Freeport Fire Department Chief Brad Liggett, aged 55, passed away suddenly on Saturday, according to the department. Liggett had served with the Freeport Fire Department since July 2019, after serving the City of Beloit's Fire Department for 30 years, including 16 years as the department's Fire Chief. Liggett was elected as the 1st Vice President of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association in December 2021. Funeral arrangements will be made available through Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home in Beloit. The City of Freeport offered their condolences to Liggett's wife, family and friend and the City of Beloit Fire Department.  

One person was taken to a hospital following a blazing fire in St. Charles Friday night. According to the St. Charles Fire Department, crews were dispatched to the 1602 Evergreen Street, for a report of a fire in the building. Firefighters were there within minutes, and found moderate smoke within the residence, and a fire contained to a bedroom. The fire was brought under control within 10 minutes, and damages to the building and contents is estimated to be around $10,000, according to the department. No firefighter casualties occurred, but one civilian was taken to Delnor Hospital.  

The Beardstown Fire Department was able to save most of a two-story home today after an attic fire. At approximately 1:45PM the Beardstown Fire Department was dispatched to a residence in the 1400 block of Edwards Street. The caller said that they could smell smoke coming from the attic area, but not see anything. When Firefighters arrived within 2 minutes of the call, there was visible smoke and flames coming from the back of the residence. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames and mitigated any further damage to the property despite frigid temperatures. Firefighters remained on scene for about an hour for mop up. According to the Beardstown Fire Department's Facebook Page, Beardstown Ambulance was on scene as well as Arenzville Fire were called for mutual aid coverage.  

A deer got another lease on life after being saved from drowning by local firefighters. The rescue happened Saturday morning, according to the Harlem-Roscoe Fire Protection District. A deer reportedly fell through some ice into the frozen water underneath. Crews were able to pull her out of the water and proceeded to give her warm fluids, as well as a heated blanket to get her body temperature back up. The firefighters that rescued her named her "Betty White," after the late Hollywood legend who died last week at age 99. The deer is reportedly doing well.  

On Saturday, Jan. 8, the Bloomington Fire Department responded to a shed fire at 502 Lutz Road. The call was made at 4:22 p.m. according to Bloomington Township Assistant Fire Chief Les Siron. Four fire departments responded, with about 27 firefighters on the scene. Siron said when the firefighters arrived, they noticed the firewood shed was completely engulfed in flames, taking about two hours to get the fire under control. Firefighters stayed an additional hour, knocking out hotspots. Siron estimates there was about $120,000 in damage. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: An electric space heater is being blamed for sparking the horrific high-rise Bronx apartment fire that killed at least 19 people, including nine children, city officials confirmed Sunday evening. The fire originated in a duplex on the second and third floors of the building but never extended past the unit and the hallway nearest the apartment, FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro revealed. Smoke generated from the duplex blaze was able to filter out through an open door and spread throughout the 19-story structure, he explained. "The door to that apartment unfortunately when the residents left was left open, it did not close by itself. The smoke spread throughout the building, thus the tremendous loss of life," Nigro said at an evening press briefing. The functionality of the building's fire alarms were under investigation, but Nigro said one did alert a neighbor to the rising smoke and prompted the initial 911 call.  

The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Fallen Fire Fighter Foundation (NFFF), International Association Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) are calling on Congress to immediately pass critical legislation to improve fire safety in public housing and older high-rise buildings. The call follows two tragic fires in the last 5 days that claimed the lives of at least 31 people and injured well over 60. The first fire occurred at a public housing rowhouse in Philadelphia on January 5, 2022, and claimed the lives of twelve people including eight children. The second blaze occurred on January 9th in the Bronx. This second fire is the worst incident in New York City in 30 years and claimed the lives of 19 individuals. Another 63 have been reported injured, some of them critically, and the death toll may increase further in the days ahead.  

PHOTOS: As he stood in the third-floor corner room that served as his office from 2000 to 2010, retired Hartford Fire Chief Charles Teale reflected on some of the more historic moments that had taken place at the Pearl Street headquarters during his tenure. He recalled firefighters coming into the room after the 9/11 attacks and dumping piles of money they had collected for the 343 firefighters who perished at Ground Zero out onto the long conference table that dominated the room. Teale also remembered the meetings held in the aftermath of the 2003 Greenwood Health Center fire that claimed the lives of 16 people. Investigators concluded the fire was started by a resident with a history of mental illness and substance abuse who had been playing with a lighter in her bed. A self-taught Hartford and fire department historian, Teale is very familiar with the history of the three-story brick building and speaks reverently of it.  

On the morning of January 6, 2021, Christopher Holmes was starting out his second day as a battalion chief for DC Fire and EMS. "I'd just recently been promoted," said Holmes, who's been with the department for more than 20 years. In his role as battalion chief, he was part of the team helping to lead the DC Fire and EMS response at the Capitol as a violent crowd began storming the building. "We noticed they were starting to get onto the grounds of the Capitol, and we repositioned to make sure our EMS resources wouldn't get blocked in," Holmes recalled. "We pretty much staged in a couple different areas so we could responsibly deploy our resources." In the hours that followed, D.C. firefighters and paramedics would treat hundreds of people for injuries, both police officers and rioters.  

In an ideal world, the U.S. would be awash in COVID tests. Anyone exposed to COVID-19 could self-test and/or go to a lab or clinic for a test if necessary. But right now, self-tests are in short supply in many parts of the country. The Biden administration is pledging to distribute 500 million rapid tests "within weeks," White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday, but few other details have been announced. And test manufacturers are ramping up production, so the hope is that at some point, although no one can say exactly when, you won't be seeing those "no tests available" signs at the local pharmacy or have to wait a week or more for tests ordered online. What's more, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed its testing guidelines in the wake of the omicron surge in the U.S. — and public health researchers are critical of some of the recommendations.