The Cook County medical examiner said Thursday that the sudden death of a Chicago firefighter that occurred earlier this week was caused by a heart attack.
Lt. Jan Tchoryk, 55, “went down” on the stairs while battling flames on the 11th floor of a Chicago North Side building Wednesday morning.
His cause of death was ruled as a hypertensive-arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease following an autopsy.
“Our men and women who are first responders in the city are heroic,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said after the incident.
“They are brave. They, every single day, put their lives on the line for us. They deserve our unending thanks and support, not just on a tragic day like this, but every single day.”
Officials said that three other firefighters sustained injuries while fighting Wednesday's blaze.
