A third member of the Chicago Fire Department has died from COVID-19. Paramedic Robert Truevillian, who joined the department in 2000, died from complications of the virus, Chicago fire officials said Thursday in a statement posted to Twitter. Truevillian was assigned to ambulance 71, which operates out of the firehouse at 10458 S. Hoxie Ave. in South Deering, officials said. He's the third active CFD member to die from complications of the coronavirus. On April 7, Mario Araujo became the first fire department member to die from the virus. Araujo, 49, joined the fire department in October 2003 and spent most of his career on Truck 25, which operates out of Engine 102 in Rogers Park. Firefighter Edward Singleton died on April 14, becoming the second member to died from COVID-19 complications. Singlton, 55, worked at the firehouse at Midway Airport.  

A 15-year-old boy faces a murder charge in the fatal shooting of a retired Chicago firefighter earlier this month outside a Morgan Park popcorn shop. The teen, who is not being identified because he is charged as a juvenile, was unarmed at the time of the shooting. He was with two other people who had guns when they confronted 65-year-old Dwain Williams Dec. 3 in an apparent robbery attempt, Cook County prosecutors said in court Thursday. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she spoke with Williams' wife to share news about the charges. "She was happy ... that the people responsible were found. But, as you might imagine, her life is still shattered." Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan characterized the suspects as a "carjacking crew" responsible for several other crimes in the area. Police recovered a weapon and were testing it to see if it was used in the shooting, he said.  

A man accused of beating his father to death and setting fire to their Fernwood home in April was ordered held without bail Thursday after being extradited back to Chicago from Georgia. James Dyer, 33, was charged with first-degree murder for the slaying of his 68-year-old father, also named James Dyer, who was found dead inside a burning home early April 23 in the 400 block of West 104th Street, according to the Cook County state's attorney's office. The elder Dyer, however, had been killed before the fire even started, prosecutors said. An autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner's office found he died of blunt force trauma to the head and had several depressed skull fractures, and no traces of soot or carbon monoxide were found in his lungs or blood.  

VIDEO: History has been made in League City! The city's volunteer fire department now has it's first-ever all-female day crew. A photo of the five women, seen posing in full gear, was posted on the department's Facebook page on Wednesday. "These ladies are proudly representing Stations 3, 4 and 6! Way to represent and make history ladies," read the post. According to the city's website, the League City Volunteer Fire Department is comprised of more than 120 volunteers. "I think we were all kind of itching to get that first run out of the way," said Johanna Kirkpatrick. Since the League City Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1938, there has never been a shift that was entirely staffed by an all-female crew. "It was great, we had a great time and we went, 'Woo!' and got to run some lights and sirens a little bit. Thankfully, everything was okay for both calls, but it was real neat to be in a truck and just the girls," said Kirkpatrick.  

A 15-year-old boy faces a murder charge in the fatal shooting of a retired Chicago firefighter earlier this month outside a Morgan Park popcorn shop. The teen, who is not being identified because he is charged as a juvenile, was unarmed at the time of the shooting. He was with two other people who had guns when they confronted 65-year-old Dwain Williams Dec. 3 in an apparent robbery attempt, Cook County prosecutors said in court Thursday. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she spoke with Williams' wife to share news about the charges. "She was happy ... that the people responsible were found. But, as you might imagine, her life is still shattered." Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan characterized the suspects as a "carjacking crew" responsible for several other crimes in the area. Police recovered a weapon and were testing it to see if it was used in the shooting, he said.  

VIDEO: Instead of Dasher, Dancer, and Prancer, a retired Redding firefighter has created his own handmade reindeer display in honor of first responders. Patrick Westrip created the eight not-so-tiny reindeer out of cardboard and paper-mâché and painted blankets on each one to honor different first responders such as firefighters, law enforcement, and medical workers. Westrip says he got the idea while he was dealing with some health issues of his own. "I was laying in the hospital and actually thought 'what can I do to represent the first responders and the healthcare works and all my friends that work in frontline industries?' So, I decided to paint their blankets representing the police department, fire, and everything, and nurses," Westrip explained.  

One person is dead, two paramedics injured after a shooting Thursday morning in Pine Bluff. Officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of West 23rd Avenue at 4:30 a.m. and discovered the two paramedics suffering from gunshot wounds. According to Pine Bluff investigators a third individual, 22-year-old Kevin Curl Jr., was pronounced dead at the scene. Both paramedics were taken to a local hospital to be treated for their injuries. Police say the paramedics arrived at a residence responding to a medical emergency about a woman who had hurt her knee. The report then says while attending to the woman, Curl approached paramedics and began an argument, which led to Curl shooting the paramedics. The report then states that a paramedic returned gunfire, striking Curl. Curl reportedly then ran inside a house where he was found dead from his injuries. Detectives are still in the early stages of the investigation and will be releasing more information as details become available.  

VIDEO: Fire trucks made at Rosenbauer USA, just north of Sioux Falls, are now featured in a new video game– and the company is giving away 250 free downloads this holiday season. Firefighting simulator The Squad just launched on Steam in November. This new worldwide video game features fire trucks made right here in South Dakota. "All the trucks in it are 100% authentic," Neil Chaney with Rosenbauer South Dakota said. Chaney says a German video game developer reached out to their company to help create the game. "Rosenbauer has been contracted by us in order to have real firefighting vehicles in there. If we're making a real simulation with how the fireworks, also want to have real firefighting vehicles in there that actually exist so that's where Rosenbauer comes in," Game developer with Chronos Unterhaltungssoftware, Gregor Koch said.