Over 130 municipal workers, including a large group of Chicago Fire Department employees, filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming the vaccination mandates imposed by the city and state are unconstitutional. Filed in federal court in Chicago, the suit challenges an executive order signed Sept. 3 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker requiring health care workers and certain state employees and contractors to be fully vaccinated. In addition to a host of Fire Department employees, the plaintiffs also include workers from the city's Water and Transportation departments. The complaint similarly pushes back against a mandate imposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, which required all city workers to report their vaccination status on the city's portal earlier this month. The conflict over Lightfoot's vaccine mandate has already sparked a legal battle between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 that's playing out in Cook County court.  

Two Chicago aldermen Thursday filed an ordinance to repeal the COVID vaccine mandate established by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The ordinance, filed by Aldermen Silvana Tabares and Anthony Napolitano, seeks to make sure that any policy that puts city employees on no-pay status requires City Council approval. Tabares said at the heart of the matter is union rights, not the vaccine itself. She was one of six aldermen who sent a letter to the mayor last month opposing the mandate. "I filed an ordinance this morning that would repeal the vaccine mandate and to require city council approval on any future mandates," Tabares said. Late Thursday afternoon, Chicago Police provided updated numbers, saying now there are only 20 officers who have refused direct orders to enter their vaccination status in the city's portal, and are stripped of their police powers and on no-pay status. A spokesperson saying nearly 70% of officers have complied, up from 64% on Monday.  

A small electrical fire at the Armstrong plant Thursday afternoon halted production, according to Kankakee Fire Chief Bryan LaRoche. Firefighters were dispatched at 3:30 p.m. to the plant located near the intersection of Brookmont Boulevard and North Hobbie Avenue (Illinois Route 50), according to LaRoche. The fire was in an electrical panel on a production line that controlled the ovens/heating elements that bake the tile, LaRoche said. Ventilation was required, and no injuries were reported.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: On February 20, 2003, 100 people were killed and more than 200 were injured when The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, burned to the ground. It was one of the deadliest club fires in American history. Three people were charged, including the club owners Jeff and Michael Derderian, but they say there is more to the story. CBS News chief investigative and senior national correspondent Jim Axelrod investigates in "The Station Nightclub Fire: Who's Responsible?" an all-new "48 Hours" airing Saturday, October 23, at 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+. It all started around 11 p.m. when the rock band Jack Russell's Great White took the stage and the group's tour manager, Daniel Biechele, set off four large fireworks called gerbs.  

Continuing an initiative to install solar panels on buildings in Asheville and Buncombe County, the City of Asheville recently "flipped the switch" on solar panels just installed at Fire Station 10. Located on Old Haywood Road, Fire Station 10 became the second facility to include renewable energy production. The photovoltaic array, or solar panels, will now provide about 40% of the energy consumed by the fire station. This installation, along with the first at the Transit Station on Coxe Avenue, support the Asheville City Council's 100% Renewable Energy Initiative and the council's goal of A Clean and Healthy Environment. The larger initiative includes installing solar panels on Buncombe County government, Asheville City and Buncombe County schools and AB-Tech facilities.  

VIDEO: The medical director of Dallas Fire-Rescue has something he hopes you see that could save your life in the fight against COVID-19. FOX 4's Shaun Rabb got personal with DFR Medical Director Dr. Marshall Isaacs about his tattoos. They mark his journey of overcoming and finding hope. He now hopes his tattoos will lead others to make a decision that could save their lives. The role of the medical director for Dallas Fire-Rescue is to support paramedics, firefighters and officers in providing the highest quality emergency medical services to the people of Dallas when they call 911. The Highland Hills Apartments explosion was a mayday moment for Dr. Isaacs and DFR. Civilians and four firefighters were hurt. "I was most concerned with how badly injured our firefighters were," he said.  

Standing beside a table full of the contents from a time capsule "buried" at the fire station in 1936, retired Fire Capt. Bob Ferris remarked on the photo of his grandfather, former Fire Chief Herb Ferris. "It was a little emotional to see this," Bob Ferris said. On Thursday afternoon, city officials, including Mayor Roxann Wedegartner, and a handful of members of the Fire Department were invited to the temporary fire station on Hope Street for the opening of a time capsule taken from the southeast cornerstone of the former fire station on Main Street. The opening of the time capsule took place just hours before the city closed on the sale of the property near the intersection of Main Street and Coombs Avenue, where the new permanent fire station is slated to be built.  

A major earthquake in California is likely to knock out many communications services for days or weeks, including the vast majority of cellphones in the areas closest to the epicenter, according to a landmark new analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey. The widespread disruption would imperil the public's access to 911 operators and lead to delays in reporting fires and calls for medical help. Cell towers are vulnerable to sustained power outages. The same goes for cellular equipment on power poles and buildings at risk of extreme shaking, liquefaction and fire, the USGS said. California's cellphone networks have been notoriously unreliable during blackouts that occur during life-threatening emergencies, such as during wildfires in 2019, where wide swaths of the San Francisco Bay Area were cut off from cell service for significant periods.