PHOTOS: Firefighters from seven fire departments and protection districts in Central Illinois spent several hours on Sunday battling a massive barn fire that broke out in Sangamon County. The fire happened around U.S. Route 36 and Mt. Pulaski Road — between Illiopolis and Buffalo — around 4:46 p.m. Firefighters from Illiopolis arrived to find a 400-foot-long barn that was fully engulfed in flames, which spread rapidly by strong winds. By the time the fire was out– six hours and 200,000 gallons of water later — the barn was a total loss. No one was hurt. In addition to firefighters from Illiopolis, crews from Niantic, Buffalo, Mechanicsburg, Riverton, Mt. Auburn and Mt. Pulaski responded as mutual aid. The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office, Sangamon County Dispatch, Medics First Ambulance and Ameren also assisted.  

VIDEOS: A shocking CTA bus crash left at least four people hurt and damaged numerous buildings and cars on Monday morning, with eyewitnesses sharing their stories from the chaotic scene. "I heard a loud ‘boom, boom, boom,'" Justin Balsara said of the crash. The collision near the intersection of 35th Street and Halsted caused traffic delays and CTA buses to be rerouted around the area as police try to piece together what unfolded. Kenan Salde said he was in a nearby restaurant when the crash occurred. "Basically, I heard this loud crash, and the whole building kind of shook," he said. "I looked through the windows and saw a city bus going through the intersection and it hit a bunch of cars here." Early reports from the Chicago Fire Department indicated that four individuals were taken to area hospitals.  

PHOTOS: A suspect believed to have shot a man at a downtown Miami apartment complex and ignited a 3-alarm fire that engulfed the building has been taken into custody, authorities said Monday evening. Miami Police confirmed the identity of the suspect in the shooting and fire at the Temple Court Apartments as 73-year-old Juan Francisco Figueroa. Firefighters battled the flames that engulfed the four-story building in Miami's first 3-alarm fire in 25 years for more than eight hours before getting the fire under control. Firefighters rescued over 40 people who were trapped inside the burning building, including some from their balconies. After the fire was extinguished, police and fire officials said all residents have been accounted for. Three firefighters were hospitalized in stable condition.  

VIDEO: When Exeter Firefighter/Paramedic Matt Greene took up the fiddle five years ago, his vow to practice every day meant he would need to play during downtime between emergency calls on his 24-hour shifts. But what started as a passion for the violin quickly became a therapeutic experience on a challenging job that regularly involves witnessing trauma and responding to tragedy. "For me, the ability to play the fiddle here, even if for a few minutes a day, is meditative," Greene told Boston 25 News from the firehouse Friday. "It's literally being present in the moment and connecting with the music and the instrument and just setting aside that time for myself." With his stage the apparatus bay and his music stand the back of a fire engine, Greene sometimes captures an audience of fellow first responders as he plays traditional Celtic songs and folksy tunes.  

Brian Cummings, a retired former Los Angeles fire chief, joined Station 19 as the fire technical adviser, not entirely knowing what he would be doing on a day-to-day basis. But that didn't really matter. When the opportunity arose, his wife, Mallory Lewis, said take it. Perhaps that was because, in a way that feels fated, Cummings' career trajectory was eerily similar to Station 19's Captain Andy Herrera's. Right after World War II, in 1947, Cummings' father, Lewis Cummings, joined the Los Angeles City Fire Department during a period of time when there were only two firehouses where Black men could work. Lewis was eventually promoted to engineer (the person who drives the truck), so naturally, Brian Cummings spent a lot of his childhood in and out of firehouses. Eventually, the firefighting bug caught Cummings, and he left UCLA, where he was pursuing an engineering degree, to join the Los Angeles Fire Department.