A 30-year member of the Chicago Fire Department died Thursday afternoon during a training exercise on the city’s Far North Side, according to fire officials.
Steven Decker, 61, suffered a medical emergency during an annual equipment test, according to fire officials and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He died of natural causes due to heart disease, the medical examiner’s office ruled.
Decker was a fire engineer with CFD, per city human resources data. He had spent nearly 30 years on the job and was assigned to Engine 71 in the West Ridge neighborhood, fire officials said in a news release Friday.
“Steve gave everything in service to the people of Chicago and his courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to the Decker family, fellow firefighters and paramedics and all who cherished him.”
The department had initially announced the death in a statement to social media early Thursday evening.
Reached briefly over the phone, department spokesman Larry Merritt said the exercise was taking place in the 6600 block of North Kedzie Avenue in West Ridge just after 3 p.m. Decker was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he died.
Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th, in a statement, said that Decker’s “sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
“Engineer Decker served the Chicago Fire Department with honor and education since 1997, spending nearly three decades protecting others,” she said. “This is a devastating loss. … Every day, firefighters put themselves in harm’s way to protect our city. Their courage, dedication, and service do not go unnoticed.”
The Chicago Fire Department mourns the loss of a 30-year member who died today during a training exercise. A procession to the Medical Examiner's Office is pending.
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) May 14, 2026
Chicago police, in a statement to social media, said the department “stands in support of our brothers and sisters at the Chicago Fire Department as they mourn the loss of one of their own.”
An honor procession was held Thursday night from St. Francis to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The death is the department’s second in recent months, following fourth-generation CFD firefighter Michael Altman, who died in March after suffering critical injuries at the scene of a fire in Rogers Park.
“We are heartbroken by losing another one of our own,” Nance-Holt said.
