MOUNT GREENWOOD — Funeral services for fallen firefighter Daniel Capuano will be conducted at St. Rita High School in Ashburn.
Visitation will be held from 3-9 p.m. Thursday in the school's chapel at 7720 S. Western Ave. Fellow firefighters will honor the 15-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department with a ceremonial walk-through service at 7 p.m.
The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Friday. Capuano will be buried at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleum in Alsip.
Capuano, 42, was killed early Monday morning after falling two stories down an elevator shaft at a burning South Chicago warehouse. He leaves behind a wife, Julie, and three children — Amanda, 16, Andrew, 13, and Nicholas, 12.
The firefighter was among a group who were battling a fire at 92nd Street and Baltimore Avenue, according to Joe Roccasalva, a fire department spokesman.
"It was very smoky conditions. They knew to be careful because there were holes in the floors," said Roccasalva, adding that Capuano fell two stories into the basement. He was later pronounced dead from the trauma at 4:25 a.m. at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel visited the family late Tuesday morning. He spent about 45 minutes consoling the widow and her three children along with Fire Commissioner Joe Santiago and other fire department top brass.
As for the funeral, St. Rita — with its large chapel and parking lot — also hosted the services for Capt. Herbert T. Johnson of Morgan Park. He died fighting an extra-alarm house fire on Nov. 2, 2012, in Gage Park.
Capuano's daughter, Amanda, is a cheerleader at St. Rita and his son, Andrew, received the school's Andrew Smialek award on Nov. 22. The award recognizes athletic and academic achievement as well as citizenship.
The fallen firefighter's father, Mike, is also a 1963 graduate of St. Rita.
Meanwhile, the owner of a building where Capuano was killed on Monday could face prosecution due to unauthorized construction that was underway — including removing an elevator without a permit, officials said Monday.
The Department of Buildings responded to the scene and found that "unauthorized work was being performed at the site, including complete removal of the elevator and other structural alterations," department spokeswoman Mimi Simon said in an email.
"The building owner did not obtain the proper building permits for the work being performed, which would have included a permit for the removal or demolition of a conveyance device (e.g. an elevator)."
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the Building Department will deal with potential violations, but the department has been left "sad and concerned" by the tragedy.
"All we can say is if there had been a barrier in place, the fireman probably would not have fallen in the hole because they're feeling for things like that in the smoke," Langford said.
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