Several homes had to be evacuated by Peoria Firefighters Wednesday afternoon due to risk of explosion. Fire crews were called at approximately 3:25 p.m. to the 1100 block of N. University on reports of a major gas leak. Battalion Chief Steve Rada says the leak was so severe that the gas could be smelled from the houses adjacent to the house with the leak. "The residence next door smelled gas in their home, and they called the property owner," said Rada. "We were really concerned that this could be a really severe possibility that, if we don't do everything right, there could be a potential explosion." Because of the danger presented by the situation, University was shut down when firefighters arrived until 4:45 p.m. between Main St. and Columbia Terrace. Firefighters used air monitoring equipment to measure the explosive limit of the gas. No emergency personnel were allowed in the house until the explosion potential decreased, according to Rada.  

Deaths resulting from house fires are rare in Waukegan, but Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi still cannot get one in 2017 out of his head. Only a five blocks from the main fire station on Belvidere Road, the lack of a functioning smoke detector in the burning house was the reason he said firefighters could not save the victim's life. "Escape time is so important," Lenzi said. "You can have as little as 30 seconds to escape. We got a call five blocks away. We found the victim in the basement. We got right into the basement. We couldn't save him. He died. Smoke detectors save lives if they're working." The Waukegan Fire Department received a donation of 100 new smoke detectors containing a 10-year sealed battery with installation kits Wednesday at the Belvidere Road station near downtown Waukegan which comply with a new state law effective Jan. 1, 2023.  

Often, first responders aren't given credit for their life-saving efforts, but on Tuesday in Wood River, firefighters, police officers, other emergency personnel and the Integrity Health Care of Wood River staff were the difference makers in a potentially dangerous situation. Integrity Health Care employees quickly moved all residents to safety when a dryer fire broke out in the laundry room. The Wood River Fire Department called a box alarm and Roxana, East Alton, Edwardsville and Rosewood Heights fire departments all responded quickly, along with Madison County EMA Rehab Unit and Alton Memorial Hospital ambulance. Four Integrity residents were taken to Alton Memorial Hospital for further evaluation due to other health conditions, Wood River Fire Chief Wade Stahlhut said.  

VIDEO: An ambulance racing a heart attack patient to the hospital collided with a fire truck en route to a fire in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, leaving the patient dead and a family member seriously injured. The fire truck, Ladder 102, t-boned the ambulance at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue And Throop Avenue just after 12:45 a.m. Thursday. Williamsburg News obtained surveillance video showing the moment of impact. A heart attack patient was being rushed to Woodhull Hospital at the time of the crash. He was pronounced dead. Family members identify him as 59-year-old Jamil Almansouri, known to friends as Mike. His brother tells Eyewitness News Jamil owned a bodega not far from the crash scene. "I just I don't know what to do," said Abdullah Ahmid.  

The International Association of Fire Fighters is moving its Fallen Fire Fighter Remembrance to a virtual platform. The International Association of Fire Fighters, the largest firefighters' union in the U.S. and Canada, will hold its annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Remembrance virtually on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. It said the names of 245 firefighters and emergency medical personnel that died in the line of duty will be etched onto the Wall of Honor at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, Co. According to the Association, the names of the fallen will be highlighted during the virtual event which will be broadcast online. "The International Association of Fire Fighters remains committed to honoring our fallen firefighters and making sure their families know their loved ones will never be forgotten," says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.  

VIDEO: Crew members on a dive boat say they were never instructed on emergency procedures before a predawn fire swept through the vessel as it was anchored off the Southern California coast, killing 34 people as they slept below deck, according to federal documents released Wednesday. National Transportation Safety Board investigators say the cause of the blaze aboard the Conception remains undetermined but a possible ignition point was phones and other electronics plugged into outlets. One crew member told investigators he saw sparks when he plugged in his cellphone hours before the fire. The boat was carrying 33 passengers on a Labor Day weekend scuba diving expedition last year. The fire broke out on the final night as the Conception was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, about 25 miles south of Santa Barbara, the boat's home port.  

PHOTOS: Diane Stewart is used to the occasional construction noise coming from the work site near her Mueller neighborhood apartment In East Austin. But on Wednesday morning, she heard something that made her pause. "It sounded like pipes falling. It was a loud crash; it made me turn," Stewart said. What Stewart heard was two construction cranes colliding, causing dozens of people beneath the cranes to flee. Medics responded at 9:38 a.m. to the site in the 1600 block of Robert Browning Street, just north of Mueller Lake Park near Dell Children's Medical Center. When medics arrived, they tended to 22 people, with 16 being taken to a hospital. EMS Capt. Darren Noak said none of the injuries was considered life-threatening. People got injured while running from the crane collision, Noak said. He did not know what, if any, debris fell or hit the area near the cranes. Rescuers did not make immediately clear what the extent of the injuries were or whether all the people injured were construction workers.