A veteran Chicago firefighter died from COVID-19 Tuesday night, the department said. Mario Araujo, 49, joined the Chicago Fire Department 17 years ago. Araujo spent most of his career on Truck 25 located on the Far North Side. Bunting now drapes the firehouse where the flag has been lowered to half staff. CFD is asking that people pray for the firefighter's family and his colleagues, saying his service will never be forgotten. Chicago Fire Commissioner Richard Ford II said in a statement, "I regret to inform you all that we have lost a dedicated member of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) due to complications from COVID-19. Firefighter Mario Araujo passed away this evening, April 7th. He was 49 years old and joined the CFD in October 2003. Firefighter Araujo spent most of his career on Truck 25 located on the far North Side of Chicago.  

Covid-19 has changed the way people clean, including firefighters. West Frankfort firefighter Jesse Jeffords was looking through Facebook as his shift changed and noticed departments cleaning in different ways. A department out of Texas was cleaning its ambulances with 1/3 cup bleach and a gallon of water. That was the trick for the West Frankfort. "On average, we have been using about a quarter little container of those disinfectant wipes, disinfecting the ambulance and it was taking us about 25-30 minutes to do it right," Jeffords said. The change has led them to clean the whole ambulance down in around 5-10 minutes. "We just turn the pressure way down on it, use that more as a medium to get the bleach solution on the seats and everything and let it sit for the recommended amount of time," he said.  

Several dozen members of the Chicago Fire Department have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the department to 46. Of those, nine employees have returned to duty as of Tuesday, according to department spokesman Larry Langford. Another 18 department employees are currently quarantined after a confirmed exposure to the coronavirus, he said. Langford could not say how many cases are firefighters, paramedics or civilian employees, or how many have been hospitalized. The department announced Tuesday night that Chicago firefighter Mario Araujo died due to complications from the virus. Araujo, who served with CFD Truck Company 25 in Rogers Park, was a 17-year veteran of the department, according to officials.  

A woman was critically injured in a fire Tuesday in Back of the Yards on the South Side. Firefighters responded to a blaze at a single-story home about 10:20 a.m. in the 5300 block of South Wallace Street, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said. A woman, about 60 years old, suffered third degree burns over the majority of her body, Merritt said. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. The flames were extinguished by 11:10 a.m., fire officials said.  

A kitchen fire at a Crystal Lake residence left a home in the 4900 block of Kenneth Drive uninhabitable on Tuesday evening. Crystal Lake firefighters were dispatched at 6:23 p.m. and, upon arrival, found a fire in the first floor of the home. The fire was extinguished and under control within 25 minutes, but the home sustained what was estimated to be about $150,000 worth of damages. A box alarm was called, and firefighters from Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Barrington-Countryside, Carpentersville, Cary, Huntley, Marengo, McHenry Township Nunda Rural, Union, West Dundee, Wonder Lake and Woodstock responded to the scene, assisting Crystal Lake Fire and the McHenry County Sheriff's Office. Traffic was stopped on a section of Pingree Road, and all traffic was stopped on Kenneth Drive while firefighters responded.  

VIDEO: For first responders, one of the greatest fears during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is bringing the virus home to their families. A Metro Detroit company is building decontamination units to place in the middle of fire stations to ease those concerns. Patrick and Zoe Kintz, from Great Lakes Remediation first offered to build decontamination tents for a friend -- Southfield firefighter Jamie Rakestraw and his wife, Andrea. The Rakestraws were afraid of COVID-19 getting into their home from the front lines. After that, the tents started popping up at more fire stations. They have a simple design -- a wooden frame, plastic sheeting, completely sealed doors and chemicals to kill the virus from the gear and clothes before firefighters head home. "The last thing we want to do is bring it home to someone we love," Rakestraw said.  

Anderson County Commissioner Tim Isbel from Rocky Top has reportedly designed and is working on constructing and distributing new full face covering helmets for first responders in the county. Isbel explained these helmets are a way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. He said they've been approved by Anderson County Emergency Medical Services (EMS), as well the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. He also said Anderson County Commissioner Catherine Denenberg of Oak Ridge has been reaching out to various local fire departments and police departments about the helmets. "This is really a critical thing," he said regarding his new helmets. The helmets feature a transparent face guard that completely covers a person's face. Isbel said they are to protect first responders' eyes from "droplets" of water that circulate when someone coughs or sneezes.  

As more than 1,300 New York City first responders return to work after recovering from the novel coronavirus or calling out sick with symptoms of the virus, they're responding to a rapid increase in 911 calls for cardiac arrest, the FDNY said on Tuesday. The city's firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMT) are responding to "a record numbers of calls, and they continue to meet this unprecedented challenge head on," said Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro. "I am incredibly proud of the men and women of this department who are demonstrating every single day throughout this pandemic why they are known as the best and the bravest." Nearly 500 members of the FDNY have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak was detected in New York State on March 1.  

Cash-strapped and empty hotels across the country are finding ways to keep the lights on by converting themselves into coronavirus wards or temporary housing for the National Guard or exhausted doctors and nurses. It provides some much needed revenue for an industry that's been brought to its knees by the COVID-19 outbreak that's spread to more than 1.4 million people in nearly every country across the globe. World, national, state and local leaders have imposed various travel restrictions, shuttered tourist attractions, issued broad shelter-in-place orders and even authorized hefty fines for people who don't adhere to social distancing rules. The financial toll for hotels is worse than during the 2008 financial crisis, according to industry executives and analysts.  

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage populations around the world, with more than 1.3 million cases confirmed, millions more people are self-quarantining at home in a global effort to check the virus' spread. And still, a rare breed of people selflessly go about their daily lives, offering aid to those infected and helping maintain a sense of order while the rest of us shelter in place. Google is honoring those heroes this week with a series of appreciation Doodles. The tech giant frequently livens up its bare-bones search page with artwork that draws attention to notable people, events, holidays and anniversaries. Google often turns its spotlight on heroes of the medical community, including Dr. Virginia Apgar, who developed a quick method for evaluating the health of newborns, as well as Dr. Rene Favalor, a heart surgeon who pioneered coronary artery bypass surgery.