PHOTOS: Police, firefighters and paramedics from Lake Zurich responded about 8:29 p.m., Tuesday, June 4, 2024 to a report that a house exploded and was fully engulfed with flames in the block of 23500 North Overhill Drive in Lake Zurich. Lake County Sheriff's deputies were also on the scene. A fire crew responding to the fire reported seeing a header. The first fire crew on arrival reported a fully-involved house with "onlookers all over the place." Nicor was requested to the scene to stop a gas-fed fire. The Nicor gas company was advised that the Nicor response will require a "dig crew" to stop the gas source at a location near the fire scene. Part of the house was still standing, but was burning. Most of the house was destroyed and burning. The fire was declared under control about 9:44 p.m. Tuesday night.  

Many will gather in mid-June for a demolition derby event in Saline County. On June 14 and 15, on Father's Day weekend, many vehicles will gather at the Saline County Fairground for the 3rd Annual Southern Illinois Showdown. There are eight classes of drivers which will be competing for $80,000 in prizes. This event includes the Saline County Law Enforcement who is going against the Harrisburg Fire Department. The competition starts on June 14 at 5:30 p.m., along with bounce houses, vendors, food trucks and more. For drivers and vendors, the gates will open on June 13 at 12 p.m., and inspection will start at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., Corey Evitts will be performing, which is open to the public on the fairgrounds. At 11 p.m., the driver inspection will end.  

Mike Hersom's three-year-old son is a big fan of monster trucks. Typically, when they get the chance to go see the real thing in person, he jumps at it. That's precisely what Hersom did this past weekend when he bought tickets to the Renegade Monster Truck tour, hosted at Topsham Fairgrounds. "We had gone to the event last year and my son loved it, so obviously we were thinking, let's go again this year," Hersom said. He was hoping for an experience similar to years past, but things took a turn at the end of the show. "It was the last monster truck round they were going to do, so I asked my son, 'Do you want to get a little bit closer?'" That's when Hersom and his son left the grandstand and made their way to an open area near the field, joining a crowd of other people hoping to do the same. Shortly after, all of them ended up seeing more than they bargained for.  

VIDEO: Firefighters with the Columbus Division of Fire will receive a nearly 18% raise between now and October 2025 as part of a new three-year contract. The contract will allow city firefighters to receive retroactive pay, in the amount of a 7.5% increase, dating back to their Nov. 1, 2023 pay period. The second pay raise would be 5% at the start of Nov. 1, 2024, and a 5% increase starting Nov. 1, 2025. A spokesperson with Columbus City Council said the contract will go into effect on Wednesday. The 17.5% pay raise will cost the city $103 million over the next three years. "It's one of the largest pay increases we've received in the last couple decades," said Steven Stein President of Columbus Firefighters Local 167. The fire department is the largest in the state. According to the city, 1,712 members will get the pay raise.  

PHOTOS: The season's first heat wave is already baking the Southwest with triple-digit temperatures as firefighters in Phoenix — America's hottest big city — employ new tactics in hopes of saving more lives in a county that saw 645 heat-related deaths last year. Starting this season, the Phoenix Fire Department is immersing heatstroke victims in ice on the way to area hospitals. The medical technique, known as cold water immersion, is familiar to marathon runners and military service members and has also recently been adopted by Phoenix hospitals as a go-to protocol, said Fire Capt. John Prato. Prato demonstrated the method earlier this week outside the emergency department of Valleywise Health Medical Center in Phoenix, packing ice cubes inside an impermeable blue bag around a medical dummy representing a patient.  

New video has been released by the California Highway Patrol of the pursuit of a stolen Sacramento Fire Department truck from East Sacramento in North Sacramento. At 8:39 p.m. on May 18, reports came in that a Sacramento Fire Battalion Chief's truck had been stolen, according to the Sacramento Police Department. Air resources from the Sacramento Police Department and the California Highway Patrol Valley Division Air Operations allowed police to locate the stolen truck near R and 30th streets. The video shows infrared footage of the stolen vehicle being pursued by at least two police vehicles on the ground in what looks like a residential area. During the chase, ground units deployed spike strips and attempted multiple pit maneuvers to stop the vehicle.