Don's Hot Dogs, a staple of Orland Park for more than 40 years, was destroyed by a fire Wednesday in the south suburb. The fire broke out in the early morning in the rear of the small fast food service building, 7245 W. 151st St., city spokesman Ray Hanania said in a statement. Firefighters arrived and found heavy fire and smoke shooting through the roof, he said. The fire was extinguished within an hour, but the building was badly damaged. No one was hurt. Don's Hot Dogs has boasted on its social media pages that it served "the best comfort food since 1977." Donald S. Habich opened the restaurant until passing it on to his son, Joel, according to the Daily Southtown. Joel Habich was unable to be reached for comment.  

Police and firefighter/paramedics from Aurora responded about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday July 29, 2020 to a report of an apartment fire at the Sage Crest Hills apartment buildings, 827 North Lake Street in downtown Aurora just west of the Fox River. A fire was reported on the third floor of a 6-story brick apartment building. The Aurora fire department elevated the fire response to a 3rd Alarm and dispatched multiple ambulances to the scene for six victims reporting initially minor smoke inhalation conditions. One firefighter was treated on scene for a minor injury that did not require transport to a hospital. Extreme heat from weather was also a factor while fighting the fire: Air Temperature was 85°F with a Heat Index of 90°F at 1:52 p.m. at nearby Dupage Airport in West Chicago. Winds were from the SW at 9 MPH. Two Pace buses were called to the scene to provide relief from the heat for the residents who were evacuated.  

No one was hurt Wednesday afternoon after a fire destroyed a detached garage in the 200 block of South Oak Street. Capt. Tim Peasley of the Maroa Fire Department said firefighters were called to the scene around 1:09 p.m. He said the garage was fully engulfed by the time they arrived, and it took about 30 minutes to put out the flames. Peasley said the garage contained a boat and motorcycle inside and is considered a total loss. The Office of the State Fire Marshal has been contacted to investigate the cause of the blaze. Hickory Point, Kenney, Clinton and Argenta-Oreana fire departments also responded to the fire with Maroa.  

Police and firefighter/paramedics from Hoffman Estates responded about 2020 to a report of a crash with multiple injuries at Golf Road and Southbridge Lane in Hoffman Estates. Firefighter/paramedics on arrival reported a crash with moderate damage to the vehicles. A second ambulance was dispatched to the scene 8:41 a.m. and a third ambulance was dispatched to the scene at 8:44 a.m. for injuries that initially appeared to be minor injuries. Schaumburg firefighter/paramedics were assigned as the third ambulance crew, assisting Hoffman Estates firefighter/paramedics. All patients were transported by 9:12 a.m. Eastbound lanes of Golf Road were mostly affected with a traffic backup to Moon Lake Boulevard at about 9:00 a.m.  

Callers to 911 in Houston will no longer be asked if they are experiencing COVID-like symptoms, changing a months-long practice to pass on the information to first responders. Firefighters are now told to treat every call as if the patient or home is COVID-positive. Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said the change is an admission of the widespread nature of the virus in the city and out of concern that callers were not always offering true information. For months, Pena pleaded with the public to give honest answers to protect firefighters, who have sustained large numbers of COVID-forced quarantines. The change was announced on the same day the Houston Fire Department attended a funeral for Captain Leroy Lucio, Houston's first firefighter to die from COVID-19. Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association president Marty Lancton told ABC13 he can't understand why the department would want less information for firefighters instead of more.  

Scientists at Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine have launched one of the first tracking tools that provides a daily snapshot into COVID-19 cases in rural communities across the country. Using data from The New York Times and other sources, the COVID Urban Rural Explorer (CURE) focuses specifically on highlighting rural urban inequities in COVID trends by county and provides a daily report on rural areas experiencing spikes in COVID-19 cases. More specifically, the CURE tracker enables users to identify rural counties with both limited hospital capacity and where cases are rapidly growing. "There are several data dashboards out there showing COVID-19 cases and deaths across the country, but we noticed that few if any are focused on rural-urban disparities," said Ofer Amram, lead developer of the tool and assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the WSU College of Medicine.  

PHOTOS: Four firefighters were injured after a fire broke out at a mobile home park in Quincy Wednesday afternoon. According to the Plumas County Sheriff's Office, the fire started just before 1 p.m. in the 600 block of Main Street. The fire spread to three mobile homes and caught other buildings on fire, firefighters said. The Quincy Volunteer Fire Department said three firefighters were treated for dehydration and the fourth was taken to a hospital for a broken arm. Firefighters said a brewery and the Plumas Crisis Intervention and Resources Center were also burned. The non-profit crisis center reported on Facebook that they lost their stock of PPE in the fire. Multiple agencies responded to assist the Quincy Volunteer Fire Department to fight the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.  

Police and fire officials are following leads in a string of fires believed to be arson, including one at the home of the Shelby Fire and Rescue chief. Investigators believe at least six fires were set deliberately in multiple locations in west Shelby this month. On Thursday, Shelby firefighters responded to two fires believed to be connected to this string of recent arsons. One of the fires destroyed part of the home of Shelby Fire & Rescue Chief William Hunt. Hunt and his family were awakened Thursday morning to the sound of breaking glass. "It was about 1 a.m., and I was in bed asleep and the kids were upstairs. Faith and I woke up about the same time," Hunt said. The husband and wife went to investigate the noise that was coming from the front of their home on Thompson Street. As they approached the front of the home, Hunt heard more sounds of breaking glass, then he saw a bright light. "We thought it was someone breaking in," Hunt said. "We came in and the curtains were on fire."  

As the COVID-19 pandemic affects communities across the United States, it has also wreaked havoc on fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. For 66 years, IAFF members have been standing on sidewalks asking passers-by to fill a firefighter's boot with dimes, quarters, dollar bills, and more. This year, due to social distancing, that's not possible. This summer, Fill the Boot will be conducted virtually. Donations help meet the need for MDA's Frontline COVID-19 Emergency Fund to continue services for more than 250,000 people living with neuromuscular diseases across the country. "For six decades, IAFF members have been at intersections across America with their fire boots to collect donations for MDA," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. "But the COVID pandemic and social distancing make that an impossibility. Virtual Fill the Boot will let our members continue to collect to help MDA meet their vital mission of finding treatment and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other neuromuscular diseases."