After 24 years with the department, Watseka Fire Chief Tim Ketchum is stepping down. Ketchum told the Watseka City Council public safety committee meeting April 13 that he will be stepping down as of June 30. "I have decided it is time for me to retire from the fire department," he said. "I'm very proud of what I've accomplished there. Danny Adams brought me on many years ago. I wanted to help my community. I feel like I've accomplished that. I've helped the fire department grow even further after what Chief (Dave) Mayotte did for the department." He said once a new chief is appointment "I'm not going to turn my back and just walk away," he said. "I've told all my officers that whoever gets the position or other officer duties they have, if they have questions they are more than welcome to call me. I'll talk them through things, show them where things are, whatever I can do to help make that transition as easy as possible." Ketchum said in the past, the mayor choses someone to appoint.  

A Manito man was arrested Tuesday, April 13 after police said he started a fire that killed a 31-year-old woman. Pekin Police said 39-year-old Matthew R. Null is responsible for a residential fire near the intersection of Gunion Ave. and Powers Ave. that happened on Saturday, April 10. After firefighters extinguished the fire, they found a dead woman inside. The victim has been identified as Kailey J. Windish, 31, of Pekin, by coroner Charles R. Hanley. Investigators were able to tie Null to the fire after thoroughly investigating the incident. Null was arrested for first-degree murder, concealment of a homicidal death, felony theft, fraud, arson, and unlawful use of weapons.  

The CPD bomb squad responded to a live grenade in Chicago's West Side Austin neighborhood Tuesday morning. A call was placed just after 9:35 a.m. about a suspicious package in the 5000-block of West Madison Street, Chicago fire officials said. Chicago firefighters responded and found a possible grenade in a blue lunch bag. It was later confirmed to be a live grenade, and the bomb squad was working on it. Streets were closed off in the area. At 10:53 a.m., the scene was secured. CPD said the scene was released at 11:10 a.m. The bomb squad removed the grenade and planned to take it to a secure location to dispose of it. No additional information about the circumstances surrounding the incident was immediately provided. Highland Park police said a hand grenade was found by a resident last Tuesday, and then more "explosive material" was found Friday at the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve in Highland Park.  

First responders were called to a building collapse at around 12:15 am Wednesday in Nokomis, Illinois. They found that the front wall of Demi's Diner had collapsed. People in a second-floor apartment were trapped in the building. Firefighters were able to help get the people out of the building. No injuries were reported in the incident. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation. But, Nokomis firefighters say that there is no evidence that an explosion caused the collapse. Route 16 has been closed from Spruce Street past Pine street while debris from the collapse is being removed.  

VIDEO: Two years ago, the Orange County Fire Rescue Division created an Apparatus Committee with the expectation of taking a look at its current apparatus, and specifically its fire engines, in order to find ways to become more efficient. The results were recently revealed in impressive fashion. "Efficiency and safety were our two main goals when we went to redesign the engine," said Battalion Chief Brian Beechner. "We put out a survey to the entire department, all 1,200 members, asking specific questions about what we can do to increase efficiency." "When firefighters are riding around all day in the cab, they don't want to be subjected to the potential carcinogens on some of the equipment stored there," explained Beechner. Knowing what it needed, the department went to work designing the new engine, which features lower hose beds – with different hose loads and sizes – to make it more efficient to deploy them.  

VIDEO: Electric cars are better for the environment but can pose a hazard for firefighters. El Paso Fire Department Captain Manuel Maldonado said electric cars are not necessarily more dangerous, but require a different approach when trying to put out fires caused by a crash or any accident. He said that the initial extinguishing of the fire is the same: the firefighters wear the same protective equipment to extinguish the flames, but they take one additional step after. "Once the fire is extinguished, we're going to locate the battery," said Maldonado. Each make and model of an electric or hybrid vehicle may have the battery positioned differently. Some vehicles can have the whole bottom part designated for a lithium battery. Maldonado explained that because of the thermal runaway and stranded energy, the battery will keep heating up and potentially igniting over again until it is properly and promptly cooled down.  

A federal appellate court said Tuesday that prosecutors can retry a man whose conviction in the 1995 deaths of three firefighters in the East Hills was overturned. In a 19-page opinion, the three judge-panel from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the federal retrial of Gregory Brown Jr., on a single charge of malicious destruction of property by fire resulting in death, does not violate his double jeopardy rights. Just after midnight on Feb. 14, 1995, Pittsburgh firefighters responded to a home on Bricelyn Street. Several entered the basement. Marc Kolenda, 27, Patricia Conroy, 43, and Capt. Thomas Brooks, 42, were killed when a stairwell collapsed. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated and said gasoline was found in the basement. They ruled the fire arson and offered a $15,000 reward for information on the case.  

PHOTOS: When firefighters arranged to conduct search and rescue training on a vacant house in memory of Dominic "Bama" Hunt, who died in a Sylvania Township house fire in February, Mr. Hunt's fiancée Teresa Laney wanted to be there. "We had to be here as part of the healing process," Ms. Laney said. Through Fireground Training Bureau, area firefighters participated in training all weekend. Working in a smoke-filled house in Rossford to rescue plastic mannequins and dolls simulating real victims, firefighters took turns on different exercises that were designed to replicate a real-life situation as much as possible. "It's the beginning of realistic training," said Pvt. Barrett Dorner, founder of Fireground and a firefighter with Toledo Fire & Rescue Department. While fire training programs have facilities where drills can take place, Private Dorner said it's difficult to make those areas feel like a real house. Being able to train in a realistic setting is an invaluable experience, as firefighters learn how to navigate around furniture and how to feel the difference between different types of floorings.