Fire crews had a hard time locating a person stuck inside a home that caught fire Thursday afternoon in Algonquin due to its "hoarder-like condition" and the heavy smoke and fire, fire officials said. The person, whose identity has not been released, was first transported to Northwestern Huntley Hospital with life-threatening injuries and then airlifted to Loyola Hospital. Firefighters with the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District were first called to the ranch home in the 0 block of Alice Lane in Algonquin at about 3 p.m. Thursday. Fire crews first at the scene found a heavy fire coming from the front of the home, according to a news release. Firefighters learned there was possibly someone still inside the residence and started an "aggressive interior attack" to search for the resident, fire officials said. About 20 minutes later, firefighters found the person and got them out of the home.  

Chicago firefighters and paramedics were picketing Engine Co. 85's firehouse on Feb. 22, 1980, when they saw smoke rising nearby. Four grabbed helmets and boots from their cars and ran to a burning building at 648 N. Ridgeway Ave. John Genova climbed to the roof and fell, climbed there again and rescued Talla Robinson, aided by a cop and a passing truck driver. "We had just seconds to get that woman before there was an explosion and the flames shot up through the roof and spread to the other buildings," Genova told a Tribune reporter. Two other strikers were desperately trying to get to Engine Co. 85's pumper truck and the 500 gallons of water it carried, but cops guarding the station wouldn't let them in. "You can't just walk into a firehouse without clearance," a police lieutenant late explained. "You don't give city equipment to striking men."  

There were no injuries reported from a barn fire late Thursday night in Woodstock. The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded at 11:14 p.m. Thursday to the barn fire south of a home in the 13800 block of Pleasant Valley Road in unincorporated Woodstock. Animals were evacuated from the barn before firefighters arrived and have all been accounted for. The 5,600 square foot barn sustained heavy fire, smoke and water damage from the blaze, though Initial estimates of damage were not available. The fire, which is under investigation by the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, does not appear to be suspicious. In order to establish a water supply to fight the fire with no hydrants in the area, a water supply was established at the road.  

Some Sacramento city leaders up in arms over the airing of a reality television show that follows Sacramento firefighters and paramedics on the job. A&E's "Live Rescue" features first responders in cities and towns across the country -- and the Sacramento Fire Department is one of them. The show is now in its second season. Things changed this week with Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen calling for the city to stop participating in the show because he said it exploits people. Sacramento Fire Capt. Keith Wade said the show helps educate the public about what their crews do.  

Just 10 miles from Findlay, Ohio is a small town called Vanlue. That's where you'll find the Fighting 600 Firehouse where a half dozen firefighters volunteer to save lives. "At any given moment," says volunteer firefighter, Ross Wentling, "we get pulled from our families and family events to help people we don't even know." Some of the men working at the station pull double duty as Vanlue Volunteer Firefighters and University of Findlay Police Officers. Steve Baum is one of them. In addition to his job as the University of Findlay Police Captain, Baum also serves as Assistant Chief of the firehouse. In 2009, Baum had surgery on his neck to fix a softball injury. Little did he know, his life would never be the same. Baum has paralysis on his right side but he doesn't let it slow him down.  

Bill Compton, senior vice president for Grady Emergency Medical Services, is happy to deliver data on response times for his ambulances in one of the most vulnerable corners of the state: south Fulton. And why wouldn't he be pleased? Grady, he said, has shaved off 10 minutes from the previous ambulance service's response times. "That's my Reader's Digest version," he recently told an Atlanta committee of evaluators.Meanwhile, not everyone is buying it, especially a competitor.Compton's data is "self-reported and not vetted,'' Terence Ramotor, regional director for American Medical Response, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That's why he cautions against using the data to compare AMR's performance of a year ago to Grady's. Amid public uproars over long waits for emergency transport, debates over the accuracy of reported response times for ambulances are common across the state.  

Mike Kitsock never thought he'd still be fighting fires as a sexagenarian. But such is life for Kitsock, 66, in a land where volunteer ranks have dwindled and old wooden homes can quickly turn to ash. "We get a daytime call, I'm hoping there's two or three others who show up with me," said Kitsock, who still runs with the Seltzer Hose Company in Norwegian Township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. In the early days, he had to jostle with 20 to 30 other volunteers just to get on the engine. Now, comparatively, it's a ghost town. Fifty years ago, Schuylkill County had 10,000 volunteers. Today, it still has 100 fire houses, but fewer than 1,000 volunteers. Longer working hours, longer commutes and the rise of dual-income households have left less time for volunteering. Firefighters are aging and not being replaced. Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the volunteer fire company and to this day most firefighting in the state — and in the country — is done by volunteers.  

The Department of Natural Resources is asking fire departments around the state to report their use of any firefighting foam that contains perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances. A news release said the University of Wisconsin-Madison Survey Center is conducting a statewide survey on behalf of the DNR to locate the usage of PFAS in firefighting foams. The survey began on Jan. 13 and will end March 17, with results expected in early April. "All PFAS-containing foams have the potential to create an adverse environmental impact if released into the environment, particularly if the foam solutions reach drinking water sources, groundwater or surface waters," said Secretary-designee Preston D. Cole. "Knowing where this foam is will help us ensure that the environment is protected from its damaging effects."