Chicago Firefighter Michael Altman Remembered As Loving Husband, Friend With ‘Biggest Heart’
MOUNT GREENWOOD — Michael “Mickey” Altman only joined the Fire Department about two years ago, but he had long been around Chicago’s firehouses.
Altman, 32, died Tuesday from injuries sustained while battling a Monday fire in Rogers Park. He was the fourth generation in his family to serve the Chicago Fire Department.
Altman and his wife, Nora, moved to Mount Greenwood last year. They married in 2023 and have a young son with a baby on the way. Jessi Johnson, a close friend of the family, said the couple met at a Hootie and the Blowfish concert eight years ago “and have been inseparable ever since.”
“He was an amazing husband,” Johnson said. “He was so caring, so loving. No matter what, he always showed his affection towards Nora. He was so in love with her.”
Johnson described Altman as an amazing friend — always there for his friends and family when they needed a helping hand.
Michael “Mickey” Altman and Nora Altman pictured at a friend’s wedding in 2025. The couple married in 2023 and moved to Mount Greenwood last year. Credit: Provided
“He was unbelievable,” she said. “Every room he walked into, his smile just lit it up. He was such a genuine person who just had the biggest heart.”
Altman’s grandfather, Edward P. Altman, was the Fire Department commissioner from 1996 to 1999 under then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.
“We are heartbroken by yet another loss of our own,” current Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said. “We will never forget his courage and sacrifice.”
Johnson said Altman always wanted to follow his family’s tradition and become a fireman.
“We just found a pile of pictures that were all of when Mickey was maybe 4 or 5 years old. He was at the firehouse with his dad. There were so many pictures of him standing in front of the truck with his dad,” she said. “His whole life, this is all he ever dreamt of being — a fireman.”
Monday’s fire started about 11:30 a.m. at the apartment building at 1757 W. North Shore Ave., and it was struck out about 1:15 p.m., according to the Fire Department.
Altman, who worked for Truck 47 in Edgewater, was searching the building when he fell through the floor into a basement room that was “fully on fire,” according to an online fundraiser for his family.
Altman was fatally injured “doing what he always does — putting others first,” the fundraiser organizers wrote.
More than $500,000 had been raised for Altman’s family as of Friday morning.
Residents line 103rd Street for a funeral procession for Chicago firefighter Michael Altman on March 20, 2026. Altman died on Tuesday from injuries sustained battling a fire in Rogers Park. Credit: Jim Lynch/Block Club Chicago
On Friday, neighbors lined the streets for a funeral procession that went down Western Avenue and 103rd Street. Services are set for next week.
Two Mount Greenwood residents said their husbands are in the Fire Department, and they came out to show their support.
“I feel bad; it’s terrible when these things happen,” one neighbor said.
Students from St. John Fisher Elementary School, Queen of Martyrs Elementary School and Mount Greenwood Elementary School also lined up along the route to honor Altman.
Mike Altman, 32, died from injuries he suffered battling a Rogers Park apartment fire on Monday, March 16, 2026. Credit: Chicago Fire Department
Karen Finnin, a teacher at Mount Greenwood Elementary School, said the school’s fifth through eighth-grade students lined the street to show support to Altman, his family and the community.
“Our students are mostly children of police, fire and first responders,” Finnin said. “Showing the importance and respect we have for our first responders.”
Visitation for Altman is 3-8 p.m. Thursday at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 S. Western Ave. His funeral is 10 a.m. March 27 at St. Rita.
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