A 5-year-old boy and a woman died in a house fire early Friday in far southwest suburban Minooka. Channahon and Minooka firefighters responded about 1 a.m. to a fire in the 24000 block of Bell Road, according to a Channahon Fire Protection District spokesperson. Wavelyn Fitch, 5, was pronounced dead at the scene, and 57-year-old Susan M. Weber, of Minooka, was taken to Morris Hospital, where she also died, according to the Grundy County county coroner's office. Two other occupants of the home were taken to Morris Hospital for treatment, the coroner's office said. The Will County coroner's office has not released details about the death of the child.  

The Batavia Fire Department is asking the city council to adopt an ordinance allowing it to charge senior communities and assisted-care facilities for helping uninjured people who fall and can't get up. The committee of the whole unanimously supported the proposal and sent it to the council for a vote. Fire Chief Randy Deicke said about one-third of lift-assistance calls the department receives are from assisted-care facilities. When firefighters arrive, a staff member is often waiting for them rather than assisting the resident who has fallen, Deicke said. When firefighters assist in the lift, he said, "the liability goes to the city." Deicke proposed the department charge facilities $250 for each call to alleviate that liability. If a firefighter is injured while assisting someone, the responsibility to the city could include time off due to injury, overtime and workman's compensation.  

At the February meeting of the Tonica Volunteer Fire Department, Chief Al Stremlau noted that there were 11 emergency calls during January. These calls consisted of one mutual aid structure fire call to Peru, three accident calls and seven ambulance calls. Trainings covered the review of all equipment that is carried on the trucks; various R.I.T (Rapid Intervention Team) operations; Officer Lead Squad Training, which covered Command and Control, Leadership, Communications and Organizational Skills used for the Review and Operation of Apparatus and Equipment; and verification of the Operational Readiness of Personnel and Equipment. Deputy Chief Rick Turri reported on a planning and safety training that he attended covering highway construction and accident scenes.  

Two leadership changes are in store for Elgin's municipal administration, the city announced Saturday. Interim Fire Chief Robert Cagann has been appointed to the position of fire chief on a permanent basis, and Assistant City Manager Laura Valdez is stepping down Feb. 14 to begin a position in the nonprofit sector. Cagann, who has been with the city since 1993, said in a news release he's honored to become fire chief and work on "leading this department to further define excellence in the industry." Valdez, who joined the city in 2012, called it "bittersweet" to move on from her time with Elgin, which she said in a news release "truly is a special place." The city plans to conduct a search to fill the position under City Manager Rick Kozal.  

Authorities battled a house fire Thursday afternoon in the Lincoln area. The fire occurred in the 200 block of 9th Street, WAND-TV learned. The house that caught fire was vacant, as the owners had passed away in the last several years, and there were no injuries. Atlanta and Lincoln fire departments responded to the scene. Damage occurred on the inside of the home in an area at the top of the attic. A neighboring home ended up with smoke damage. A cause remains unclear. Firefighters say the extreme cold hampered their efforts. Logan County EMA assisted with providing rehab for personnel on scene.  

VIDEO: The North Richland Hills Police and Fire Departments showed off new technology Thursday they say will allow them to do their jobs more effectively and in less time. Jennie Espy, a North Richland Hills Police Department Crime Scene Investigator said, "This is absolutely fantastic technology." The state-of-the-art device scans everything in its site — 360 degrees — and provides 3D photographs of a crime scene, major crash or an arson fire. It's so accurate, even if there's a missed measurement, investigators can take another measurement by going back into the 3D scene. "If we needed to take this to court, we could really walk you around the crime scene as if you were there," said Espy. The technology also helps crash and traffic investigators save time because they no longer have to manually measure everything at a scene.  

It's been more than two months since Summit Fire & EMS firefighter Ken Jones fell to his death while fighting a blaze in Copper Mountain, though the feelings of grief are still fresh for his second family at the fire department. Jones' picture still stands on a table in the entranceway of Summit Fire's administration building in Frisco — the first thing visitors see on their way into the building each morning. Inside, firefighters and staff go about their business as usual, though many now bear a special "KJ" button pinned to their jackets or shirts as a reminder of his sacrifice. And while there has been a subtle shift back to relative normalcy, at least as far as the job is concerned, the memories of Jones still seem to permeate daily conversations among those who knew him.  

When you think of fire fighters, what comes to mind? You should think nothing short of heroes. Dedication. Bravery. Saving others' lives while risking their own. The list is endless. For the Lancaster Fire Department, there are two words you probably don't think. And, it's such a big deal, the department has five pages on policy about it. "Right," Assistant Chief K. J. Watts said. "We never really had one up until about six years ago." Those two words: bed bugs. "We engage with the public, we go in their house, we sit on their furniture to try to talk to them to find out what's going on and, sometimes, the bed bugs jump on us," he said. Between three stations, the fire department goes on 9,000 calls a year. In the last few years, Watts says the exposure to bed bugs has increased up to 10 percent every year. But with the increase in bed bug numbers, how do they decrease the potential spread? "This machine has two different heaters that have fans in them," he said.  

It was on a trip to Britain and Ireland that Norfolk County Sheriff Jerry McDermott first saw seat belt covers that notify first responders that the wearer has autism, the Patriot Ledger reported. Half a world away, a light bulb went off, McDermott said that he thought that covers could be helpful at home too. Now the covers, created by McDermott's office, will be available at a number of police departments including Weymouth, Stoughton, Norwood, Needham, Millis, Holbrook, Dedham, Avon and Sharon. Families can pick the covers up at police stations and slide them on top of seat belts. Advertisement Want news like this sent straight to your inbox? Head over to PatriotLedger.com to sign up for alerts and make sure you never miss a thing. You pick the news you want, we deliver. "People we talked to thought it was a good idea," McDermott said. "In the case of an emergency, if the parent is incapacitated, this helps first responders know the situation ... it's a public safety issue."  

VIDEO: Today marks 25 years since the East Hills fire. Three firefighters died that heartbreaking Valentine's Day in 1995. Capt. Thomas Brooks arrived on the scene with Engine 17 and Patricia Conroy and Marc Kolenda responded with Engine 8 just after midnight to the home on Bricelyn Street. They became separated from their other crew members while inside the burning home. A stairwell collapsed and they became trapped. The six-member family that lived in the rented home escaped without any injuries. Investigators determined that the windows of the home were covered in plastic, which held the smoke inside and made it difficult for the firefighters to see and find a way to escape. The firefighters were found with a ruptured hose and overcome by carbon monoxide, possibly due to malfunctioning air masks. The fire department changed training procedures and upgraded equipment as a direct result.