Dec. 15--Daniel Capuano worked at a busy firehouse on the South Side of Chicago and couldn't have been happier.
"You don't sleep for the 24 hours you're there, but that's where he wanted to be," said his mother, Jacquelyn Capuano. "He loved the action."
Early Monday morning, Capuano's company was dispatched to a fire in a vacant warehouse, his second fire of the night, according to his father, Michael Capuano. Searching the second floor through thick smoke, Capuano fell down an elevator shaft and died hours later.
Firefighters came to the parents' home in Palos Park on Monday morning and took them to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where their son was pronounced dead.
Back home, they remembered how much pride their son took in his work and how devoted he was to his family. His grandfather had been a firefighter too.
"Everything revolved around his family," said Jacquelyn Capuano, her eyes red from crying. "Our hearts are broken."
Daniel Capuano and his wife, Julie, had been married 20 years last July, she said, poring over a worn green datebook. They have a 16-year-old daughter, Amanda, and two sons, Nick and Andrew, 12 and 13. Julie Capuano is a Chicago Public Schools teacher.
Capuano was the second of her three sons, Jacquelyn Capuano said. Capuano had planned a Florida trip with his older brother, who lives in Washington and recently got out of the Navy, his parents said.
Capuano had recently helped his younger brother move into a home in Palos Heights. They painted the interior, and Capuano came back to help him build a shed, even though the family dog had bit him while painting.
"That's the type of kid he was, supported his little brother," Jacquelyn Capuano said.
Capuano's sons attend Queen of Martyrs school in Evergreen Park, Nick in the seventh grade and Andrew in the eighth, according to the school. His daughter Amanda graduated from there and now attends Mother McAuley High School, where her mother had graduated.
Queen of Martyrs Principal Kathleen Tomaszewski said she grew up with Capuano's wife, and said they are a close, loving family. She said both boys play hockey for the St. Jude Youth Hockey League.
Capuano was a hockey dad twelve months of the year, according to A.J. Hernacki, who coaches Capuano's two sons on the St. Jude Knights in Crestwood.
The team had played Sunday night in Vernon Hills but Capuano couldn't make it because of work, Hernacki said. "He's usually at every game.''
Though both sons play at a "high level,'' Hernacki said Capuano was humble about his boys' talents. "This guy had a smile on his face no matter what,'' Hernacki said. "He was really happy to watch his kids play hockey.''
Capuano drove his kids to all their games and practices and still made time to help out with the club as a manager. He also maintained a training building, repairing damage from "flying pucks," Hernacki said.
And he helped train players with their agility and balance. "Pre-ice stuff,'' Hernacki said.
Hernacki last saw Capuano on Saturday morning for a game in the southwest suburbs. "The last thing I remember him saying was that they were going on vacation for Christmas,'' Hernacki said. "I told him. 'Man more power to you. ... You gotta get off the rink for as much time as you can.''
Another hockey friend, electrical engineer Anthony Lioce, 44, of Oswego, became emotional recalling a recent conversation with Capuano.
"Dan was like asking me to come play back at St. Jude's and we didn't come back this year and now I feel like I let him down,'' Lioce said, choking up. Lioce's son Antonio played hockey with Capuano's son Andrew.
"Now I really feel bad about it. He was such a good man.''
Capuano invited Lioce and his family down for a visit to his new home in Miami, Fla. that he had "worked his butt off'' to afford.
"It was a gorgeous place and he was telling us how happy he was. He would share his good fortune with his friends. This is a real individual right here.''
One winter day, their sons played an outdoor benefit game.
"We delivered hot chocolate. Dan bought for everybody, all the kids and all the coaches,'' Lioce said.
"I didn't expect myself to cry but I'm still crying,'' Lioce said Monday afternoon. "This one really took me by surprise.''
"It's a shocker,'' said another hockey friend, Jim McCarthy. "It's mindboggling.''
McCarthy said his son J.J. and Capuano's son Nick played together for about five years on the Knights and their daughters were also pals.
"He was so friendly and the whole family was just absolutely wonderful.'' McCarthy said. "He was the epitome of what is bravery and I am so honored to have known him. I put him down as one of our angels,'' McCarthy said.
A family member, who did not want to be identified, remembered Capuano as the "strong, silent type'' who worked in a "noble" profession.
"He was a family man, through and through," the relative said. "A very loving husband and very religious. ... He was very sweet, always there for you whatever you needed. The typical guy that would give you the shirt off his back. That's probably why he was a firefighter. He just wanted to help his community and be there for them.''
A former colleague, who also did not want to be identified, said they used to work together at Truck 24 at 104th Street and Vincennes Avenue. They met in 2010 just before Capuano was transferred to Tower Ladder 34, a busier company.
He was always asking to see if anybody wanted to take classes with him," the colleague said. "He always offered tips and techniques on how to break walls and break doors.
"He was a fantastic guy,'' he said. "He was really aggressive about living and having a good time.
Before he became a Chicago firefighter, Capuano had worked in the town of Lemont as a firefighter and paramedic and still had close friends there. Just days ago, some of the firefighters in the southwest suburb got Christmas cards from him.
Lemont Battalion Chief Timothy Oslakovich said he couldn't believe the news that Capuano had died. "We were all like, 'It can't be.' ... I got a chill down my back, and I can honestly say I've never had that before."
Capuano joined the Lemont Fire Protection District in 1997 and was known for going "above and beyond" the job, taking outside training classes to learn the latest firefighting tactics.
"He was always going out to see and going out to do extra training to see how other people were doing things," Oslakovich said.
"Dan was pretty safety-conscious, whether it was an EMS call or a fire call," Oslakovich said. "He was always on the top of this game, always looking out for not only himself but whoever he was with. I'm sure Dan was doing everything he could to make sure he was safe."
In 1999, two years before becoming a Chicago firefighter, Capuano was one of four paramedics credited with saving the life of a caddy on the 15th fairway at Cog Hill. The paramedics used a portable defibrillator to restart the man's heart.
Oslakovich said a copy of an article in Golf Digest magazine about the incident still hangs in the fire station, with Capuano in the photo.
"We are a small department," Oslakovich said. "We've never had to deal with this. It hits home when you actually know the individual."
Oslakovich said Capuano always loved a good joke. "He was funny," the chief said. "I never saw anything get him down."
Retired Lemont Battalion Chief James Sheldon said Capuano was a training supervisor during controlled burn exercises and would act as a safety supervisor inside the burning structure, making sure trainees got out safely.
He remembered Capuano as "a very happy-go-lucky type of guy. ... He always had a smile on his face."
Capuano had also been working part-time for the Evergreen Park fire department for the last 16 years, according to Evergreen Park Fire Chief Ronald Kleinhaus.
Firefighters called him "Fredo" because he looked like the character from the "The Godfather," Kleinhaus said.
He last saw Capuano at the fire department's Christmas party Saturday night. Firefighters teased Capuano about having two left feet and being unable to dance.
Capuano's last shift with the Evergreen Park department was Dec. 10.
"He was one of those guys, you could pick up the phone and ask for something, and he'd be on the way even before the phone hung up," Kleinhaus said. "Danny's a good guy. He was here for 16 years. He's a hard worker, he's a good fireman."
Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago will soon deliver three checks of $5,000 each to Capuano's wife, one for each of his children, according to Bill Sullivan, director of development for the Ende, Menzer, Walsh Quinn Retirees' Widows' and Children's Assistance Fund.
As often is the case when a firefighter dies, a large outpouring of support is expected for the Capuano family, Sullivan said. "In the past, the community has been incredibly generous. The response is always amazing," he said.
The mood among firefighters was best described as somber, Sullivan said.
"There is the quiet grieving that goes on and there's also a lot of hurry up and help. That's what brothers and sisters in the Fire Department do, they step in and help. The first response is to help the family get through this horrible process," Sullivan said.
Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 and the EMWQ Fund have established a memorial fund to benefit the family at BMO Harris Bank. The bank's locations are accepting cash or check donations from customers and the general public.
Donations can also be mailed to: EMWQ Fund, Attn: Daniel V. Capuano Memorial Fund, 20 S. Clark St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60603. Checks should be made payable to: Daniel V. Capuano Memorial Fund. Donations are also accepted online.
Contributing: Steve Metsch of the Southtown
