CHICAGO — A Chicago firefighter is grieving after his entire family died in the aftermath of a fire at their home earlier this week.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, the remaining two children who were injured in a fire in the Montclare neighborhood of northwest Chicago on Tuesday have died, WLS-TV reported.
They were identified as Emory Day-Stewart, 2, and his sister, Autumn Day-Stewart, 9, the Chicago Tribune reported. According to the medical examiner’s office, the boy died on Saturday while his sister died on Friday, the newspaper reported.
Two more children who were critically injured in a house fire at a firefighter's home in Montclare earlier this week died Friday evening, further echoing the pain and grief being felt throughout the Northwest Chicago neighborhoodhttps://t.co/tDwo1uImD5
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) March 12, 2023
The firefighter, identified by Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 as Walter Stewart, lost his wife, Summer Day-Stewart, 36, who died from her injuries on Thursday, WLS-TV reported. Her son, Ezra Stewart, died Wednesday, a day after the fire engulfed the home, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Fire officials said the blaze began in the kitchen of the home, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford said that Walter Stewart rushed to the scene after hearing his own address come over the scanner, WLS reported. He performed CPR on his wife, WBBM-TV reported.
“It’s gotta be like hell,” Langford later told reporters, according to the Tribune. “We’re doing all we can to support him.
“As long as I’ve been associated with fires, I can’t fathom what he’s going through. It’s just unbelievable. I can’t even think of what it feels like.”
Neighbors of the Stewart family were also grieving.
“It’s very sad,” Perla Martinez, a Montclare resident, told WGN-TV. “We’ve never had something like this happen before and it just caught us off guard … It’s really sad.”
The Sun-Times, quoting an unnamed fire department source, reported that Walter Stewart agreed to donate the organs of his wife and three children.
Walter Stewart’s colleagues are rallying to support him.
“Every member of Local 2 and the Department mourns with our brother Walter and the Stewart family. This tragedy weighs heavy on our hearts, and we pledge our ongoing support,” Jim Tracy, president of Local 2, told WBBM in a statement released on Friday. “Local 2 is encouraging everyone to make a donation for Walter and the Stewart family through the ‘Ignite The Spirit Chicago’ (site).”
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