Off-Duty Paramedic Dies After Being Found Inside Burning Mount Greenwood Home: Reports

CHICAGO, IL -- Officials confirmed the death of 28-year-old Robert Spoon, an off-duty paramedic who was found Thursday afternoon in the basement of burning house in the city’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood. Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said that Spoon had worked for the city’s fire department for 2 ½ years.

Spoon was found unresponsive in the basement of a house in the 11400 block of South St. Louis, according to Police News Affairs. Fire crews responded to a report of a house ablaze around 3:45 p.m. Thursday. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was later pronounced dead.

News reports said that Spoon had suffered a “traumatic injury” unrelated to the blaze. It is being said that Spoon was found with a gunshot wound to the head, DNAInfo reported. An investigation is underway.

In addition to CFD, Spoon had worked as a part-time firefighter for the suburban Hometown Fire Protection District for the past decade.

“It’s always sad to lose a great firefighter,” Mayor Kevin Casey said. “Robert was dedicated to the Hometown Fire Protection District and to the residents of Hometown. He will be missed but never forgotten.”

Photo: Robert Spoon | Courtesy Hometown Fire Protection District