Two minor children suffered burns to their legs Tuesday from a garage fire. Battalion Chief Steve Rada said the incident occurred around 2:45 p.m. in the 3000 block of W. Seibold. "Upon our arrival from various companies, we did note there was a fully involved unattached garage," Rada said. Rada said during the operation, the roof of the garage did collapse, no firefighter/paramedics were injured. "The fire did extend to the residence, which only caused minor damage to that structure," Rada said. The garage is a total loss. Peoria Fire Department Investigator Josh Harris was called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. Rada said two minor children went to a neighbor after suffering burns to their legs from the garage fire.  

With the threat of violent protests and even looting following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, police and fire departments across the country increased their presence. The same is true in Peoria as both the fire and police departments worked overtime hours to stand along peaceful demonstrations, while also responding to looting, violence and acts of arson. Through a freedom of information act request, Heart of Illinois ABC learned two departments together logged 3,026 hours of overtime from Friday, May 29 through Tuesday, June 2. This comes at a time that Peoria City Council is discussing layoffs for both departments due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the stay-at-home order. Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich told Jenise Rebholz through email that since the Governor declared Peoria County part of his disaster declaration, they will be tracking all costs to see if they can get reimbursed through FEMA.  

Strong Tuesday afternoon storms with high winds caused substantial tree damage across Oak Park. But at 415 S. Euclid Ave. the winds took down half of a large tree at the rear of the home and brought a power line down with it, said Tom Ebsen, Oak Park fire chief. The power line, a primary line, said Ebsen, initially landed in the alley but then danced toward a four-car garage which caught fire. Ebsen said the garage was totaled and the three cars and one motorcycle in the garage were severely damaged. One Oak Park firefighter was injured when he tripped and hit his head. He was taken to Rush Oak Park Hospital as a precaution.  

Four people were injured Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash – one of them an ambulance – at the intersection of West Temple Avenue and North Merchant Street in Effingham at approximately 2:30 p.m. According to a preliminary investigation, a white Ford Edge SUV traveling northbound on North Merchant Street failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection with Temple Avenue, Effingham Assistant Fire Chief Matt Kulesza said. An Abbott Ambulance traveling eastbound on Temple Avenue struck the SUV in the side, sending the vehicle approximately 30 feet north of the intersection. It came to a stop along the east side of Merchant, facing south and backed into a utility pole.  

The community of Grand Tower is still reeling from the damage caused by major flooding in 2019. On Monday, City Council members voted to take out an emergency loan which would cover repairs for damage left by a 28-feet wide sinkhole on Main Street. The First Southern Bank approved the loan. The loan is intended to fix the sanitary sewer sinkhole, a six-inch pump and a flood pump which pumps the water out of town. The city is continuing to wait on help from the federal government to fix the problem. FEMA has yet to release any funds to the city for the 2019 flood damage. Grand Tower Fire Chief Dennis Wright said time is of the essence.  

As a former volunteer firefighter, EMT and even serving as the assistant chief, Country Financial representative Steve Klopfenstein again is giving back to the fire department that serves his community. Klopfenstein recently named the Shabbona Fire Protection District as a 2020 recipient of a Country Financial Operation Helping Heroes donation. He presented the $1,000 donation to Fire Chief Frank Ottengheime and members of the department at their weekly training meeting on May 18, to assist with the purchase of ambulance supplies. "I'm so proud of our volunteer fire department and all that they do to provide safety to our community," Klopfenstein said in a news release.  

VIDEO: A three-alarm house fire broke out in a home on the corner of Monroe Avenue and Rosedale Street on Tuesday around 10:20 a.m. Firefighters urged motorists to avoid the area while they work to contain the fire, assess the damage, and begin cleaning up. Officials say roads in the area will be closed until approximately 3:30 p.m. Billowing smoke could be seen from the First Federal Building downtown. More than 80 firefighters were on scene to battle the fire that started in the roof and grew to damage about nine units in the building. Firefighters on scene said because of the intensity of the fire and the conditions outside, they had to pause for a moment and regroup before tackling the fire. According to RFD, 21 people lived in the building and all people and pets are accounted for. The Red Cross is assisting those who are effected as RFD officials say they don't know if the building is salvageable at this time.  

Researcher Gregory Chiklis has spent the duration of the pandemic running antibody tests in his Franklin lab, MRN Diagnostics. He has tested hundreds of first responders who were exposed to coronavirus in towns west of Boston. "We've gone back now and tested their spouses or their partners, in a couple of cases we tested their children who are over 18, and in no cases have we seen that person spread the virus to their family members," said Chiklis. His findings echo something the World Health Organization is now dialing back on after a controversial comment Monday. "It appears to be rare that an asymptomatic individual transmits onward," said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit. A day later, she clarified. "That's a big open question, and that remains an open question," she said.  

Billings police arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence after he drove through a blocked zone, dragging a firefighter trying to stop him along the way. Eli Rindal, 23, drove through cones that marked off an area where power crews were repairing a transformer at Bench Boulevard and Joyce Street in the Heights, according to police Sgt. Brett Becker. When one of the firefighters in the blocked-off area reached through the driver's-side window to stop him, he hit the accelerator. The firefighter held onto the vehicle for about 100 yards, and Rindal eventually stopped. Becker said the firefighter was treated at the scene and didn't need to go to the hospital. "Once he stopped the firefighters kept him there until officers arrived. They did their preliminary DUI investigation at the scene ... and then took him to our DUI center," Becker said.  

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), in partnership with the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), has released a new directory of behavioral health professionals that are equipped and ready to help firefighters, EMS providers, dispatchers, and rescue workers. Emergency responders are at risk of many behavioral health concerns, including anxiety, depression, burnout, post-traumatic and acute stress, addiction, relationship challenges, and others. Through the Share the Load™ program, the NVFC works to provide resources and tools to help responders struggling with behavioral health issues and to enable departments to support the mental well-being of their members. The new Directory of Behavioral Health Professionals is designed to provide local options for responders seeking assistance so they can get the help they need.  

Preliminary results from an ongoing study suggest that those with a certain blood type may have some protection against the novel coronavirus. In April, not long after the pandemic began, the genetic testing firm 23andMe began using its testing services to help scientists better understand how genetics may play a role in why some people who contract the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, develop severe infections, while others present only mild or moderate symptoms or have no symptoms at all. On Monday, the company released early results from the study, which involved more than 750,000 participants. "Preliminary data from 23andMe's ongoing genetic study of COVID-19 appears to lend more evidence for the importance of a person's blood type — determined by the ABO gene — in differences in the susceptibility to the virus," the company said in a blog post regarding the findings.