VIDEO: Residents of a Lansing apartment building were forced to jump from windows as a fire broke out early Monday morning. Flames were reported on just after 3 a.m. at a building in the 3000 block of Bernice Avenue, authorities said. Firefighters arrived to find the first, second and third floor of the building "fully engulfed." One person was taken to an area hospital after jumping out of a window and two others were taken for smoke inhalation, fire officials said. Two police officers were also hospitalized for smoke inhalation but later released, according to authorities. Residents reported that neighbors rushed to the scene and were working to catch those who were jumping. "I go to the back door, black smoke hit me," said resident Brian Blaney. "I had to jump out of the window and that man caught me out of the window."  

A central Illinois fire department has announced the death of a retired fire chief. The Randolph Township Fire Protection District said Chief Dennis Powell passed away at the age of 78. Firefighters said he died from natural causes. Powell was a veteran firefighter with 56 years of experience in the department. He was fire chief for his last 39 years on the job. Firefighters said Powell served on multiple boards and committees in McLean County and MABAS Division 41. Firefighters announced a visitation for Powell is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at Heyworth Christian Church (309 N. Vine St., Heyworth). Firefighters will arrive at 6:15 p.m. for a firefighter walkthrough. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5.  

A fire broke out early Sunday an apartment complex in Lakeview, displacing at least 40 people. Firefighters were called at 4 a.m. to the blaze at a three-story apartment building in the 800-block of West Bradley Avenue, according to Chicago Fire Dept. Deputy District Chief Curtis Hudson. The fire - which was extinguished in a half hour - was limited to the second and third floors, and destroyed at least two apartments, Hudson said. The building, however, was not a total loss, he said. Forty people were displaced, and no injuries were reported, Chicago police said in a media notification. Several of the displaced people sought refuge in the lobby of a nearby bank, Hudson said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.  

An 84-year-old Glenview woman died after being pulled from a house fire Friday night. Glenview fire officials responded about 10:30 p.m. to the 0-block of Elm Street for a reported structure fire, Glenview Fire Chief Tony DeRose said. A passerby or neighbor had called 911 to report that there was smoke coming from the home's roof, he said. When firefighters arrived, they found an individual, later identified as Joanne Strickland, inside. She was transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she was pronounced deceased at 11:02 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control, but did not immediately know what caused it. That is under investigation, DeRose said.  

A large fire broke out in a rural area in the Village of Gilberts in Kane County Sunday afternoon. The fire in the Northwest suburb broke out at the site of a construction company. Firefighters faced a challenge from Sunday's high winds, but it is unclear if those winds were a factor. A lack of hydrants at the location was also a challenge, officials said. They said they had to truck in water to fight the flames. As of Sunday night, crews were still battling the blaze. Officials have not reported any injuries.  

A local tattoo shop owner and Sycamore alderman will be recognized during next week's City Council meeting. A proclamation recognizing 4th Ward Alderman Rick "Spider" Kramer, who's battling stage 4 nasopharyngeal cancer, for his service to the city is expected to be read during the City Council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday via Zoom. According to city documents, the proclamation reads that Kramer has dutifully served as a 4th Ward alderman since May 2011. It also noted Kramer's more than 30-year career as a volunteer firefighter and his passion for public safety, his being active in community groups including Moose Lodge No. 1506 and being a local business owner of Spider Tattooz for many years.  

VIDEO: Neighbors in Meadowmere Park first heard the explosion around 6 a.m. Meadowmere Park Fire Chief Kevin Carrero lives in the neighborhood and woke up to the noise. "It was like a big explosion, like a bomb went off. I thought it was a transformer that blew up but it was just too loud," Carrero said. The 63-year-old man living inside the home that exploded was airlifted to a hospital, the Nassau County Police Department said in a release. According to police, the man suffered severe burns. Two firefighters from Valley Stream Fire Department also sustained injuries, according to a Nassau County fire marshal. The firefighters were injured after a chimney fell on top of the firefighters, leaving them with bruises and lacerations, police said. The home identified by officials as the site of the explosion was completely leveled and the homes on either side were severely damaged.  

A copper time capsule, placed 101 years ago behind a granite cornerstone at the downtown fire station, was opened by firefighters Friday. The copper box contained a hand-signed ledger of the fire crew at the time, news clippings, a penny and mementos from a fireman's ball with the York, Maine, Fire Department. Accessing the capsule required hours of labor by Mark Young of East Coast Masonry, who cut through mortar without damaging the white marble cornerstone engraved with the year 1919. Fire Chief Todd Germain said they knew it was there because it was mentioned in a book about the history of the Portsmouth Fire Department by former chief Steve Achilles, as well as Ray Brighton's "They Came to Fish." The cornerstone is at the base of a wall at the front, right of the fire station, is more than 16 inches thick. When Young wasn't finding the time capsule quickly, Lt. Russ Osgood said, some began to wonder if it was "the greatest practical joke in the history of firefighting."  

A new video shows San Antonio firefighters rescuing several riders stuck on a rollercoaster at SeaWorld. SAFD crews were called out to SeaWorld, located at 10500 Sea World Drive on the far West Side, around 1 p.m. Sunday. The riders were reportedly stranded on SeaWorld's Wave Breaker rollercoaster. The video shows firefighters utilizing a high-extension ladder to reach the riders and get them down safely. Other details surrounding the incident are limited as of yet. We've reached out to SeaWorld for further comment and San Antonio Fire Department but have not yet received additional details.  

After 72 years of putting out fires, responding to crashes and helping out in medical emergencies, the largely volunteer-run town of Madison Fire Department flickers out Sunday. The city of Madison Fire Department officially takes over fire protection responsibilities for town residents at midnight on Sunday in preparation for the eventual dissolution of the town of Madison in two years. "It's kind of highs and lows depending on the day," town of Madison Fire Chief David Bloom said Saturday. "You hate to see the station get closed up and you don't want people to not have jobs or have a volunteer opportunity that they love." The department has six full-time employees, four interns who live at the station on Fish Hatchery Road and about 15 volunteers, he said. Three full-timers are transferring to the city of Madison Fire Department, and the other three are retiring, including the 72-year-old Bloom, who said he bought a new fishing pole in anticipation of the free time.  

It feels like whenever I cough these days it triggers a mini-panic attack that I promptly try to quash with a steady stream of chamomile tea. Thankfully, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they figured out a way to gauge whether a person has COVID-19 just from the sound of their cough, so I may soon get to put my inner hypochondriac to rest. The tool uses neural networks that can detect the subtle changes in a person's cough that indicate whether they're infected, even if they don't have any other symptoms. Asymptomatic people infected with COVID-19 are a vector for the virus that's particularly tricky to manage, in part because they're less likely to get tested because, duh, why would they if they're feeling fine, right? Thus, carriers could infect others without even realizing it. But even asymptomatic carriers have one tell that shows they're infected, MIT researchers found. It's all in the cough.