Firefighters To Pay Tribute To Fallen Diver Juan Bucio: 'We Are One Big Family'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Fire Department will say goodbye to one of its own on Monday. Rescue diver Juan Bucio will be laid to rest this afternoon.
Bucio's funeral mass will be held at noon at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western. It will be followed by a burial service at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Stickney.
Firefighters from across the city and country came to Chicago on Sunday to pay their respects to Bucio, at the visitation at St. Rita.
Bucio's two young sons were escorted into the chapel by a Fire Department leader.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner joined mourners on Sunday.
Bucio, 46, will be laid to rest one week after he died trying to save another man who had fallen into the South Branch of the Chicago River.
For other first responders, his untimely death was a stark reminder of the fragility of life.
"We are one big family, and when part of my family dies, I'm here," retired Lemont firefighter Rick Leer said.
OEMC First Deputy Director Rich Guidice said Bucio's death was "a sad day for the whole city."
"It just makes you think about that you can't take a small conversation for granted, because you never know when something terrible may happen," he said.
Bucio was a Chicago Police Officer before joining the fire department. He lived on the city's Southwest Side.
He was the 13th Chicago firefighter to die in the line of duty since 2010, and the first since Dec. 15, 2015, when Dan Capuano fell through an unmarked elevator shaft while battling a warehouse blaze in the South Chicago neighborhood.
CBS 2 will stream the funeral service live on our website, at CBSChicago.com and on the CBS Chicago Facebook page.