Third-annual brunch honors Chicago’s firefighters, EMTs

CHICAGO (WGN) — Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians were honored Friday and took time to remember their fallen colleagues at a third-annual brunch held by the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant.

The event was also a celebration of International Firefighters’ Day, which is Sunday.

Top-of-mind at Friday’s event was Capt. David Meyer, who was killed April 23 while fighting a fire in the city’s Austin neighborhood. A funeral for the nearly 30-year veteran was held Tuesday.

“I’ll always remember his jokester spirit, how he always made any situation light and the jokes and pranks he used to play always had me laughing,” said firefighter-EMT Lauren Williams. “He was one of my first officers and to see that the community the sacrifice that many of us have made, it means a lot. It really touches the spirit and makes us feel motivated to keep going on.”

Meyer was among the firefighters who drove to New York City to help search for victims following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

“We’ve got a lot of members still dying from the effects of fighting that fire at the Twin Towers, so we need to do this every year to remind the younger generations of what the sacrifices were,” said Matt Straley with the Ignite the Spirit Fund.

Students from Old St. Mary’s School were also a part of Friday’s celebration at the restaurant, at 1401 South Michigan Avenue.