A 28-year Oak Park firefighter paramedic died Monday night after suffering a heart attack at his home in Berwyn.
Oak Park Deputy Fire Chief Peter Pilafas said Kenneth Harris, 56, had just finished a 30-hour shift – one typical 24-hour shift and then a six-hour fire prevention shift, which entails fire inspections for local village buildings – when he went into cardiac arrest Monday night.
Officials are still waiting for an autopsy to reveal the official cause of death. He is survived by his wife, five children, four grandchildren and one grandchild on the way, Pilafas said.
Pilafas said Harris was one of the first people he met at the department and described him as a “fireman’s fireman”
“He’ll be sorely missed throughout the fire department and the village of Oak Park,” Pilafas said, adding, “He always made you laugh even if you were having a bad day; Kenny was just that kind of person.”
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com