The casket of firefighter Corey Dewayne Ankum is escorted from the Apostolic Church of God at 6320 S. Dorchester in Chicago after his funeral. (Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune)
Approximately 3,000 family, friends and fellow firefighters packed the inside of Apostolic Church of God on the city’s South Side as firefighter Corey Ankum was laid to rest.
In a stirring two-hour service that featured emotional tributes from Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Fire Chief Thomas Hoff, Ankum was remembered as a dedicated family man and an honorable public servant.
Ankum was one of two Chicago firefighters killed in a Dec. 22 blaze inside a vacant laundry building.
Mayor Daley called Ankum a “hero” and a “true defender in every sense of the word.”
“Corey Ankum was a natural born leader, a good young man, a family man, and a spectacular father,” Daley said. “We will miss you, Corey. You are a brother in blue.”
The direct link for the streaming video is on ABC is here. WGN has live video here. The WGN was streaming the procession. ABC’s feed was from inside, but it was not streaming well.
Warning…you might have to mute the player below during aerial footage.
For Previous Coverage on the Chicago LODD’s click here, here, here and here.
The sharp, red sheen of a Chicago Fire Department ladder truck and its flashing lights, parked outside an Oak Lawn funeral home, pierced the gray backdrop of this chilly winter day. Source
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News This Morning
Short Video from Firefighter Edward Stringers Wake
IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger weighs in on the Holidays, the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, and the Recent LODD’s in Chicago.
Previous Coverage of the 9/11 Health Care Bill here and here.
Previous Coverage of the Chicago LODD’s here, here, here and here.
Ankum grew up around 92nd and Green streets and moved with his family to Lynwood when he was about 14. He played football and baseball but excelled at basketball, a sport he still loved playing. He also enjoyed cooking and drawing.
Family said that, after graduating from Thornton Fractional South High School, he played basketball at area colleges and later graduated from Kendall College. He decided to take both the Chicago police and fire tests and was accepted first by the Police Department.
Ankum spent about a year as a patrol officer in the South Chicago District, family said, but, after the Fire Department told him it had a probationary spot, he decided to move to what he thought was a less dangerous job.
“He actually switched over because he thought it was safer, and he didn’t want his wife to be up worrying as much as she was when he was on the force,” Charmain said.
Ankum married Dameka, whom he met after she enrolled her daughter at a Chicago day care the Ankum family used to run, about three years ago. Dameka, who works as a secretary in Mayor Richard Daley’s office, has two daughters, Baylee, 10, and Demia, 13.
News of his death rippled down the Southwest Side street where he lived and all the way into rural Wilmington in southern Will County, where Stringer camped on days off since 1996.
“He was a good guy. He helped people,” said Monica Murdaugh, manager of the campground, Lakepoint Club. “(His death has) affected a lot of us.”
Stringer, who was divorced, had a side job as a home inspector, but firefighting was his passion, friends said.
He was a “real man and a damn good fireman,” said a comrade at Engine 63, where Stringer worked. A shift commander there described the scene inside the station as brokenhearted. Firefighters, the commander said, were in mourning.
One firefighter who knew Stringer said of him: “Crazy as all get out. You talk about somebody that was a firecracker around the firehouse — a lot of fun. I’m going to tell you right now, if you couldn’t catch, you couldn’t work with Eddie, because Eddie was bringing it. He was bringing it.”
He said that Stringer was in a motorcycle accident a while back and was out of work for a lengthy period, costing him his spot on the truck he was then on.
Here are some links to learn more about these two Fallen Brothers…
On a personal note here at Fire Critic…It just goes to show that these guys aren’t alone…They have 343 guys along with them. Just look at the screenshot of FireCritic.com below.
Chicago Firefighters are joined by firefighters everywhere as we mourn the death of Firefighters Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer. These deaths occur on the anniversary of two other very well known LODD fires.
Follow the links here and here to coverage on Fire Critic today
Chicago fire personnel evacuate an injured firefighter at a extra-alarm fire at 1700 East 75th Street. (E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune)
Today is also very sweet…
Many firefighters are rejoicing with the passing of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act
Firefighters Cory Ankum and Edward Stringer Died in the Line of Duty December 22, 2010.
It should be noted that today was a very deadly day 100 years ago in Chicago. On December 22, 1910, 21 Chicago Firefighters died in a massive fire at the Chicago Union Stockyard Fire. Up until September 11th, this had been the deadliest LODD fire in fire service history.
In addition…11 years ago today, 3 firefighters died in Keokuk, Iowa.
Chicago fire personnel evacuate an injured firefighter at a extra-alarm fire at 1700 East 75th Street. (E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune)
Suntimes.com:
Two Chicago firefighters were killed Wednesday morning and 14 others were hurt when a roof and wall collapsed while they were fighting a fire in an abandoned, one-story, brick former laundry building on East 75th Street.
The two firefighters were identified as Edward Stringer, a 12-year veteran, and Cory Ankum, a member of the department for two years.
Two other firefighters were trapped inside the former Sing Way Laundry at 1744 E. 75th, near South Shore High School, before being pulled to safety and taken to hospitals.
Chicago CFD Fire Fighter Motorcade Form Northwestern Hospital. December 22,2010
The Mayday and Radio Traffic
Chicago FF Mayday 12/22/10 from a 3-11 fire on East 75th St Audio used under a creative common license from Radioreference.com
IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger weighs in on the Holidays, the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, and the Recent LODD’s in Chicago.
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