Visitation held for Chicago firefighter Michael Altman; funeral postponed after widow gives birth
Mourners lined up for hours, standing outside in the rain on Thursday to pay their respects to fallen Chicago firefighter Michael Altman. Visitation for Altman happened on the same day his widow gave birth to their daughter, changing funeral plans.
Hundreds of Altman's family, friends and colleagues gathered throughout the day at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Temple to pay their respects to him on the same day his widow gave birth to their baby girl.
"Mike Altman's a hero, and he was a strong man who loved to serve the people of not only that community, but he would have done this in any community in the city of Chicago," said Chiago Fire Department chaplain Fr. Ryan Brady.
Altman was 32 years old. The father of a young child, his wife was pregnant at the time of his death last week. Just hours before the visitation service started, she went into labor, delivering a healthy baby girl.
"There's an incredible sadness there and there's also an incredible excitement with a new life to come and there's a whole range of emotions, that they must be running through, day in and day out and just walking them through those emotions and reminding them of God's presence but also the love that the men and women of the city of Chicago have for them, the men and women of the Chicago Fire Department have for them. I think they feel they're not alone in this," Brady said.
"God bless her and that new baby. I think that was something, too, to have a baby on this day, too. So it gives us hope," said Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt.
Altman, a fourth-generation member of the Chicago Fire Department, died one day after being severely injured as he and a hundred other firefighters battled a fire inside an apartment building in Rogers Park last week.
"It's tough to lose someone on your department. We're like a big family, and when you lose someone, it hurts. It hurts a lot," Nance-Holt said.
A man has been charged with murder in Altman's death, accused of starting the fire that killed him. Prosecutors said, when the first floor of the building collapsed, Altman fell into the fire and was engulfed in flames.
"We're going to still stand strong, we're going to still bind together, and we're going to still answer the call that we promised to do anyway," Nance-Holt said.
With the news of his baby girl being born on Thursday, funeral services that had been set for Friday have been postponed and will be rescheduled.