Visitation held for Chicago firefighter who died while responding to Gold Coast fire

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mourners gathering Wednesday to pay their respects to one of two Chicago firefighters who died in the line of duty last week.

Decked in formal blues, hundreds of Chicago firefighters stood single file, stretched down the sidewalk on the city's Northwest Side.

Visitation was held for Lieutenant John Tchoryk ahead of his funeral Thursday.

Tchoryk died battling a high-rise fire in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

Family, friends and colleagues of Tchoryk have been flowing to Cumberland Chapels Funeral Home to say one last goodbye to man who said was always smiling.

It's a painful setup the Chicago Fire Department has recently become far too accustomed to.

A 26-year veteran of the department, 55-year-old Lieutenant Tchoryk was the second Chicago firefighter to die in a span of 24 hours.

"Losing two firefighters in two days is an unheard precedence," said Lt. Shane Keating, with the Chicago Fire Department.

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"To him, being a fireman was one of the best things in his life. He loved the brothers inside the fire department. They were his brothers. That's all he talked about was being a fireman and doing activities with the firemen," said longtime friend Chris Hanusiak.

Friends for more than 50 years, Chris Hanusiak knew Lt. Tchoryk about as well as anyone.

"He was my best man, I was his best man at his wedding. We've been friends forever," Hanusiak said.

A Desert Storm combat navy veteran turned Chicago firefighter, Tchoryk was a public servant, and intensely proud of his Ukrainian heritage.

"He was very passionate about educating the guys and showing the importance of what was going on in the world," said Lt. Rick Florczak, with the Chicago Fire Department.

Lt. Keating climbed a ladder truck and attaches a carabineer to hoist a large American flag over a Norridge funeral home as a reminder of the sacrifice he himself could have to make.

"Then you think every run you take, 'Am I going to go home? Or am I going to end up like this?' None of us want to end up like this, but it is part of our job," Lt. Keating said.

This time, that flag is for Lt. Tchoryk, who gave 26 years to the Chicago Fire Department.

"It's a very honorable job to be able to do this, but it's also a tough job to do because you know you're sending a brother home," Lt. Keating said.

Tchoryk's close partner, Lieutenant Rick Florczak, was also in attendance.

"It'll be different when we get to the firehouse. Rebuild morale and work off of what we're dealing with now and be an effective fire company again," he said.

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The 55-year-old husband, father, Navy and Gulf War veteran died two weeks ago. He collapsed after having a heart attack while leading the charge up a staircase in a Gold Coast high-rise to a burning unit on the 27th floor.

Tim Nelson traveled 70 miles from Wisconsin to pay his respects to Tchoryk, silently holding his own American Flag across the street.

"It takes a special person to put that uniform on, to protect people they do not know, not knowing if they are going home to their families or not. That's special," Nelson said.

Tchoryk's funeral is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Saint Joseph Ukrainian Church in Chicago.