“This morning, when responding to a two-alarm fire in the 200 block of South Stricker Street, firefighters were inside battling a fire in a three-story vacant row house. While doing so, a partial collapse occurred, and four members were trapped inside. One firefighter was immediately pulled out and transported to Shock Trauma, where he remains in critical condition while the other three remained trapped. Rescue efforts were continued until we were able to remove the three firefighters. Once removed, two of the firefighters were transported to Shock Trauma, where they were pronounced deceased a short time later. The fourth firefighter was pronounced deceased at the scene.” “This is a gut-wrenching tragedy for our city, for our fire department and, most importantly, for the families of our firefighters. There are no words — none — to describe the pain and the severity of the losses that we suffered today.”