and several fire department-themed decorations.

Tom and Patte Schonauer, of Orland Park, whose children befriended Capuano as a kindergartner, fondly remembered taking him on camping and fishing trips. As Capuano grew up, they admired his commitment to his community.

"Some people go through life and don't touch people, but Danny went through life and touched tons of people," Tom Schonauer said.

The Schonauers, who experienced the untimely death of their daughter, visited Capuano's mother, Jacquelyn, the day of his death.

"I wanted to talk to them and let them cry because we've walked in their shoes," Patte Schonauer said. "The first thing out of Jackie's mouth was 'When does this stop?' I said, 'It softens, it gets a little easier, but it doesn't stop.' "

As mourners viewed Capuano outfitted in formal firefighter attire ina half-open, cappuccino-brown casket, many made the sign of the cross while dabbing tears.

Dozens of kids from the St Jude's Knights hockey team, on which Capuano's sons played, attended the service wearing their hockey jerseys. Capuano was well-known for driving to practices and games and helping players.

"He did everything he could to help the organization," Bob Aherns, a coach for the Knights, said at the service. "He was an irreplaceable guy."

Toward the end of the visitation, firefighters from Lemont, Lockport, Evergreen Park -- where Capuano had worked -- as well as other suburbs and out of state lined up and walked past the casket to salute their fallen colleague. There were hundreds of firefighters, and the procession took at least 40 minutes.

Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich also came to the service to pay his respects. Cupich called Capuano's death "a great tragedy."

"It's heartbreaking," Cupich said. "This man got up every morning to protect people."

This is the second death of a firefighter from Tower Ladder 34 in five years. On Dec. 22, 2010, Corey Ankum, 34, along with Edward Stringer, 47, of Engine Company 63, died while battling a blaze at an abandoned laundry in the 1700 block of East 75th Street in the South Shore neighborhood. The two died when the roof collapsed.

Lt. Gerald Glover, Ankum's half brother, who also worked with Capuano, said Capuano immediately made an impression with his sense of humor.

"For us at my house and in my company, it's a little harder because in 2010, I lost my own blood brother in the same company," Glover said. "And now, six days before his memorial we lose another brother in the house.

"You basically try to think of all the good times that you had and try to let nothing negative come into your mind," he said. "You got a good group of brothers who keep you up even when you're down. We depend on each other a whole lot."

At 77th Street and Western Avenue, two firetrucks craned their aerial ladders, which each held an end of a large American flag outside the church.

Early Monday, Capuano's company was dispatched to a fire in a vacant warehouse in the 9200 block of South Baltimore Avenue, his second fire of the night, according to relatives. Searching the second floor through thick smoke, Capuano fell down an open elevator shaft and died hours later.

City building department officials said the owners didn't have proper permits and the elevator's unauthorized removal was under way. Building inspectors alleged various problems, including "gaping holes" in the floor and voids stretching from the second floor to the basement left by demolition of the elevator shaft.

Court filings call the building "an immediate and ongoing threat of irreparable harm" to the public, and the city is seeking unspecified but potentially hefty fines against the owners.

Tom Ryan, president of Fire Fighters Union Local 2, said buildings with alleged violations such as the one where Capuano died are "hard to police. Unfortunately, we encounter these kind of conditions way too often," he said

Ryan said he couldn't comment on the building violations because the investigation is ongoing, but that from pictures he has seen of the interior "there was not just one but many open holes in the floor that were unprotected, and some pretty simple and inexpensive measures could have been taken to prevent this."

Capuano's funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday, also at the high school chapel. He will be buried at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery in Alsip.

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