A total of $3.5 million was awarded to 154 fire departments, districts and EMS providers through the Small Equipment Grant Program. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Gov. Pritzker announced the OSFM received 540 applications, requesting around $12 million in funding during this grant period. The Small Equipment Grant Program was established to provide grants of up to $26,000 for the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment. The purpose is to allow eligible applicants the opportunity to purchase small equipment that they may otherwise not be able to purchase, according to an announcment on Monday. Most Illinois fire departments, fire protections districts, township fire departments, and stand-alone, nonprofit ambulance service providers were eligible to apply.  

Fire broke out just after 5:30 p.m. Monday at One Source Equipment Rentals on Detroit Avenue in Morton. A passerby called in the fire while driving on I-155. Thick black smoke was seen coming from the structure. Morton Fire Chief Joe Kelly said crews knocked the fire down quickly and no other buildings suffered any damage. Firefighters remained on the scene for several hours. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No injuries were reported.  

Police and firefighter/paramedics from Zion responded about 4:18 p.m. Monday June 29, 2020 to an apartment fire on Shiloh Blvd near Elizabeth Avenue in Zion. The building is a U-shaped one-story apartment building, about 100 feet by 140 feet with five 2-bedrooms apartment units. A Division 4 MABAS Box Alarm (#18-1) was activated at 4:24 p.m. Firefighter/paramedics and chiefs from Antioch, Bristol, Kenosha, Gurnee, Lake Forest, North Chicago, and Waukegan assisted Zion firefighters. Firefighters from Antioch, Grayslake, and Round Lake are providing fire station coverage while Zion and mutual aid firefighters worked to extinguish the apartment fire. Thunderstorms with cloud-to-ground lightning were moving through the Zion area at the time of the fire call.  

Rockford Fire crews responded to a car fire in a driveway that had extended into the house. Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, the Rockford Fire Department received a call for a structure fire in the 3100 block of Carolina Avenue in Rockford. Upon arrival they found a fully involved car fire with extension into the living area of the residence. The fire was stopped in the garage area with minor damage to the rest of the home. Crews said it took about 20 minutes to bring the fire under control. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The damages are estimated at $35,000.  

It's not just cops' disciplinary records that should be shared with the public -- firefighters' and correction officers' histories should be posted online too, Mayor de Blasio said Monday. Now that the state has repealed a part of the 1976 state civil rights law known as 50-a, there is no reason for any city agency to shield relevant records from the public, de Blasio added. "I want transparency across the board," the mayor said in response to a question from the Daily News. The NYPD for roughly 40 years had made short summaries of cops' disciplinary records available to reporters. But in 2016, the department began to withhold even that meager information, and argued that the 50-a clause prevented them disclosing such details -- a position that was widely criticized by police reform advocates and the media.  

VIDEO: A fire at an asphalt processing plant resulted in a hazmat situation and evacuations in Camden County, New Jersey early Tuesday. Officials said a large tank containing asphalt began to smolder around 12:45 a.m. at Blueknight Energy Partners on the 200 block of Water Street in Gloucester City. Neighbors said they woke up to a loud bang and their homes shook. Kathy Geiser said she spent all morning in her car with her son worried about their home and neighborhood. "He came running downstairs screaming that he heard an explosion and the asphalt plant around the corner caught fire," said Geiser. "It's scary. It's only a block away." The Gloucester City Fire Department responded to the blaze along with other fire crews. A hazmat unit was also on the scene.  

A total of $3.5 million was awarded to 154 fire departments, districts and EMS providers through the Small Equipment Grant Program. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Gov. Pritzker announced the OSFM received 540 applications, requesting around $12 million in funding during this grant period. The Small Equipment Grant Program was established to provide grants of up to $26,000 for the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment. The purpose is to allow eligible applicants the opportunity to purchase small equipment that they may otherwise not be able to purchase, according to an announcement on Monday. Most Illinois fire departments, fire protections districts, township fire departments, and stand-alone, nonprofit ambulance service providers were eligible to apply.  

The United States has long prided itself as the world's shining beacon. But its current status is a much darker one: the globe's leader in coronavirus cases. More than 125,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the US, and more than 2.5 million Americans have been infected. American life has been irrevocably altered by the worst pandemic in a century. And as the country struggles to reopen, cases of COVID-19 have surged again -- this time in young people and in states that had previously avoided the brunt of the virus. Here, in dollars, percentages and — most tragically — lives, is the pandemic's devastating toll on the US. The US death toll is more than twice as high as that of the country with the second-highest death rate, Brazil. That South American country has reported more than 57,600 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University's global case count.  

PHOTOS: City officials invite area residents to join them next week in a celebration of the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department's new fire engine. City officials used $530,000 in half-cent sales tax money to pay for the 2020 engine, which can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute and carries a full complement of firefighting, rescue and emergency medical tools and equipment. The public celebration for the engine is set for 9 a.m. July 11 at Station 6, which is at 5 Hollywood Blvd. NE. The event will include a ceremonial wash down and push in of the vehicle, as well as a dedication to a special guest. Attendees will be required to wear face coverings, which will be provided to those who don't bring their own. Fort Walton Beach officials said in a news release that the new engine will be fully staffed with four firefighter-EMTs and paramedics each shift and is licensed to provide advanced life support medical care.