Monday, Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Richard C. Ford II commemorated 140 Firefighter EMTs and Fire Paramedics who are graduating from the Fire Academy in a ceremony at Navy Pier. The graduation class includes 33 military veterans, 20 former Chicago police officers and 11 former graduates of Chicago Public Schools, the mayor's office said. The 110 new Firefighters are 44% minority, with 32% who identify as Hispanic, 8% as African-American and 2% as Asian-American. In addition, the graduation ceremony will also recognize 30 new paramedics who will begin their district assignments with CFD Emergency Medical Services this month, the mayor's office said.  

Springfield fire investigators and Springfield police detectives are trying to determine the cause of a fire that claimed the life of a Springfield woman in the 700 block of South State Street early Saturday morning. Springfield Police were still securing the scene Sunday morning due to the investigation, said SPD Lt. Christopher Russell, and crime scene technicians spent a large part of Sunday at the home. Abby Neisler, 24, was found in her bedroom in the home by Springfield firefighters responding to the call. Neisler succumbed to injuries at the scene, said Fire Chief Allen Reyne, though it will be up to the Sangamon County coroner's office to determine the cause of death. A bicyclist in the neighborhood who saw smoke and flames coming from the house made the 911 call.  

The Aurora Fire Department and a group of citizens stood in blustery cold winds and rain Saturday to remember three firefighters killed while battling a raging fire 86 years ago. The Jan. 11, 1934 fire claimed the lives of Capt. Herbert Reiss, 37, Capt. John Petersohn, 48, and firefighter Charles Hoffman, 35, when a wall of the Woolworth store collapsed onto them. "The tragedy is always in the back of our minds," Aurora Fire Chief Gary Krienitz said at a wreath laying ceremony in what is now Mundy Park. The Aurora Fire Department Honor Guard placed the wreath at the base of a memorial plaque. It was the first time the ceremony included the somber notes of the Oswego Fire Pipes and Drums. About 35 people joined more than a dozen firefighters at the ceremony.  

A fire caused significant damage to part of a former Decatur nursing home Friday evening. Firefighters told WAND-TV they responded at 4:45 p.m. to what used to be Lincoln Manor Healthcare (2650 N. Monroe St.) and smoke on the north end of the structure. They had the flames extinguished about 20 minutes after arriving. Six units from the Decatur Fire Department responded to the scene. Damage was limited to a storage room on the northwest corner of the building. Crews said about 10 percent of the facility took significant damage, while the rest had minor damage. Contractors working on remodeling the building were in front of it when firefighters responded. There were no people inside at the time and no injuries. Firefighters worked to clear hot spots and left the scene at about 8:15 p.m. Friday.  

The Kankakee Fire Department now is equipped with life-saving oxygen masks for pets. The department received a donation of five kits on Tuesday from Invisible Fence, which has donated more than 25,000 kits since 2006 through its Project Breathe program. "I have two sons who own dogs," Kankakee Fire Chief Damon Schuldt said. "Like a lot of people, their pets are like part of the family. Saving pets is certainly within the realm of what we do. These oxygen masks will provide vital support for pet resuscitation efforts." Schuldt said firefighters have performed CPR on animals found in structure fires in the past. One such incident came in July 2018, when Kankakee firefighters pulled five dogs from a house fire in the 900 block of South Sixth Avenue. Four of the five dogs perished.  

No one was injured in an apartment fire at 610 North Henrietta Street Saturday morning in Effingham. Members of the Effingham Fire Department were dispatched to the scene at 11:09 a.m. followed by members of the Teutopolis Fire Protection District. Effingham Assistant Fire Chief Matt Kulesza said the fire started in the kitchen of one of the first-floor apartments. When the crew arrived, he said they found the fire had spread into the next room. "It started in the kitchen area between the microwave and the stove," Kulesza said. "They went ahead and did a can attack on it," he said. "It subdued the fire enough until we could get our main hose line in."  

VIDEO: A massive fire ripped through several buildings, including a pair of apartment complexes under construction in downtown Bound Brook Sunday night, according to fire officials. Firefighters, who continued to battle the blaze past 11 p.m., said there were no serious injuries. A Bound Brook firefighter was treated for a sprained ankle. The fire broke out on East Main Street near Mountain Avenue shortly before 8 p.m. Photos and video showed roaring flames spreading to both sides of the street and consuming a building in the borough's downtown commercial district. In addition to the construction sites, Bound Brook Police Chief Vito Bet said the fire spread to two houses and an electronics store, as well. "The whole thing caught flame quickly," Bet said. The fire "was so hot it blew to the other new building under construction across the street. We're gonna be out here for awhile. It keeps rekindling."  

The Colorado Department of Public Safety is using a high-tech airplane to try and solve the mystery of the drones flying in Northeast Colorado. They call it a multi-mission aircraft and it's usually used to help fight fires. "We're charged with public safety as one of the missions from our department. That's how we operate, to support whatever the Department of Public Safety is going to need for a mission," said Rocco Snart, the Planning Branch Chief for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. "Our biggest mission is supporting initial attack and detection. We can see the heat through there with the infrared. We can see the edge of where the fire line is." The plane belongs to the Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control, which probably has you wondering why a fire fighting plane is out looking for drones.  

A group of Detroit firefighters who made national headlines by posing for a group photo in front of an empty, burning home on New Year's Eve will be disciplined for what the city's fire commissioner described as a "momentary lapse in judgement." Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said an investigation into the incident has wrapped up. It determined that firefighters who responded to the blaze initially went into the home to fight the fire, but were ordered out and told to fight the fire defensively - from the outside only - because of safety concerns over the home's structural integrity, according to the Associated Press. "During this transition from offensive operations to defensive operations, a suggestion was made to take a photo, with the retiring battalion chief, in front of the building," Jones said, calling their actions "inappropriate behavior."  

VIDEO: North Little Rock has invested millions of dollars in its Fire Department over the past few years to create one of the most prepared disaster organizations in the state, officials said. The department has received more than $36 million over the past two years, and part of that is being used to beef up its specialized units. The hazardous materials and special operations teams received $177,000 from the city in 2019, an increase from $151,000 in 2018. The hazardous materials team alone is expected to get $87,000 this year, and Fire Department officials say that money is being spent to equip teams with the best materials available. The department currently has the equipment needed to respond to anything from water rescues to natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks, said Beau Buford, assistant fire chief.  

The Myrtle Beach Fire Department hosted its first companion fire academy on Sunday to show the people closest to them what they do every day on the job. The wives and significant others of 14 different firefighters suited up in their own turnout gear, went through the agility training course, climbed up the ladder on the engine, and even drove a fire engine at Sunday's academy. Chief of the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, Tom Gwyer says it's important to show the people who support the firefighters at home what they do on the job. "We try to disassociate our personal lives from our professional life, but some of the things that that we see, some of the things that we experience on the job, inevitably, we take home. Without the support of our family to be there it would make the job much more difficult," Chief Gwyer said.