The Normal Town Council recently approved the vote to take out a $2.5 million loan from Busey Bank in support of financing the construction of a new fire station in East Normal. The rest of the cost of the fire station will come from existing funds and a $1 million grant. Although the decision to take out a loan to start the construction process was not agreed upon by the whole council, the majority of the vote was in favor. The vote was 5-2, with the two members arguing that Normal should not be taking on any more debt. The town of Normal has a history of good standing of financial management, AAA credit ratings and banking relationships. The decision to take out a loan and reconstruct the fire station originated from a capital project from years prior that the town thought was smart to accomplish now.  

On Thursday, lawmakers held a hearing to determine if they would again push back the deadline for cities to fully fund fire and police pensions. Under current law, cities have until 2040 to fund 90% of their pension obligations. A Democratic-led bill would push that back until 2050. The bill must be approved by the House Personnel and Pensions Committee before moving forward. "Initially, that word pension scared me," said the bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford. Pensions have been a major sticking point for lawmakers in Springfield, with public pension systems for state officials being underfunded for several years. The bill is part of the policy platform of the Illinois Municipal League, a group made up of cities and villages from around Illinois which advocates for legislative reform.  

Illinois State Police troopers and firefighters from Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District responded about 7:55 p.m. Thursday, February 17, 2022 to the northbound Tri-State (I-94 WEST) at Mile Marker 19.25 to a report of a crash with injuries. Deerfield Ambulance 20's crew was first on the scene reported two vehicles with heavy damage at 8:10 p.m. The crash was initially report at the wrong location. The crash was located just south of the Route 60 Exit. A MABAS Division 3 Box Alarm #20E for ambulances only was activated at 8:14 p.m. for a crash with multiple injuries. The crash was located by the left shoulder. Firefighters and paramedics from Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Lake Forest, and Northbrook were assigned to the scene. Ambulances from Buffalo Grove and Northbrook were released from staging at about 8:36 p.m.  

The Peoria Fire Department responded to a garage fire near Bigelow and Republic Street at approximately 1 p.m. Thursday. According to a Peoria Fire Department press release, crews found heavy smoke and fire coming from an unattached garage in the rear of the home. Firefighters deployed multiple handlines to extinguish the fire. Crews remained on the scene for an hour to fully extinguish the fire. A fire investigator determined the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning gasoline-powered snowblower. The fire caused an estimated $15,000 in damages. No injuries have been reported at this time.  

PHOTOS: Officials say the Thursday fire at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township has caused "extensive" damage. We're told the fire started around 10 a.m. Thursday morning and the roof of the clubhouse collapsed around 11 a.m. Multiple fire departments responded to the scene, including Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Southfield, Madison Heights, Waterford, Bloomfield Township and Franklin. We're told there are still active fires that they are working to put out. The weather conditions are making it difficult for crews. Officials say no there were no injuries in the fire. We're also told firefighters worked to save some items. "They pulled that memorabilia out and handed it off to the club members at the front door," Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy said.  

VIDEO: An Omaha firefighter, who just graduated from the academy, almost lost his life even before he began his career. Kevin Juszyk, 32, is one of the newest members of the Omaha Fire Department. But he got sidetracked for a while before taking his seat on a fire engine. "It's definitely the best job in the world," Juszyk said. "Great to finally be here and be through academy." KETV Newswatch 7 caught up with him on his first week on the job at station 41. He's gladly doing the daily probationary firefighter duties of cleaning the kitchen and testing the jaws of life. He does bring some experience to the job. He's already saved someone's life. In June of 2019, Juszyk was working as an EMT at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. While on the job, he revived a man having a heart attack. The Omaha Fire Department honored him and three other EMTs with the citizen life-saving award.  

VIDEO: Just this week, more than a dozen Massachusetts firefighters file a federal lawsuit against several companies that make their turnout gear and firefighting foam. They allege companies knowingly used chemicals in those products that could cause cancer. One of those firefighters is Dan Ranahan of Boston. Family is everything to Dan. And in the Ranahan family, firefighting is in their blood. "My father was on for 38 years, and my brother's been on for 15," Ranahan said. And for seven years, Dan's proudly served on Boston's Ladder 4. "This is the one thing I always wanted to do," he said, "and I wouldn't change it for anything." But in October 2020, a lingering cough and low-grade fever led to a diagnosis that would change everything. Dan said the doctor told him, "You have a mass in your chest the size of a coconut." At just 30 years old and a new dad, Dan was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  

A Cygnus cargo ship launching toward the International Space Station (ISS) this weekend will carry an experiment designed to improve fire safety on moon and Mars missions. Called SoFIE (Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction), the experiment is the latest in a series of in-orbit investigations that look at how fire behaves in microgravity. SoFIE is part of a larger haul of science, supplies and hardware flying on Northrop Grumman's Cygnus NG-17 resupply mission, which is scheduled to launch at 12:39 p.m. EST (1739 GMT) on Saturday (Feb. 19). "What we hope to do is inform future missions on material flammability as they work prototype designs for future spacesuits, cabins and habitats and predict how those materials would burn in lunar, Martian or other environments," Paul Ferkul, SoFIE project scientist at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio, told Space via e-mail.  

An Oklahoma man says he is trying to change how fast first responders can make it to a house when someone is in need. His new invention is a special light bulb called "The Locator 911" and it launched this week for anyone to buy. Johnathan Harrison was a paramedic for 25 years and said he was in many situations where they couldn't find the person who needed help because the address didn't come up properly in GPS systems. He said sometimes the GPS will give a general location, like a street in a neighborhood, but not always the exact house. Harrison said the inspiration for this light bulb invention came in 2009 when a call came to his unit for a two-year-old in cardiac arrest, but when they got to the location, they couldn't find the child. "When we finally got to the correct driveway there were four mobile homes scattered, we had no idea which to go to," Harrison said.