Chicago Fire Capt. David Meyer R.I.P.

Chicago Fire Capt. David Meyer dies in Austin blaze investigated as arson

“He was a loyal member doing his job. It’s a dangerous job,” a Chicago Fire Department official said of Meyer, 54, a veteran firefighter who died after a garage fire on the West Side.
By Mohammad Samra
Updated Apr 23, 2025, 6:38pm CDT

After nearly 30 years with the Chicago Fire Department, Capt. David Meyer died fulfilling his passion Wednesday morning after a roofing beam fell on him during a blaze that officials are investigating as arson in Austin on the West Side, officials said.

The Office of Fire Investigation, assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the fire was from ignition of contents in a trash bin “by human action.” Chicago police are investigating the blaze as a crime, adding a person of interest was in custody Wednesday evening but didn’t release additional information.

Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 said Meyer, 54, joined the department in October 1996.

“He spent most of his career on the West Side of Chicago in busy firehouses doing what he loved to do,” Fire Department Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt told reporters at Stroger Hospital.


“He was a loyal member doing his job ... a dangerous job,” Patrick Cleary, president of Local 2, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Our condolences to his family and co-workers.”

Larry Langford, fire department spokesman, posted on X: “It’s a sad day for CFD and Chicago.”

Just after 4 a.m., Meyer was among those who responded to a garage fire in the 5500 block of West Crystal Street when the structure collapsed, Nance-Holt said.


“It had to be a roofing beam, there’s nothing there except a few cross beams in the roof, so something got him from above,” Langford said.

A mayday, signaling a firefighter in distress, was called and Meyer was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Nance-Holt said.

Dozens of colleagues and loved ones gathered at the Cook County medical examiner’s office to mourn and pay their respects to Meyer as his body was escorted in following a formal procession. He worked at Engine 96, 439 N. Waller Ave.

Meyer was the “rock of his family,” the fire commissioner said. He is survived by his parents, his wife, three daughters, a son and a “host of other friends and family,” Nance-Holt said.

Nance-Holt appeared to wipe away a tear as she spoke about Meyer’s death while noting the department reported no line-of-duty deaths in 2024.

“We got through last year, and now here we are again, thinking that we escaped that,” Nance-Holt said. “When you lose a brother or sister [in] the fire department, it’s life-changing. It’s a family member, it’s not just a co-worker.”