VIDEO: Exactly one year ago Friday, veteran Chicago Firefighter Jan Tchoryk made the ultimate sacrifice. On Friday, the badge worn by the lieutenant for more than two decades was officially retired joining the wall of fallen heroes at the Chicago Fire Department. With one more salute, the city of Chicago, the Tchoryk family and the fire department he so loved came to pay tribute one year after Lt. Tchoryk died in the line of duty. "Today, we gather with heavy hearts to honor the memory of a true hero," the fire commissioner said. "The badge that we retire today is not merely a piece of metal. It is a symbol of honor, integrity and unwavering commitment to duty that we all wear." It was April 5, 2023 when Tchoryk was leading a ladder crew in a staircase, trying to put out the wind-driven blaze in a Gold Coast high-rise, when he collapsed.  

VIDEO: Several women across the state who are working in the male dominated industry attended the conference Saturday. The event was hosted by the community outreach group, the Fire Service Women of Illinois-which included guest speakers in the industry, tips and tricks from local leaders, and a live Q&A with local fire service leaders. The president of the local community outreach group Fire Service Women of Illinois says the goal is to recruit more young women into the field. She also says there are only 8% of women in firefighting nationwide and just six women in the Peoria Fire Department. "Women don't make up a lot of the fire service, and they certainly don't make up a lot of women in the fire careers," said Lynch. The event was sponsored by the Peoria Fire Department.  

VIDEO: A firefighter was taken to the hospital early Friday evening after a fire broke out at the iconic Smith & Wollensky steakhouse at Marina City. The fire broke out in the kitchen at the iconic steakhouse, which is located right on the north bank of the Chicago River at 318 N. State St. Chicago Fire Department officials said the fire traveled through the ventilation system. There was concern that smoke could possibly billow out into the residential Marina Towers as well. The fire was called in around 5:15 p.m. Marina City and State Street nearby were lit up with siren lights, and a haze of smoke clouded the air. Dozens of firefighters were seen going in and out of Smith & Wollensky carrying fire equipment. "So upon arrival, the companies did an excellent job in containing a fire to the kitchen area," said CFD District Chief Shun T. Haynes.  

A fire burned through several units of an under construction housing development overnight on Sunday. The Phoenix Fire Department responded to multiple homes burning at 59th Avenue and Baseline Road around 11:30 p.m. Flames could be seen from the Loop 202. At least 75 firefighters responded to control the blaze, which was upgraded to a second-alarm at one point during the night. Due to the development still being under construction, the fire department had issues with water supply. "Because this is a new housing development, some of this water grid isn't fully set up, some of our fire hydrants did not have connecting water to it," said Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller. Firefighters from seven different cities in the Valley assisted in controlling the fire.  

VIDEO/PHOTO: A piece of Minnesota firefighting history is sending some retired volunteers down memory lane. A collector from New Mexico posted on Facebook last week that he bought an old fire truck and, after tracing some of its history, discovered it belonged to Bloomington beginning in the 1950s. Fred Fuecker, a 23-year volunteer firefighter, says he served on the truck in 1968. "Only place you see those is in the old books that we keep," he said. Pete Heger volunteered for 25 years. He considers himself an unofficial historian of sorts for the department. Heger served with the truck too in the 1970s and shared a couple of old photos of it with WCCO. Neither Heger nor Fuecker thought they'd ever see it again. "Brought back memories when I was at the old station before a lot of these guys were even around," Fuecker said.  

The increased traffic and spectacle of the total solar eclipse on Monday could imperil motorists, with researchers warning that fatal collisions increased during previous eclipses and law enforcement bracing for the event. There was a 31% increase in fatal traffic accidents during the 2017 total eclipse – and even in the days before and after the astrological event – according to a letter published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal this week. The surge in accidents wasn't linked to the moments of darkness when the moon obscured the sun – surprisingly, "we see a significant decrease during the single hour that involves the eclipse," co-author Dr. Donald Redelmeier wrote. The problem is the surrounding hours, when people are traveling to their place of observation and especially afterwards," Redelmeier, the University of Toronto professor of medicine, told Live Science.