Chicago firefighter dies after battling fire on North Side

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago firefighter and EMT Andrew Price, a 14-year veteran of the department who was described as a "great leader" and "wonderful young man," died Monday after he fell through the roof while battling a fire in Lincoln Park. He was 39.

The fire broke out in the four-story building at 2430-2432 N. Lincoln Ave., where the 25-year-old Lincoln Station sports bar and grill is located. Firefighters responded to a call of a kitchen fire there, and residents were evacuated from the apartments above the bar around 6 a.m.

Fell four floors from the roof

According to the Chicago Fire Department, Price was treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center after being pulled from the fire. He later died at the hospital. 

CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reported the buildings on the block of Lincoln Avenue where the fire broke out all date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – and are all tied in together, with no gangways in between.

Thus, there was a narrow space for crews to get a ladder up to the roof to fight the fire – with the options of the sidewalk in front and the alley in back. But crews made it to the roof – Price was there to help provide ventilation.

"There was light smoke, barely any smoke met by a 45-year-old female – presumably the caller," said Twelfth Battalion Chief Mike McCormack. "She indicated that there was a fire in the kitchen."     

Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt confirmed Price was on the roof of the four-story building when he fell through a light shaft – a part of the roof that allows sunlight into the apartments below. There are two such shafts on the roof.

His colleagues had to break down a wall to get to him. The firefighters carried tools through the side doors of the building – using their equipment create a passageway.

McCormack said Price was responsive when firefighters first reached him.

"When we first got up when we first got eyes upon him, Firefighter Price was responsive," McCormack said. "The lieutenant asked if he could hear him to move his arm. He moved his arm."

His colleagues got him out, and into an ambulance. But Price's injuries were too severe, and he didn't make it.

Price, 39, who McCormack said was married, had been with the Fire Department since March 2009 and most recently was assigned to Truck 44 – based at the fire station at 2714 N. Halsted St.

The residents of the building made it out safely. The cause of the fire was under investigation late Monday.

'Everybody Loved' Drew Price

Nance-Holt said Price, known widely as "Drew," was a "workout nut" and a "great leader." 

McCormack said, "Everybody loved him." He called him "just a wonderful young man."

"Illinois Masonic, they did everything they possibly could," Nance Holt said. "...he will be missed by all." 

The owner of Lincoln Station said, "It's devastating." 

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

"Everybody, continue to pray for us," Nance-Holt said. "Pray for his family - and especially his coworkers behind me that still have to go back to work and do this job without their team member."

In a statement, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Price "made the ultimate sacrifice to protect those in harm's way."

"Our collective hearts are heavy this morning as we mourn the passing of firefighter Andrew Price, who has fallen in the line of duty battling a fire in Lincoln Park. Andrew gave his life in service to the City of Chicago, taking his position at the front lines of a threat to our safety and community. He made the ultimate sacrifice to protect those in harm's way – a debt we can never repay. My prayers are with the Price family, his CFD colleagues and those he served with on Truck 44. The City is here to support all those who loved him during this difficult time."

The mayor later added while speaking Monday, "The loss of a firefighter in this city is yet another reminder of how sensitive life is."  

Fourth firefighter to die on duty in 2023

This is the fourth Chicago firefighter death in the line of duty death in 2023.

Lt. Kevin Ward, 59, died in August, two weeks after he was injured during a blaze on the city's Northwest Side.  

In April, two Chicago firefighters were killed in the line of duty. Firefighter Jermaine Pelt was fighting a house fire in West Pullman and Lt. Jan Tchoryk collapsed while fighting a fire in a Gold Coast high rise.

According to the Illinois Fire Service Institute, 589 Chicago firefighters have died in the line of duty since the first one was recorded in 1857. Nine have between 2012 and 2022.

It's rare to have two deaths in an entire year, let alone four. The last year when CFD recorded four deaths in a year was 1998, according to the Fire Service Institute.