By Lewis Lazare
The Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — Fittingly, dark gray clouds hung low Sunday morning over Rosehill Cemetery on the city’s Northwest Side, where scores of firefighters, friends and relatives gathered to honor nearly 100 members of Chicago Fire Fighters Local No. 2 who had passed away or were killed in the line of duty over the last year.
Three firefighters who died in the line of duty — Angelo J. Imparato, Scott R. Lietz and Christopher Wheatley — were singled out for special recognition at this 28th annual memorial service, and flowers were presented to members of their families.
“The whole ceremony was quite impressive,” said Jackie Lietz, mother of fallen firefighter Scott Lietz, who started out as a paramedic working for the city before becoming a firefighter. Lietz, who grew up in the Ashburn neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side, was killed by an explosion in an abandoned building where he was investigating a gas leak. Lietz was 47 when he died. He had been a firefighter for 18 years.
Sunday’s ceremony was in front of a statue built in 1864 to honor fallen members of what was, at the time, an all-volunteer firefighting brigade in Chicago. A large American flag — held aloft above the statue by the extended ladders of two Chicago Fire Department trucks — fluttered dramatically in a brisk wind.
As the ceremony unfolded, speeches of thanks and tribute by Fire Department officers were punctuated with such songs as “The Star Spangled Banner,” “How Bright Is the Day” and “Amazing Grace” — all sung by Catherine O’Connell.
The Chicago Fire Department Pipes and Drums also performed, and retired Local No. 2 firefighter Robert Gay played “Taps.”
Local No. 2 President Thomas E. Ryan served as master of ceremonies. “This is our way of remembering,” said Ryan after the ceremony.
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