CHICAGO — Chicago firefighter Jermaine Pelt will be laid to rest Friday following funeral services on the city’s Far South Side.
Pelt’s funeral comes nearly 24 hours after the department, along with family and friends, said goodbye to Lieutenant Jan Tchoryk, another firefighter who died in the line-of-duty.
Words used to describe Pelt include selflessness, bravery and heroism.
Pelt died April 4 while battling a fire in the city’s West Pullman neighborhood. He was on a hose line inside a burning home, when he went down. His cause of death was smoke inhalation.
Pelt joined the department in 2005 and had just recently walked his daughter down the aisle at her wedding.
The 49-year-old also had a 6-year-old son.
Pelt’s visitation Thursday night at the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home came just hours after the funeral for Lt. Tchoryk, who collapsed and died in a high-rise fire in the city’s Gold Coast.
Pelt not only fought fires, but taught the next generation of firefighters at the academy — along with feeding the fire house.
He spent his entire career on the South Side. He lived and worshipped there, and now will always be remembered across the city.
Services for Pelt are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Friday.
These are the rolling closures you can expect for the funeral procession:
