Building Inspectors Find Illegal Work Where Firefighter Fell Through Elevator Shaft: Reports

The Evergreen Park Fire Department honors CFD Firefighter/Paramedic Daniel Capuano, who was a part-time firefighter there for 16 years.

CHICAGO, IL -- Chicago Department of Buildings inspectors found evidence of illegal work being done in an elevator shaft where a Chicago firefighter plunged to his death early Monday morning.

CFD Firefighter/Paramedic Daniel Capuano was responding to a fire in a three-story warehouse at 9213 S. Baltimore Ave. around 3 a.m. Monday.

He died of his injuries shortly after he was brought to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

• Also on Patch: Chicago Firefighter Dies Fighting Warehouse Blaze

Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said that Capuano was ventilating the fire when a large pile of rubbish was found burning inside the building. A mayday alert was issued after firefighters found holes in the floor, and realized Capuano may have fallen into the shaft when he couldn’t see due to the smoke.

Building inspectors responded to the scene and discovered that unauthorized work was being performed at the warehouse, including the complete removal of the elevator shaft and other unauthorized building alterations, DNAInfo reported.

“The building owner did not obtain the proper building permits for the work being performed, which would have included a permit for the removal or demolition of a conveyance device (e.g. an elevator),” a buildings department spokeswoman told DNAInfo.

The owner of the building could face charges for unauthorized construction, including removing the elevator without a permit.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Capuano was 42 years old and lived in Mt. Greenwood. He leaves a wife and three children.

Mayor Jim Sexton said that Capuano also worked as a part-time firefighter for the Evergreen Park Fire Department for the past 16 years. The mayor said that village firefighters were devastated by the loss of their colleague and were “laying low.”

A grief counselor was brought in Monday afternoon to speak to the Evergreen Park firefighters, said Sexton.