VIDEO: Peoria firefighters celebrated the history and memories within the oldest fire station in the River City. It opened in 1952 and is expected to close next month. "If you wanted to prove yourself as a firefighter, you came to Station 4," said Interim Chief Shawn Sollberger. The same message spread through all the firefighters who gathered Thursday night. "This was the place to be if you were a firefighter," said retired Peoria Fire Captain Robert Sollberger. They said their bittersweet goodbyes to the original Station 4. "When I came down here as a young man they told me, ‘That's where the real firefighters are working. That's where the guys that are saving lives and putting out fires are working,'" said retired Peoria Fire Chief Kent Tomblin. Dozens of retirees, current firefighters and community members laughed as they shared stories from the city's oldest station.  

VIDEO: A person has died in an early morning house fire Friday in Madison County, Illinois, fire officials confirmed. Mitchell, Illinois Fire Chief Scott Wolfe said on the scene that the call for the fire on Franco Lane came in at about 1:15 a.m. The home was considered a total loss, according to fire officials. The structure was too dangerous to enter when first responders arrived at the scene. At about 4:30 a.m., the home was safe to enter and fire officials confirmed the fatality. The person's identity had not been released as of Friday morning. It is unknown if the person was a resident of the home. This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information is confirmed.  

There's a new firefighter with the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District and it's a first: Vanessa Kieres was hired Feb. 16 as the district's first full-time female firefighter. While the district has had other women serve in part-time roles, Kieres is the first to be hired to a full-time position. Since Kieres arrived, she has hit the ground running. Last year, the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District responded to 2,415 calls for help — more than any year in its history. Consequently, since November, the district has hired four new full-time firefighter/paramedics. "The hiring process is competitive," said Fire Chief Drew Smith. "During her interviews, Vanessa was able to communicate her value and commitment to serve, things we value deeply."  

Evanston Public Library educated residents about how to prepare for extreme weather events in spring at a public event Thursday night. About 20 residents gathered at EPL's main branch to hear from experts about preparing for handling severe spring weather, like floods and tornadoes, and fallout from severe weather, like power outages. EPL partnered with the Evanston Fire Department to update residents on protocol for climate-induced weather crises. Evanston is especially vulnerable to increasingly intense storms, drought-like conditions, threats to water quality and warmer temperatures, EFD Division Chief Kimberly Kull said. Kull said thunderstorms are more likely to take place in spring.  

VIDEO: A massive fire ripped through a commercial building in east central Fresno early Friday morning. The fire started before 4:30 am on Pine near Maple Avenue in an industrial area of the city. A cloud of heavy smoke could be seen from miles away along Highway 180 and Highway 168. Firefighters used two hoses to attack the flames from above on a tall ladder. The fire burned so quickly that they had to call in extra crews to help. A nearby business owner told Action News the building on fire was a refinding furniture store. He thought he heard gunshots at about 4:20 am, but now he believes it was an explosion due to all the chemicals burning inside the building. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Authorities closed nearby streets while officials continue their investigation. Drivers are asked to avoid the area.  

VIDEO: Peoria firefighters celebrated the history and memories within the oldest fire station in the River City. It opened in 1952 and is expected to close next month. "If you wanted to prove yourself as a firefighter, you came to Station 4," said Interim Chief Shawn Sollberger. The same message spread through all the firefighters who gathered Thursday night. "This was the place to be if you were a firefighter," said retired Peoria Fire Captain Robert Sollberger. They said their bittersweet goodbyes to the original Station 4. "When I came down here as a young man they told me, ‘That's where the real firefighters are working. That's where the guys that are saving lives and putting out fires are working,'" said retired Peoria Fire Chief Kent Tomblin. Dozens of retirees, current firefighters and community members laughed as they shared stories from the city's oldest station. "I wish I never left," said Tomblin.  

A new report by a task force studying PFAS, or "forever chemicals" commonly found in nonstick cookware, some clothing and firefighter gear, is being praised by the firefighting community. "It was really shocking, both through testimony that we heard and coming to understand that PFAS is in all of the turnout gear that is used by our firefighters, and with the increase of PFAS in gear, we'll also see increases in cancer rates," said state Rep. Kate Hogan, D-Stow, co-chair of the committee. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are added to products to make them water-, grease- and stain-resistant, but they persist in the environment and humans' bodies, and can cause a myriad of health effects including kidney and liver disease, immune system suppression, birth defects and cancer. PFAS have been detected in water systems throughout the state. After nine public hearings over the past several months, the committee issued 30 recommendations across eight broad strategy areas.  

What started as an activity for one firefighter to do with his kids is now earning him likes, follows, and comments on social media. Chris Maleta and his family moved to Brunswick County nearly two years ago from Kansas where he served as a firefighter for 13 years. He's continued his career in North Carolina and has now been in the fire service for 15 years. "My family has been in the fire service for over 100 years. I have cousins in Saint Joe, Missouri where they started their firefighting careers. My grandfather was then on the Kansas City Fire Department and that's what led my cousin, myself, and my brother to join the Kansas City Fire Department," Maleta said. Before making the move to North Carolina, Maleta was in a bookstore and found a fire safety book and wondered how someone who had never spent a day in turnout gear could share safety tips.  

VIDEO: Two lawmakers are saying the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Frick Park in January reaffirmed why western Pennsylvania needs a top-tier urban search and rescue team. Thursday, they introduced legislation with the goal of making that happen. Pittsburgh's assistant fire chief says they called in the state's only urban search and rescue team to help with search efforts when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Frick Park in January. However, since it's based in Philadelphia, he says his team had to wait hours for them to get there. That's why he says passing this legislation is so important in case a disaster happens again. It's hard to forget the images of the bridge collapse: a Port Authority bus dangling over the edge with passengers on board and vehicles in the ravine below. No one died, but 10 people were hurt.