The scene is disturbingly realistic: Two men lie on the floor with very convincing fake blood pooling around them. Others in the room are screaming in fear. A siren is heard in the distance. Several men and women arrive with stretchers and medical gear to treat the "wounded," while two men pose as police to attend to the upset onlookers, who shout, "That's my friend!" and "You're not working fast enough!" This is just one of the scenarios that the Black Fire Brigade's EMT program uses to prepare students for work on the job. "This is what they're gonna see," explains Stanley Williams, a 34-year Chicago Fire Department veteran and director of education for the Black Fire Brigade. "If we just show them a couple videos they probably will get on the scene and they could freeze up on you. Because it's pretty dramatic.  

First responders from across Starved Rock Country are mourning. Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown announced Thursday night that his Chief of Staff Ed Rogers passed away at the age of 73. Rogers had been battling cancer. Rogers joined the Utica Fire Protection District in 1997. He served as the EMS Director and was instrumental in merging the fire department and ambulance service in Utica. Rogers also spent time as the president of the MABAS District 25 team. Chief Brown says Rogers was a mentor and role model to many firefighters. There will be a memorial service at the Utica Fire Station at a later date.  

A longtime veteran of the Elk Grove Village Fire Department has been hired to take the top position this spring in West Dundee. Lance Harris, Elk Grove's deputy chief of operations and administration, will replace retiring West Dundee Chief Randy Freise, who has held the post since 2012. Harris' first day will be April 20, two weeks before Freise's official retirement. The overlap is intended to "facilitate a solid and seamless transition," village officials said. The village began searching for a new chief last fall with help from recruitment firm GovHR USA. Nearly 40 candidates applied for the role, five of whom were eventually chosen for a first-round interview. Two finalists were interviewed again in front of the village board this month, after which Harris was offered the position. His starting salary is $117,000.  

A house in Crystal Lake was left uninhabitable after a fire Thursday evening. The Crystal Lake Fire Department was called to 1542 Candlewood Drive at 5:11 p.m, Fire Rescue Chief Paul DeRaedt said. The first unit on the scene and police officers reported that there was smoke coming from the roof of the building, and fire crews confirmed that there was a fire in a second-floor bedroom. The home was occupied at the time of the fire. One person was in the room next to the fire, and another was on the first floor, and they evacuated safely and called 911. "Our crews made an aggressive attack on the second floor [and] knocked the fire down," DeRaedt said. Then they opened the ceiling on the second floor to check for hot spots.  

The Win-Bur-Sew Fire Protection District urges the public to support an upcoming referendum that it says will help improve safety in the region. The question on the ballot asks for a point-one-seven percent tax increase. The actual cost to taxpayers is about $57 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home. Win-Bur-Sew Fire Chief Dave Loria says the money raised would go toward equipment, debt reduction and capital. "Maintenance costs go up on big vehicles versus cars. I mean, just a brake job on your car is just gonna be different than one on these vehicles," Loria said. "When they get worked, they get worked hard. A lot of times they are out all night. If it's a structure fire or something like that, they'll be out all night."  

A multi-vehicle fire on Interstate 255 closed the northbound exit ramp for New Poag Road Thursday afternoon. Personnel from Edwardsville and Mitchell fire departments, as well as Illinois State Police, responded to an original report of a pickup truck on fire at about 3:12 p.m. Thursday. Once on scene, crews assessed the situation and noted two vehicles on fire instead of one. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and no injuries were reported. Illinois State Police reopened the exit ramp shortly after 4 p.m. According to officials, the original call reported a pickup truck owned by J.F. Electric, Inc. caught fire during a fueling mishap with a larger utility truck, also owned by J.F. Electric. Officials could not confirm at the time of the incident, but an Intelligencer reporter on the scene noticed the pickup truck looked to have been being towed by the utility truck.  

The scene is disturbingly realistic: Two men lie on the floor with very convincing fake blood pooling around them. Others in the room are screaming in fear. A siren is heard in the distance. Several men and women arrive with stretchers and medical gear to treat the "wounded," while two men pose as police to attend to the upset onlookers, who shout, "That's my friend!" and "You're not working fast enough!" This is just one of the scenarios that the Black Fire Brigade's EMT program uses to prepare students for work on the job. "This is what they're gonna see," explains Stanley Williams, a 34-year Chicago Fire Department veteran and director of education for the Black Fire Brigade. "If we just show them a couple videos they probably will get on the scene and they could freeze up on you. Because it's pretty dramatic. You have dogs running through the scene, sirens, noises. We're just really trying to give them a taste of what to expect. We want to turn out the best people."  

Local and state leaders are preparing for COVID-19 like they would a hurricane. The local emergency operation center is now active in Jacksonville ahead of a potential coronavirus outbreak. While there are currently no cases in Florida, local and state leaders said now is the time to be prepared. Our firefighters and paramedics are the first line of defense, along with health care workers. They'll likely be the ones to transport someone showing COVID-19 cases. Today, they got a chance to meet with Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis to discuss preparedness. The Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker was displayed up on the screen during the Firefighter Coronavirus Preparedness Roundtable at FSCJ's downtown campus Thursday. "This is no different than pre-staging for hurricane," said Patronis. Mayor Lenny Curry said all hands are on deck.  

An interest arbitration board reached a decision Tuesday regarding the FY19 firefighters' contract, awarding an across-the-board wage increase of 2.25 percent for the July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 agreement, Mayor Joseph J. Solomon announced Wednesday. The decision puts to rest the final issue related to negotiations that had been ongoing since the prior contract expired on June 30, 2018. Last month, the city and Union ratified a new, cost-neutral three-year agreement that extends from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022. As part of those negotiations, the parties agreed to withdraw all proposals in the matter of the 2018-2019 contract except for wage increases. The union initially sought a 4 percent increase, which was later revised to 3 percent.  

New Jersey officials have issued a $108,000 fine to a Burlington County ambulance squad after finding the crew drove an ambulance to 90 emergencies even though the vehicle was not licensed through the state's Department of Health. Shamong Medical Services, which is part of the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company, responded to those calls between Oct. 7, 2018 and Oct. 9, 2019, according to a Feb. 19 notice from the state to EMS Chief Dave Taylor. The squad is licensed to provide basic life support within the state and operates two vehicles that are licensed with the state, according to the notice. However, an audit prompted by an anonymous complaint found a third ambulance "responded to 90 emergency assignments over 72 days, even though (the ambulance) was unlicensed (through the state health department)," the notice states.  

Maybe it's finally time to recognize the 699 New York City firefighters who battled the famous New York City Telephone Company fire 45 years ago today. Nearly 700 men fought the awful five-alarm inferno that broke out in the early morning hours of Feb. 27, 1975 at the telephone company's switching center on Second Ave. and 13th St., what is now the Verizon Building. Some call it the worst fire before 9/11. For those who have forgotten, the local news reports of the day will remind us. A short circuit in a basement cable vault early that morning sparked a fire of polyvinyl chloride-sheathed cable that engulfed the 11-story building in flames. That PVC cable burned throughout the early morning and into the next day, releasing cancer-causing toxins throughout the East Village.