Firefighter Record
Firefighter Details
| Name | Harry Bielawski |
| Agency | Chicago Fire Department |
| Rank | Firefighter |
| Type of Firefighter | Career |
| Age Range | 31 to 35 |
| Sex | Male |
| Date of Birth | 0/0/0 |
| Date of Death | 3/20/1971 |
| Cause of Death | Struck by object |
| Nature of Death | Trauma |
| Attribute of Death | [not applicable] |
| Type of Duty | Firefighting operations |
Incident Details
| Incident Name | N/A |
| Incident City | Chicago |
| Incident State | IL |
| Incident Date | 3/20/1971 |
| Incident Location | Vacant property |
| Incident Attribute | Structural collapses , Fires |
Incident Summary
On March 20, 1971, Chicago Fire Department Firefighter Harry E. Bielawski of Engine Company 63 died in the line of duty during an extra alarm fire at a vacant building on E. 63rd Street. Bielawski and Firefighter Eugene Craven were operating a hose line when the building suddenly collapsed. The firefighters were trapped under rubble that had fallen from the second and third floors of the building. Craven was trapped in the rubble for two hours and suffered serious burns, but it took rescuers more than eleven hours, and the assistance of two cranes, to recover Bielawski’s body.
Citations:
Stanley Ziemba, “Work 11 Hours in Futile Effort to Save Fireman,” Chicago Tribune, March 21, 1971.
“Mass Set for Fireman Killed on Duty,” Chicago Tribune, March 22, 1971.
Obituary of Harry E. Bielawski, Chicago Tribune, March 23, 1971.
Firefighter and Incident Images
