A Chicago Fire Department firefighter seriously injured while responding to a Norwood Park residential fire earlier this month has died, the fire department said Tuesday morning.
Lieutenant Kevin Ward, 59, died at Loyola Medical Center surrounded by family, the department said. He will be transported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office Tuesday in a noon procession.
Ward was one of three firefighters transported to hospitals after an Aug. 11 fire at the Northwest Side home at 8336 Balmoral Ave. Two firefighters were inside the home when an emergency occurred, CFD spokesman Larry Langford said at the time.
The firefighter’s condition remained serious, but had stabilized with “steady improvement” two days after the fire, Langford said.
Ward joined the department in 1996, the spokesman said.
His passing marks the department’s fire line-of-duty death since Lieutenant Jan Tchoryk died in a Gold Coast high rise fire in early April. The day before, firefighter Jermaine Pelt died in a West Pullman residential fire.
Mayor Brandon Johnson called on Chicagoans to keep Ward’s Truck #9 and the city’s first responders in their hearts as the firefighter is remembered.
“I pray for the peace of his family, friends and loved ones during this most difficult time,” Johnson wrote in a statement Tuesday morning.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
