A 17-year-old boy was on an Old Town rooftop with friends early Friday morning, when he fell about 40 feet down a ventilator shaft, Chicago police said. There was a large emergency response on LaSalle Street in Old Town early Friday as crews worked to rescue the teen from between two buildings, Chicago fire officials said. Chicago firefighters were notified of the incident at 1220 N. LaSalle St., near Goethe Street, about 4 a.m. When crews arrived, they found the teen had fallen about four or five stories, about 40 feet, down the shaft. Chicago police officers were called in to help, and emergency responders were lowered into the space to rescue the boy, who was unconscious, CFD Deputy District Chief for the 1st District Thomas Carbonneau said Friday.  

The city of Rockford Fire and Police Commission and the city are looking for community input for experience potential candidates should have. The commission recently retained Industrial/Organizational Solutions to help the evaluation of candidates for the fire chief and police chief positions. Residents can submit comments on the next Rockford fire chief via email to [email protected] and send comments on the future police chief of Rockford to [email protected]. "After candidates for both positions have been thoroughly vetted and evaluated, the city will host web-based meetings for residents to meet the candidates," the city of Rockford said. The city will release more information on meetings with potential candidates at a later date.  

Fire department veteran Annette Nance-Holt's day has finally come after nearly 30 years of climbing the ranks in the Chicago Fire Department. Last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot nominated Nance-Holt as the city's first Black female fire commissioner. All that stands in her way is approval by the City Council, but sources say that is likely to happen. The mayor said Nance-Holt's pending confirmation will be "yet another crack in that glass ceiling." The City Council is expected to vote on the nomination May 26, 2021. "I know a thing or two about firsts, so Madam Commissioner, welcome to the club," said Lightfoot, who is the city's first Black woman and first gay person to serve as Chicago's mayor. In a statement, Nance-Holt said, "The Fire Department must have membership and leadership that mirrors the communities it serves every day. As a child, I never laid eyes on either a female firefighter or a firefighter of color.  

The Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office, MABAS Division 15 fire investigators, the Coal City Police Department and the Coal City Fire District are still investigating an apartment complex fire that occurred at 530 East Third Street in Coal City around 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19th. The Coal City Fire Department said the blaze was located in a lower unit of an apartment building. Crews made entry and extinguished the fire. The fire damaged two buildings within the apartment complex. One occupant from each building was displaced from the fire and no injuries were reported. Police officials say the blaze is considered suspicious. The Coal City Fire District was assisted by Braidwood, Wilmington, Morris, Gardner, Channahon, Dwight, Elwood, Troy, Manhattan, Wilmington ESDA, and Grundy County EMA.  

A fractured gas line is likely to blame for the explosion and fire at Sharkey's restaurant earlier this month, Peoria Fire Chief James Bachman said. The official cause is still officially listed as "undetermined," he said. However, investigators found a busted gas line inside the eatery at 913 S. Western Ave. Seeping gas likely was ignited by a pilot light or other ignition source, he said. The department is continuing with its probe, including what caused the line to break, Bachman said. About 12:30 a.m. May 8, firefighters were called to Sharkey's, arriving to find the building engulfed in flames. The fire was brought under control in about 25 minutes, but a crew stayed on scene for another two hours to extinguish hot spots.  

VIDEOS: Napa's fire department is burning up social media with a new safety video. It's a rock parody with a fire prevention message. "We thought it would be funny if we did the Talking Heads song, "Burning Down the House," explained Napa Fire Marshal Greg Fortune. "But we did it as "Don't Burn Down Your House." 40 years after the original hit, the fire department spoof features Fortune and his team of fire inspectors and staff. The lyrics admonish listeners to change batteries in smoke detectors, and cool ashes before dumping them, among other tips. The cast lip synchs and pretends to jam on guitars, with Fortune handling vocals. "It was so fun, but originally I was super-reluctant to be part of this," admitted Shuree Egloff, a management analyst for the Fire Department. In the video, she is one of three back-up dancers, slinging guitars.  

PHOTOS: Two fire engines collided near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus Thursday afternoon, injuring six firefighters, according to fire officials. Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Doug Coffman said the accident took place at South University Avenue and West 28th Street at 4:29 p.m. According to Coffman, the six firefighters were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Coffman said the engines were responding to the same call on Broadmoor Drive that came in at 4:24 p.m., but he did not give any other information about the call. The engines met at the intersection, according to Coffman, but the details of the collision are still under investigation. "They're still doing the investigation on it, but they both came to that intersection at the same time," Coffman said. "Now, I don't know if somebody went through a light. I don't know any of that information."  

VIDEO: A fire raged through several buildings in Revere, Massachusetts, Thursday, sending smoke high into the air over a tightly packed neighborhood near the ocean. The five-alarm fire burned on Endicott Avenue, near the world-famous Revere Beach. Six buildings were damaged, three badly, Revere fire Chief Christopher Bright said, but it didn't appear that anyone was hurt. At least 15 families have been impacted, and firefighters were seen removing dead animals from a building. Aerial footage showed flames rushing up the sides of at least two homes as firefighters on cranes doused them with water. The smoke could be seen for miles. One building appeared to have gotten the brunt of the damage. It seemed to be a double-wide triple-decker apartment building, with two apartments on either side of each floor.  

Across the country and right here in central PA, fighting fire is in most cases a male-dominated field. But right here in Central Pennsylvania there is an exception to the norm. Molly Gontis, a 9th grader said, "I'm a freshman." Molly is just 16 years old and her partners in fire, as they go by the three amigos, are only 17 and juniors in high school in Boswell. Liliana Shumaker said, "How did this happen? Um well, girl power I guess." Rebecca (Becca) Slate said, "You have to be a team, everybody has to work together to have one goal. In mind. And what's that goal? That goal is to get the fire out and have everybody safe." When I first saw the trio, it was here in Hooversville earlier this year as flames tore through a historic church. Molly Gontis said, "All of our pages went off on our phone." Rebecca (Becca) Slate said, "So that was my first fire I've ever been on." The high schoolers were in class one minute, then rushing to the fire station the next.  

As the world is getting back to some normalcy, medical experts want to reemphasize the pandemic isn't over, which is why the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's research team is trying to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on first responders. OSU Wexner Medical Center and researchers at the OSU College of Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Cancer Institute in the National Institutes of Health to study the long-term, longitudinal impact of COVID-19 on first responders, healthcare workers, and the general population. Ashish Panchal, a professor of emergency medicine at OSU, said the goal is to enroll 2,000 first responders– including their family members or those they have close contact with. "The big focus about first responders for us is that they're the ones on the front lines," Panchal said. The grant will follow first responders for five years.