Paul Polep was sworn in as the permanent chief of Evanston Fire Department during Monday's City Council meeting, concluding his three-month tenure as interim chief. Polep was selected as interim chief in January, days before former Fire Chief Brian Scott retired. City Manager Erika Storlie announced Polep's permanent appointment as chief on April 8 — along with the promotions of Kelley Gandurski to deputy city manager and Nicholas Cummings to corporation counsel. "(Gandurski), (Cummings) and Chief Polep are experienced, proven leaders who share a steadfast commitment to public service," Storlie wrote in the announcement. "Their leadership and expertise have been invaluable to our City's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be just as critical as we begin to shift focus to our community's recovery."  

The Pekin Police Department is investigating the death of a person found Saturday afternoon inside a residence on fire. According to a media release from Public Information Officer Billie Ingles, firefighters responded to the blaze on Gunion Avenue at approximately 2 p.m. The unidentified person was found deceased inside the residence after the fire was extinguished. The investigation is ongoing and no other information is available.  

Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason has turned to a 30-year veteran to lead the city's fire department. Gleason on Monday removed the interim tag from Eric West's title as fire chief. West, who joined the BFD in 1981, has served in the interim role since last November -- shortly after fire chief Brian Mohr announced his retirement. Gleason said he chose West from among nine candidates who interviewed for the job. He said there were 40 applicants. "Eric just rose to the top as being that steady hand; a stellar career, very respected amongst his peers throughout the state and the Midwest region," Gleason said. "It just seemed the logical choice to the team." Gleason said he wants to see West expand diversity hiring within the department, adding the department's performance in that area has been "very poor." He said bFD has fewer than 10 firefighters from minority populations.  

The Chicago Fire Department is ending its tradition of allowing firehouse dogs. The decision comes after an incident at the Engine 116 firehouse on W. 60th Street and S. Ashland Avenue over the weekend when a firehouse dog attacked and killed a smaller dog. The firehouse dog involved in the incident has no history of trouble but "for some reason charged the little dog and caused fatal injury," CFD spokesperson Larry Langford said in a statement Monday. "The dogs living at firehouses interact well with firehouse members and the public but we must realize that the risk of a bad incident is a real concern." CFD said they have to prioritize safety, and that most, if not all, of the firehouse dogs will be taken home by a firefighter or paramedic. "Although the tradition was a good one to have the dogs, we must prioritize safety first," Langford added.  

Earlier this month, Western Illinois University's Emergency Management program collaborated with the Emergency Operation Center Project (ILETSBEI) and the WIU GIS Center to offer two virtual classes to emergency responders and educators. The mission of the classes was to provide unmanned Aerial System (UAS) certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is mandatory for practitioners and students to be allowed to operate drones and drone-related technology in any professional operations in the area of public safety, from natural disasters, emergencies, to search and rescue. More than 50 students, from local emergency management agencies, police departments, fire departments, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and WIU faculty and students, attended the two classes.  

The 19-year-old man accused of stealing a Dallas Fire-Rescue ambulance earlier this month visited the fire station the day before and inquired about becoming a firefighter, police say. Felix Lopez is currently facing a second-degree felony charge of theft of property after being accused of stealing a $230,000 ambulance from Dallas Fire Station 53 on April 5 and leading multiple police agencies on an hourslong chase that only ended when the emergency vehicle got stuck off-road with flat tires. In an arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5 Friday, firefighter Paul Richter, who is stationed at Fire Station 53, said Lopez visited the station the day before the theft and was asking questions about becoming a DFR firefighter. Richter said Lopez was wearing a mask, gloves and had a wound on his forehead and that something about him made him "very uncomfortable."  

PHOTO: A Vietnam veteran in Stafford County received an unexpected gift from the same first responders who came to his aid when his house caught fire nearly two months ago. On Friday, Robert Mihalak was presented a traditional military shadowbox that contained all of the personal military decorations he earned in the 1960s, but then lost in the Feb. 13 fire at his home. The gift was a labor of love by Stafford County firefighters and retired law enforcement officers who took weeks to prepare it. "Bobby doesn't have anybody," said long-time friend and caregiver Mary Ellen Earls. "He lost his kitten, he lost everything." The soft-spoken 73-year-old was left almost speechless by the gesture, accepting the memento in the small backyard ceremony at Earls' home where he now lives with a simple thank you. "We're very grateful for what you did for our country," said Deputy Fire Marshal Daniel Pappas, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant.  

VIDEO: One year ago, 145 mph winds tore through Chattanooga. First responders jumped into action to help thousands and are now telling their stories of what they saw on that Easter Sunday. "There were trees on top of cars on top of houses through houses, trees on top of trees," recalled Chattanooga Fire Department Battalion Chief David Thompson. Areas like Holly Hills and East Brainerd were covered in tarps one year ago. Homes were destroyed and eleven people in the Tennessee Valley died, including an additional person in Georgia later on. Thompson said it's something that's hard to forget. "I told my family 'I'll see y'all when I see y'all' and grabbed my gear and headed straight into work," said Thompson. First responders left their families to save others. Some lost as much as the people they were helping. "I told him to get Mom, get downstairs and he said 'Son, the house is already blown apart,'" said Chattanooga Fire Department Battalion Chief Terry Knowles.  

A bill to remove oversight on school construction projects could impact student safety in the future, according to some fire chiefs in the state. Proponents of HB 220 say the measure will remove a level of bureaucracy and allow districts to complete projects quicker and cheaper, but opponents, including some fire officials, don't want corners to be cut when it comes to safety. "It's some bad legislation, probably with some good intent," said Alabaster Fire Chief Tim Love. Love is also the head of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs. The group is joining several other construction organizations in opposing HB 220. "We are concerned with your large scale issues, say a renovation and we have a fire protection system that fails or we have some sort of building collapse because there is a structural issue," said Love. Love said the proposal allows two year schools and community colleges to plan and construct a building without requiring a third party inspection or plans review.  

As U.S. COVID cases rise, the country is also administering the vaccine shots aimed at preventing the spread of the virus at the swiftest pace ever. Cases are on the rise in 27 states, with Michigan continuing to lead the nation in daily new cases per capita. Following more than 70,000 coronavirus cases reported on Monday, the seven-day average of daily new cases in the U.S. is 68,960, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That figure is up 7% from one week ago. Michigan again reported the highest level of daily new COVID cases on a per capita basis, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data. On Monday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the state should "shut things down" as it deals with the surge and that a boost in COVID-19 vaccinations alone will not stop the spread of the virus.