PHOTOS: One person was taken to a Bloomington hospital after a house fire Thursday afternoon severely damaged that home and caused some damage to another. That's the word from the Bloomington Fire Department which was called to the 500 block of East Chestnut Street just before 3:10 p.m. on a report of a fire. When they arrived, a large plume of smoke was coming from the building and fire could be seen from the two-story home. A dog was outside and uninjured. Fire was reported on the first two stories and in the attic as well, said Capt. Frank Friend. A person was found to be on the roof and he was evacuated safety. The person was taken to the hospital in stable condition, Friend said. "A significant amount of work needed to be done quickly to get this fire under control. Battalion 1 requested a 2nd alarm."  

PHOTO: The historic Black Firehouse will be the topic of the Sangamon County Historical Society program at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 at the Black Firehouse No. Five located at 1310 E. Adams St. in Springfield. Officials say the event is free and open to the public. Ken Page will share the history of the site and discuss the work that has been done to restore the building and acquire old log books and photos. He will also lead a tour of the site. The Central 3 Community First Project Inc., led by Page, is heading up the restoration which received a 2023 Historical Society Grant. The Firehouse was built in 1902-1903 to provide needed fire service to the area east of 10th Street. It was the only firehouse where black men were allowed to serve and where the heroic firefighters were called into action during the 1908 race riot.  

A dramatic and stubborn fire erupted at a commercial building in downtown Los Angeles, prompting an early morning response from firefighters. The blaze began shortly before 5:30 a.m. at a single-story structure in the 1400 block of South Main Street. Firefighters arrived at the scene and were initially in defensive mode as massive flames and smoke emanated from the roof of the building, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Although firefighters seemed to have taken control of the incident by 6 a.m., flames were still visible in video from AIR7 HD. No injuries were immediately reported. The cause of the fire was unknown.  

VIDEO: Most volunteer firefighters have a full-time job that doesn't involve putting out fires. But when a call comes in, they step away from work to respond. Now, a newly established program with the Southmont Volunteer Fire Company will reimburse them for every incident they respond to. "So volunteers are unpaid, of course. The purpose of a reimbursement program like one that we've established is to offer an additional incentive to volunteers for recruitment, but also repayment purposes," said Edward Burkett, Deputy Chief of the department. Burkett developed the program based on what other departments in the Commonwealth have. It took nine months to launch it for Southmont, but the firefighter reimbursement program was officially launched April 1.  

More than 40,000 people were killed last year in traffic crashes, according to preliminary data released Monday, remaining above pre-pandemic levels but slightly down from their peak in 2021. The new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adds to concerns that little is being done to address one of the most common causes of preventable deaths. Traffic deaths spiked in 2020 and again in 2021 and have since declined slightly. Still,they are up 25% since 2013, and the Governors Highway Safety Association found that pedestrian deaths reached a 40-year high in the United States in 2022. The NHTSA said that "distracted driving," an issue that has grown in urgency with the ubiquity of smartphones, resulted in 3,308 deaths and 289,310 injuries in 2022, and 3,522 deaths in 2021.