2 Chicago Firefighters Killed Battling Separate Blazes a Day Apart: 'Unprecedented,' Commissioner Says

Firefighter Jermaine Pelt and Lt. Jan Tchoryk, who had both served on the Chicago Fire Department for years, died during what Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt called a "tragic week"

Two Chicago firefighters died in the line of duty a day apart this week — in back-to-back tragedies the city fire commissioner called "unprecedented" at a press conference Wednesday.

While fighting a blaze at a high-rise apartment building in the Gold Coast neighborhood on Wednesday, Lt. Jan Tchoryk, 55, collapsed in an 11th floor stairwell while leading his team to the site of the fire, which broke out in an apartment on the 27th floor.

Crews performed CPR on Tchoryk at the scene before he was transported to Northwest Memorial Hospital, where he died of his injuries, Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt told reporters.

"This has been a tragic week for us," Nance-Holt said. "Unprecedented."

In a tweet about the incident, the Chicago Fire Department noted that the high-rise did not have sprinklers on the 27th floor, where the fire broke out — but at Wednesday's press conference, Nance-Holt said she believed the entire building lacked sprinklers.

Three other firefighters were injured in the blaze and transported to the hospital in fair to serious condition. Two civilians were also treated, Nance-Holt said.

Tchoryk had served on the fire department since 1997, and his son Dylan recently graduated from the Chicago Police Academy. At the press conference, Nance-Holt said Tchoryk was "an active outdoorsman," as well as a motorcyclist and a Navy veteran with a big extended family.

Expressing her condolences, Mayor Lori Lightfoot described Tchoryk's family as being "in shock, and the grief is setting in."

"Firefighters, like police officers, run towards danger, when the rest of us run in the other direction," she also noted.

Tchoryk's death was the second fatality among the Chicago Fire Department this week. Just before 3:40 a.m. on Tuesday, firefighter Jermaine Pelt, 49, died while manning a hose line in a burning home in the West Pullman neighborhood. The blaze had spread between three houses, according to CBS News, and huge flames and smoke plumes were reportedly visible at the scene.

Pelt "went down" as all on-site firefighters were ordered to evacuate the burning building, CBS reports. His lieutenant then found him collapsed inside. "When they pulled the line out, he wasn't there, and they pulled him out," Nance-Holt said.

Two other firefighters were injured in that blaze, and one was temporarily missing but was safely recovered later.

Pelt had worked for the fire department for 18 years, according to the Chicago Fire Department's Twitter page. He had recently escorted his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day, and also had a 6-year-old child, per CBS.

The Chicago Fire Department acknowledged both deaths on Facebook, writing, "In the span of two days, the Chicago Fire Department has mournfully suffered the loss of two of its members while on duty. Lieutenant Jan Tchoryk is the latest member to have given their life while battling a high-rise fire."

One day earlier, the department posted that it was "deeply saddened to announce the passing of Firefighter/EMT Jermaine Pelt, who lost his life while bravely fighting a fire in the line of duty early this morning."

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The two fallen firefighters received a moment of silence Wednesday night, ABC reports.

"I also want to take a moment to acknowledge our brothers and sisters of the Chicago Fire Department as they grieve tremendous losses over the last two days," Interim Chicago Police Superintendent Eric Carter said, according to the report.

"We train every day to do our very best … But fires are unpredictable. Right now I have two funerals to prepare for, two grieving families, and a huge department that's broken, including the command staff," Nance-Holt said at Wednesday's press conference. "They are devastated."

Funeral plans for both men are unclear. Donations for Pelt's family can be made here.

PEOPLE was unable to reach the The Chicago Fire Department for comment.

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