An investigation is underway after an ambulance was involved in a crash cause it to flip in the Avondale neighborhood on Thursday evening. Chicago Fire Department officials say the crash took place around 8:06 p.m. near the intersection of Addison and Kimball. The private ambulance was struck by a vehicle causing it to flip, according to officials. Two employees, including a male in his 20's and a female in her 40's, were in the ambulance and were taken to Illinois Masonic in stable condition, according to Fire Department officials.  

A person is wanted by police for starting four fires in Hegewisch on the Far South Side in April. The person has started fires at garbage cans and garages, according to a community alert from Chicago police, which didn't provide a description of the suspect. Sponsored Links The choice is yours with 2021's best cash back credit cards. NerdWallet On Monday, a fire in the 13500 block of South Buffalo Avenue left a garage completely burned, a car still parked inside. In the same alley, across from the charred garage, heat from the fire melted siding on three more garages. On Saturday, a garbage bin fire spread to several garages in the 13300 block of South Buffalo Avenue. The fire engulfed a wooden fence and caused some damage to the garage next to it.  

First responders rescued three people Thursday evening when a vehicle slammed into a building in the South Loop. The vehicle which appeared to be a minivan, had been speeding when it hit the building at 14th and State streets, the Fire Department said. The people in the van were pinned in, and the Fire Department rescued them. The three people refused medical treatment, the Fire Department said.  

One person was killed and eight people were hurt in an explosion and second-alarm fire at an Ohio paint plant early Thursday. About 40 employees were working just after midnight when the blast occurred in one of five buildings on Yenkin-Majestic Paint's campus in Columbus, officials said. While most of the employees came out of the building as firefighters arrived on the scene, authorities learned two were trapped, according to Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin. They were eventually rescued and taken to Ohio State University Hospital with critical injuries, he said. Six others were stable. The body of a person who was missing for at least five hours after the fire was discovered at about 9:15 a.m., Martin told NBC News Thursday afternoon. He was identified as Wendell Light, 44, a press room supervisor. Crews found his body partially covered in rubble, Martin said.  

PHOTOS: An 18-wheeler pulled up in front of Coker Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday laden with a mountain of firefighting gear donated by departments in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The gear represents a windfall of equipment that many of the volunteer departments in West Alabama never would have been able to afford to purchase. The National Fire Protection Association rules stipulate fire equipment cannot have more than a 10-year shelf life. Coker Fire Chief Robert Bowers said the strict adherence to the rule by northeastern fire departments has benefitted Tuscaloosa County departments. "Up north, they follow the NFPA 10-year shelf life rule to the 'T.' They have to give up their equipment after 10 years, and it has to be replaced. It's not a rule followed in every state. We try to follow it as best we can, but volunteer departments here struggle so much," Bowers said.  

John Capozzoli Jr. of Freeport remembers the moment he knew he was destined to join the fire service. He was 12 years old and riding shotgun in his father's pickup when the Freeport Fire Department sounded its air horn. As he and his father pulled into the firehouse, he recalled the excitement he felt as he watched his father, a volunteer firefighter, don a thick bunker coat and helmet and climb aboard the fire truck. "At that point," he said, "I knew I wanted to do that, too." He signed up with the Freeport Fire Department in 1958 at 18, following not only his father, but two uncles and two older brothers into the fire service. Now, 63 years later, the 80-year-old great-grandfather, who rose to the rank of chief, still serves Freeport Village, battling house and commercial blazes. He has no plans to retire. "I get mad when the younger guys [firefighters] want to take care of me," said Capozzoli, who fitness walks more than 20 miles a week and is the catcher for the fire department's softball team.  

VIDEOS: For Kimberly Pillman and Ryle Olsen it is about helping others during an emergency and serving the community they call home. Pillman and Olsen are two of the 10 female firefighters/paramedics who currently work for the Lake Geneva Fire Department. Pillman said she considers it an honor to be a member of the fire department, as she is able to help people during a difficult situation. "I enjoy serving the community and being there for people who need help and being the calm person that comes to help take care of what is going on in their life at that moment," Pillman said. Olsen said she also enjoys the community service aspect of working as a firefighter. "I like helping out the community," Olsen said. "I also love that with this job there is something new every day. Captain Mark Moeller-Gunderson said the Lake Geneva Fire Department is above the national average when it come to hiring female firefighters and paramedics— like Olsen and Pillman.