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Chicago firefighters put up bunting outside the firehouse at 324 S. Des Plaines St. this morning as they grieve for their fellow firefighter, Christopher Wheatley. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Christopher Wheatley always wanted to be a firefighter.He studied hard and trained even harder, his colleagues recalled just hours after he plunged to his death this morning while battling a fire at a West Loop restaurant.
"It's not going to be easy," said Scott Buckley, who worked with Wheatley at Engine Co. 5. "He'll always be part of our team. ... He'll never be replaced."
Wheatley, 31, was carrying an ax and a hose up a fire escape on the side of Avec restaurant, 615 W. Randolph, when he fell about 35 feet around 12:30 a.m., according to Fire Cmsr. Robert Hoff.
He was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 1:19 a.m. Dozens of police and fire cars, their lights flashing, lined the streets as Ambulance 15 carried Wheatley's body to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Officers silently saluted.
A relative at Wheatley's father's home this morning declined to speak to reporters, and other relatives could not be reached. Fire department spokesman Larry Langford said the family would not be making any direct public statements today and would issue a statement through the department media affairs office.
Fire officials said the last firefighter to die while on duty was William Grant, who died on the way to a call when the fire truck he was in collided with a bus and flipped over. The last time a firefighter died while battling a fire was February 1998, when Patrick King and Anthony Lockhart were killed fighting a blaze in a tire store in Beverly.
Wheatley was responding to a grease-chute fire at the restaurant when he slipped while carrying up to 75 pounds of equipment, officials said.
"They had to go up to the roof to open the area where the grease chute extended through," Hoff said, his voice choking up. "Firefighter Christopher Wheatley was making his way up to the roof on a ladder that was attached to the building, carrying his equipment. Apparently he slipped and fell to the ground, causing critical injuries.
"They worked to save his life but it was too late," Hoff said. "He left a mother, father, a sister, and a fiance. He was one of our finest."
Wheatley became a paramedic in 2000 and a firefighter in 2008. Hoff said Wheatley was very well-liked and always had a smile on his face. "He was one of our best."
The Wheatley family said in a statement: "Chris lived his life to the fullest; he put everything he had into both work and play. He loved his family more than anyone can ever know. He loved people he had known all his life and was just as caring for those he had just met."
Firefighters who knew Wheatley struggled to make sense of the tragedy.
"It's hard to put into words, I'm still digesting it," said Dan Zeller, who works at a firehouse across the street from Wheatley's West Side condominium.
On occasion, when Wheatley was detailed to the firehouse, Zeller often relieved him of duty, getting information about the previous watch, or laughing and joking about Wheatley's favorite topic, the Bears.
Though Wheatley was a visiting firefighter, the two hit it off because both were paramedics who "crossed over" to become firefighters.
"He's one of us," said Zeller at the basement of his firehouse. "It couldn't hit any closer to home."
"He did his best at it, and it was a real tragic and it could happen to any one of us," Zeller said. "You never want to go home without a guy in the rig."
Meanwhile, at the station in the Lawndale neighborhood where Wheatley worked for several years as a paramedic, two-year firefighter Kevin McDermott remembered the man he said showed him the ropes of the job while both were attending the fire academy. Wheatley, who already had years under his belt as a paramedic, gave McDermott tips.
In their class, McDermott said Wheatley easily distinguished himself as the joker and a "full-of-life kind of guy," who snapped back into work whenever the bell rang.
"The academy is pretty serious, but when we had a little break, he had a little joke or two to lighten the mood," McDermott said.
"He was almost goofy in a good way. But when it came to work at drills, he was serious," he said.
Firefighters at Wheatley's firehouse talked about his strength and his passion for his job.
"Chris always wanted to be a firefighter," said Brian Reese, with Engine Co. 5. "He was young, he was strong, he was aggressive.
"We're going to miss his strength, his enthusiasm," he added. "The way he brought a smile to the firehouse will be missed."
Buckley called Wheatley "a great guy, a step-up guy, great shape, worked out every day."
"He loved his sports, loved to ride on his boat with his fiance, loved his family."
Both Reese and Buckley said Wheatley was extremely dedicated, taking rescue training courses and teaching classes himself on off days.
"He brought enthusiasm and fun to the firehouse," said. "We have a serious job -- we have to be at the top of our game -- but you also have to have some fun at the firehouse to lighten up how hard our job is, how difficult."
Friends said Wheatley was a big sports fan -- particularly the Bears. His Facebook page features a picture of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler with the word "Hope" underneath.
Wheatley was an avid Chicago Bears fan who had season tickets to home games and often would travel for away games, said Russel Slagle, who trained Wheatley when he became a firefighter and paramedic in Romeoville before working in Chicago.
Within hours of his death, a new Facebook page appeared, titled: "In memory of FF Chris Wheatley."
Wheatley grew up in Lemont, played football at the high school there, was enrolled in honors English and ranked 30 out of 203 students in his graduating class of 1997, according to school officials..
Denise Dalton, a guidance counselor at Lemont High School who taught Wheatley as a sophomore, said he was "more than just a kid on a football team."
Wheatley founded a club with his fellow teammates called Athletes Committed to Excellence. They were role models for junior high school and younger high school students and taught them about the importance of not drinking, as well as making healthy choices in general, Dalton said.
"He just had one of those attitudes that he did whatever was asked of him with a smile on his face," Dalton said, adding that he was model student who never went through a rebellious stage.
Wheatley became a firefighter and parademic in Romeoville in January 2000 after graduating from a paramedic program at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Slagle said.
"The love of his life was becoming a fireman," said Slagle, also a close friend. "He actually died doing what he loved to do."
Wheatley achieved his dream when he left in May 2001 for the Chicago Fire Department, said Romeoville Asst. Fire Chief Mike Flaherty.
As a side job, Wheatley worked for the START group, a company that teaches fire-related classes, such as how to enter confined spaces, as well as CPR and first aid training, Slagle said.
-- Deanese Williams-Harris, Pat Curry, Dawn Rhodes, Andrew L. Wang, William Lee and Kristen SchorschClick HERE for a WGN-TV report on this story.
"They had to go up to the roof to open the area where the grease chute extended through," Hoff said, his voice choking up. "Firefighter Christopher Wheatley was making his way up to the roof on a ladder that was attached to the building, carrying his equipment. Apparently he slipped and fell to the ground, causing critical injuries.
"They worked to save his life but it was too late," Hoff said. "He left a mother, father, a sister, and a fiance. He was one of our finest."
Wheatley became a paramedic in 2000 and a firefighter in 2008. Hoff said Wheatley was very well-liked and always had a smile on his face. "He was one of our best."
The Wheatley family said in a statement: "Chris lived his life to the fullest; he put everything he had into both work and play. He loved his family more than anyone can ever know. He loved people he had known all his life and was just as caring for those he had just met."
Firefighters who knew Wheatley struggled to make sense of the tragedy.
"It's hard to put into words, I'm still digesting it," said Dan Zeller, who works at a firehouse across the street from Wheatley's West Side condominium.
On occasion, when Wheatley was detailed to the firehouse, Zeller often relieved him of duty, getting information about the previous watch, or laughing and joking about Wheatley's favorite topic, the Bears.
Though Wheatley was a visiting firefighter, the two hit it off because both were paramedics who "crossed over" to become firefighters.
"He's one of us," said Zeller at the basement of his firehouse. "It couldn't hit any closer to home."
"He did his best at it, and it was a real tragic and it could happen to any one of us," Zeller said. "You never want to go home without a guy in the rig."
Meanwhile, at the station in the Lawndale neighborhood where Wheatley worked for several years as a paramedic, two-year firefighter Kevin McDermott remembered the man he said showed him the ropes of the job while both were attending the fire academy. Wheatley, who already had years under his belt as a paramedic, gave McDermott tips.
In their class, McDermott said Wheatley easily distinguished himself as the joker and a "full-of-life kind of guy," who snapped back into work whenever the bell rang.
"The academy is pretty serious, but when we had a little break, he had a little joke or two to lighten the mood," McDermott said.
"He was almost goofy in a good way. But when it came to work at drills, he was serious," he said.
Firefighters at Wheatley's firehouse talked about his strength and his passion for his job.
"Chris always wanted to be a firefighter," said Brian Reese, with Engine Co. 5. "He was young, he was strong, he was aggressive.
"We're going to miss his strength, his enthusiasm," he added. "The way he brought a smile to the firehouse will be missed."
Buckley called Wheatley "a great guy, a step-up guy, great shape, worked out every day."
"He loved his sports, loved to ride on his boat with his fiance, loved his family."
Both Reese and Buckley said Wheatley was extremely dedicated, taking rescue training courses and teaching classes himself on off days.
"He brought enthusiasm and fun to the firehouse," said. "We have a serious job -- we have to be at the top of our game -- but you also have to have some fun at the firehouse to lighten up how hard our job is, how difficult."
Friends said Wheatley was a big sports fan -- particularly the Bears. His Facebook page features a picture of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler with the word "Hope" underneath.
Wheatley was an avid Chicago Bears fan who had season tickets to home games and often would travel for away games, said Russel Slagle, who trained Wheatley when he became a firefighter and paramedic in Romeoville before working in Chicago.
Within hours of his death, a new Facebook page appeared, titled: "In memory of FF Chris Wheatley."
Wheatley grew up in Lemont, played football at the high school there, was enrolled in honors English and ranked 30 out of 203 students in his graduating class of 1997, according to school officials..
Denise Dalton, a guidance counselor at Lemont High School who taught Wheatley as a sophomore, said he was "more than just a kid on a football team."
Wheatley founded a club with his fellow teammates called Athletes Committed to Excellence. They were role models for junior high school and younger high school students and taught them about the importance of not drinking, as well as making healthy choices in general, Dalton said.
"He just had one of those attitudes that he did whatever was asked of him with a smile on his face," Dalton said, adding that he was model student who never went through a rebellious stage.
Wheatley became a firefighter and parademic in Romeoville in January 2000 after graduating from a paramedic program at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, Slagle said.
"The love of his life was becoming a fireman," said Slagle, also a close friend. "He actually died doing what he loved to do."
Wheatley achieved his dream when he left in May 2001 for the Chicago Fire Department, said Romeoville Asst. Fire Chief Mike Flaherty.
As a side job, Wheatley worked for the START group, a company that teaches fire-related classes, such as how to enter confined spaces, as well as CPR and first aid training, Slagle said.
-- Deanese Williams-Harris, Pat Curry, Dawn Rhodes, Andrew L. Wang, William Lee and Kristen SchorschClick HERE for a WGN-TV report on this story.
