Crime & Law
Chicago Firefighter Dies From Injuries After Battling Blaze in Austin Neighborhood
Captain David Meyer, 54, died from injuries after a garage collapsed from a fire in the Austin neighborhood on April 23, 2025. He joined the Chicago Fire Department in 1996. (Courtesy of Chicago Fire Department)
A Chicago fire captain died from injuries after a garage collapsed from a fire in the West Side’s Austin neighborhood early Wednesday morning.
Captain David Meyer, 54, joined the Chicago Fire Department in 1996.
“When you get a call in the early morning, you don’t wrap your mind around who it is, and when I get here and look, I go, ‘Oh my god, I know him,’” Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said during a Wednesday news conference at Stroger Hospital.
Around 4 a.m., firefighters responded to a garage fire in the 5500 block of West Crystal Street, according to officials. Meyer was injured when the garage collapsed after the fire was put out, Nance-Holt said.
Meyer was then taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
(Courtesy of Chicago Fire Department)
Meyer was “the rock of his family,” Nance-Holt said. He is survived by his wife, his parents, three daughters and a son, according to officials.
“Captain Meyer was a hero who served the people of our city with courage and honor for more than 28 years,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. “This is a devastating loss for our city. … Our whole city wraps our arms around the family and loved ones of Captain Meyer during this trying time.”
Meyer was assigned to Truck 29 and spent most of his career on the West Side, according to Nance-Holt, who worked with Meyer when she was a deputy on the West Side.
“We go to work every day and we never know if we’re gonna come home, but this is what he loved to do and he was really good at it,” Nance-Holt said.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
