IFLODD: Firefighter Memorial


Firefighter Record

Firefighter Details

Name Edmund Gillmeister
Agency Chicago Fire Department
Rank Engineer
Type of Firefighter Career
Age Range 56 to 60
Sex Male
Date of Birth 0/0/0
Date of Death 9/3/1965
Cause of Death Stress/Overexertion
Nature of Death Heart attack
Attribute of Death [not applicable]
Type of Duty Firefighting operations

Incident Details

Incident Name N/A
Incident City Chicago
Incident State IL
Incident Date 9/3/1965
Incident Location Industry/ Manufacturing
Incident Attribute Fires

Incident Summary

On September 3, 1965, Chicago Fire Department Engineer Edmund Gillmeister of Engine 55 suffered a fatal heart attack while battling an extra alarm fire at the Herman Hettler Lumber Company on Elston Avenue. The fire started when gasoline being pumped into an underground 1,000-gallon storage tank caught fire, spreading flames to a three-story lumber storage building and several smaller lumber sheds. Because of the large amount of combustible materials on site, more than forty fire apparatus responded to the blaze, and the firefighters successfully contained the fire.

A member of the department for twenty-three years, Gillmeister was stricken during firefighting operations and was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Four days later, mass was held for Gillmeister at the Our Lady of Victory Church.

Citations:

“Fireman Dies During Blaze, Flames Are Started in Gas Tank,” Chicago Tribune, September 4, 1965.

“Mass for Fireman Is Scheduled Tuesday,” Chicago Tribune, September 5, 1965.


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