Chicago-area firefighter dies after collapsing while battling blaze
CHICAGO -- A dedicated firefighter died doing exactly what he loved: battling a blaze in a neighborhood near Chicago.
Lawrence Matthews collapsed Saturday afternoon while working to extinguish a fire that engulfed multiple mobile homes in Harvey, Illinois, CBS Chicago reported. Paramedics transported Matthews to a hospital when he went into cardiac arrest, but he never regained consciousness.
"An hour later, he passed away," Harvey spokesman Sean Howard said. "His wife was by his side, (his) kids were here. A flurry of firemen and policemen from all over were here."
Police and firefighters saluted the ambulance carrying Matthews' body in a solemn procession to the medical examiner's office.
"Lawrence Matthews was full of life, full of joy," Dolton Village Trustee Tiffany Henyard said. "He'd light up a room when he'd come in. He was always invested in community. He did everything for community, and as you could see, he cared about people. He cared about lives."
The fire department says Matthews was no ordinary firefighter. He was a heart transplant recipient who had defied the odds to become a firefighter.
The 35-year-old is survived by his wife and four children. He had been with the Dolton Fire Department since 2009.