The new year marks new leadership at the helm at the Peoria Fire Department. A badge pinning ceremony Tuesday made official Tony Ardis' promotion to fire chief. Also honored were Assistant Fire Chief Jim Bachman, Division Chief Shawn Sollberger, Battalion Chief Stephen Rada and Captain Bobby Anderson. Ardis, who assumed the position after Ed Olehy, retired in December said more public education and outreach are among his top priorities. "The majority of Peoria citizens, at no fault of their own, really have no idea exactly what it is these men and women do on a daily basis. These men and women aren't just firefighters — they're paramedics, they're underwater divers, they're hazmat technicians, they repel from tall buildings."  

A Decatur mother and her four children escaped a house fire Tuesday night. Decatur firefighters were called to a home in the 1100 block of W. Green St. around 8 p.m. A witness who called 911 thought a teenager might be trapped inside the home. However, when crews got there, the mother and her four kids were all already out. Heavy fire was coming from a bedroom window. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly. The American Red Cross was called in to help the family due to fire and smoke damage in the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were working smoke detectors in the home.  

The Joliet Fire Department has found a way to keep the memory alive of a Joliet teenager, Michael Sterr, who wanted to become a firefighter one day, but died in a tragic fall at Starved Rock State Park in the spring of 2006. The boy's father, Jeff Sterr, is the city's director of the Neighborhood Services Division. He had a critical role in securing the necessary funding to pay for the city's new custom-designed pumper engine assigned to downtown's Station 1. Station 1 is regarded as one of the city's busiest fire stations, along with Station 5 and Station 6. New Joliet Fire Chief Greg Blaskey told Joliet Patch the city's new engine cost $605,000. Fortunately, Joliet's Neighborhood Services director had obtained a $455,000 community block grant in recent years.  

LaMoille firefighters are starting out the new year with a new station, after construction was completed just before the holidays. The new 6,500-square-foot fire station sits just across the street from the current firehouse on the corner of West Martin and Church streets were it will house the fire department's extra pumpers, tankers and ambulances. LaMoille Fire Chief Brent Becker previously reported that the new structure is a $300,000 investment, but the fire district had been setting money aside for the past couple years to pay for it. The lot the new building sits on was donated to the fire district by Archer Daniels Midland. One of the benefits, aside from more storage, is the dual exits in the new building which will reduce response time for call-outs.  

State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant is excited to announce that the Office of the State Fire Marshal is now accepting applications for the state's Small Equipment Grant program. "Our firefighters and first responders work tirelessly to ensure our homes are safe," Bertino-Tarrant said. "This grant will help provide necessary assistance to help make sure our firefighters have the tools and resources needed to stay safe while protecting our communities." The Small Equipment Grant Program was established to provide grants of up to $26,000 for the purchase of small firefighting and ambulance equipment. Most Illinois fire departments, fire protection districts and township fire departments are eligible to apply for grants. Ambulance services that qualify as a not-for-profit emergency medical service provider are also eligible to apply.  

Fire caused about $25,000 in damage to a home at 4200 Ashwinton Way about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. Those living in the home had left it before firefighters arrived. The fire was in a second-story bedroom and "related to human activity," according to a news release from Rockford Fire Department. The house is without power and will need significant repair. No one was injured and all pets survived. No further investigation is planned.  

VIDEO: Dozens of people at seven schools in the Los Angeles area were treated for minor injuries after a plane with mechanical issues dumped a load of jet fuel while returning to LAX for an emergency landing on Tuesday, officials said. The incident was initially reported shortly before noon at Park Avenue Elementary School in the 8000 block of Park Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Thirty-one patients at the school complained of minor injuries after Delta Air Lines Flight 89 dropped fuel over the playground, officials said. The patients were triaged on the campus, which is about 14 miles east of Los Angeles International Airport. Seventy county firefighters and paramedics responded to what was described as a multi-casualty incident.  

The town of Wiscasset has been fined $1,000 after its fire department violated air quality rules and created a public safety threat when it burned the old Huber's Market on Route 1. In a memo dated Jan. 3, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said the Wiscasset Fire Department failed to remove waste material prior to the burn, did not investigate if asbestos or lead paint was present, did not have a written training plan and created a "nuisance and public safety threat" during the demolition of the Huber's Market building. The memo states that fluorescent light tubes, light fixtures, small appliances, aerosol and paint cans and other items appeared to have been burned inside the building in violation of state law. Billowing smoke from the fire also disrupted traffic on Route 1, creating a nuisance also in violation of state law, according to the document.  

First responders in Augusta County are working with county officials to come up with an insurance plan that offers better coverage for volunteer firefighters. Volunteer and career firefighters are held to the same standards of training and certifications but do not receive the same coverage if they are hurt or fall ill on the job. Full time firefighters are fully covered, but volunteers are only covered up to $100,000. The first phase of choosing a new plan is to layout official job descriptions for volunteer companies. The hope is to have a recommendation for the Augusta County Board of Supervisors for the budget process of Fiscal Year 2021. With an average of 16,000 emergency calls per year in Augusta County, the risk first responders face is high. "Most challenging job I've ever had, but I'll tell you, it really, truly is the most rewarding as well," former Swoope Fire Chief Kevin Wilkes said.  

Sue Gormly stood outside her father's house on Mitchell's Lane on Monday morning, surrounded by sweeping fields, and complained of the lack of fire hydrants in the immediate vicinity. Gormly questioned what her family would do if her father's barn were to catch fire and the Middletown Fire Department's tanker truck wasn't available to respond "because they don't have the manpower to use it," she said. The Middletown Fire Department has the smallest shift size on Aquidneck Island. Each shift has five firefighters, a shift captain and a civilian dispatcher, but one firefighter is often off on vacation time, out sick or otherwise unavailable, and so it's often four firefighters on duty; the department has 27 firefighters plus the chief, The Daily News reported previously.  

After the crash that resulted in the deaths of Lubbock Police Officer Nicholas Reyna and Lubbock Fire Rescue Lieutenant Eric Hill, and left Firefighter Matthew Dawson with critical injuries, representatives from various First Responder organizations across the country are asking drivers across the country to "pay attention and move over." A release from the International Association of Fire Chiefs says the greatest traumatic risk to our first responders is getting struck on a roadway. Firefighters from across the nation are now urging motorists to respect the move over laws and use caution when approaching emergency vehicles on interstates and roads. Since 2013, the State of Texas has implemented a "move over/slow down" law, saying if drivers see emergency or TxDOT vehicles on the side of the road, motorists must move out of the lane closest to the emergency vehicle when possible or reduce their speed to 20 miles per hour below the posted limit.