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Chicago Firefighters Mark Anniversary Of Comrade's Death

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A year after a firefighter died in the line of duty, the department paid tribute at two somber ceremonies on the South Side.

Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago's voice choked with emotion as he looked at the widow and children of 42-year-old Daniel Capuano, a firefighter-paramedic who died on Dec. 14, 2015, when he fell down an open elevator shaft while battling a blaze in a vacant warehouse.

Dozens of firefighters stood watch as a bell rung in remembrance of Capuano at the firehouse for Chicago Fire Department Tower Ladder 34, where Capuano was assigned. The department also honored Bernard Farmer, another firefighter who died on the same day in 1954.

Later Wednesday morning, firefighters held a smaller ceremony at 92nd and Baltimore, near the building where Capuano died.

Fire Capt. Jake Jakubec rang the fire bell again in front of a wreath and cross bearing Capuano's name.

"I was alongside him, but didn't even know he was there; very heartbreaking. I relive this every night, every day I live," Jakubec said.

The fire that claimed Capuano's life was started by a construction worker using an arc welder that ignited insulation in the vacant building, according to the Fire Department. Capuano and other firefighters were searching the building, amid heavy smoke, when he fell through an open elevator shaft into the basement of the three-story warehouse.

The fire was ruled to be accidental, but city officials said the work being performed was conducted without proper permits. Crews were removing the building's elevator without proper authorization, and apparently did not set up barriers or markers to keep someone from walking into the open shaft.

Capuano was a 15-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department, and also worked for the Evergreen Park Fire Department for more than 16 years. He left behind a wife and three children. In his spare time, he was an off-ice coach for the St. Jude Hockey Club.

Chicago Department of Buildings spokeswoman Mimi Simon says a demolition permit was issued this week for the building at 9213 S. Baltimore, as well as the building to the south of it.  Demolition was expected to start on Wednesday.

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