A man who fell down the smoke-stack at a downtown hotel has died.The man, 23, was trying to take a photo from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue. (WGN - Chicago)
An aspiring comedian who was taking pictures from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue died after falling 22 feet down a smokestack, authorities said.
It took rescue crews four hours to remove Nicholas Wieme, 23, at one point cutting through a wall and wedging boards in the chute to keep him from falling farther down.
Covered in a white sheet, Wieme was wheeled into an ambulance inside the hotel's basement garage around 5:05 a.m. and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Rescue crews responded to the hotel at 505 N. Michigan Ave. around 1:10 a.m. after someone called and reported a person threatening to jump from the roof. Firefighters later learned Wieme had fallen down the smokestack, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim.
A "confined space rescue" was called, bringing 30 companies and about 125 firefighters and paramedics to the scene.
They discovered Wieme had fallen 22 feet down a 6-foot wide smokestack and was wedged where the chute angled before dropping 42 floors, Ahlheim said. Crews cut into the wall and used wood boards to block him from falling any farther, she said.
"We had to send members from the top down on ropes to assess his condition. The whole time we’re monitoring the situation for toxic gases," said Special Operations Chief Michael Fox. "We found the best way to get out him was to go about two floors below, and we had to cut the duct work for the chimney, which was made out of steel. And eventually we ended up sliding the victim down into the hole and removing him from the building."
Wieme was able to communicate with his girlfriend, either with phone calls or text messages, Ahlheim said, but firefighters lost contact with him around 3:15 a.m.
Wieme and his girlfriend had dined at Michael Jordan's restaurant inside the hotel Wednesday evening and then decided to "explore" the hotel, according to police. They took the elevator to the top floor and entered the rooftop deck, which is a restricted area.
Wieme began to take pictures and climbed a ladder along the chimney, police said. Moments later, his girlfriend lost sight of him.
Wieme grew up in Pipestone, Minn., a small town near the South Dakota border but recently lived on the North Side. He was an aspiring comedian who posted several of his routines online. Relatives said he also wanted to be a movie director, and had edited and directed several videos.
His brother, Jamie Wieme, said Nick "began taking up the hobby of stand-up comedy" while at Minnesota State University in Moorhead.
"Nick experienced a good deal of success in this endeavor and followed it to where it led him: Chicago," Jamie Wieme said. "Upon arriving to Chicago, his interest switched from comedy to improv. In this, he found even more success, performing at a number of improv establishments on a regular basis. Those that watched him perform often attested that Nick had a way of unintentionally stealing the show.
"Nick's amazing talents were only topped by fierce love and loyalty to his family and friends," his brother added. "Nick was truly a family man, a phenomenal friend (as literally hundreds would attest to), and would do anything to help anyone. When it came to people, Nick's as good as they come."
Kyja Nelson, an associate professor at Minnesota State Moorhead who chaired cinema arts and digital technologies instruction, had Wieme as a student in production classes and said he was “very creative and had a really sharp sense of humor.”
Nelson said Wieme was “just full of life and almost larger than life in a way. Everything he did, he had fun doing it. That’s part of his vibrancy.”
Nick Wieme is survived by his parents, two brothers, a sister-in-law and a niece.
Raymond Vermolen, general manager of the hotel, released a statement saying Intercontinental "holds the safety, comfort and well-being of our guests and employees as our top priority and concern. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the guest at this difficult time. The hotel staff will continue to cooperate fully with authorities in their investigation. All further questions should be directed to the Chicago Police Department."
Paul Walsh, a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, contributed
pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas
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