Dick Durbin: “it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to speak about the loss of one of the bravest men in the Chicago Fire…”

“it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to speak about the loss of one of the bravest men in the Chicago Fire Department, Daniel Capuano. Daniel went to work this morning--just as he has done every day for the past 15 years--ready to fight fires and risk his life to save the lives of others. Not many people can say they wake up each day ready to make that sacrifice, but this morning, Daniel Capuano did just that. At 2:40 a.m. today, Daniel Capuano and his fellow firefighters were contacted about a warehouse fire in the 9200 block of South Baltimore Avenue on the South Side of Chicago. Daniel and the other firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene. The warehouse was undergoing construction, and because of that, there were reports of holes in the floors. When they got there, they saw billowing smoke coming out of the vacant three-story warehouse. Firefighter Capuano and his team moved cautiously through the second floor of the warehouse in search of the cause of the fire, but the heavy, thick smoke made it nearly impossible to see, causing Capuano to fall through an elevator shaft from the second floor of the building to the basement. His fellow firefighters were able to find him quickly and get him on an ambulance and to a nearby hospital. Sadly, it was too late. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was already in serious condition. At 4:25 a.m. this morning, Daniel Capuano was pronounced dead from trauma.…”