Republican State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington along with Democrat Ram Villivalam from Chicago are sponsoring legislation to help volunteer firefighters and EMT's with a $500 tax credit. Metamora Fire Chief Mike Sluga said he hopes this new tax credit could help boost recruitment. Metamora's Chief Sluga has been on the job for almost 40 years. "It's a calling really, you love what you do, that's why we do it. You don't do it to make money, you're not going to get rich doing this job I guarantee it. You go to help the community." said Chief Sluga The firefighters have other jobs, but they are prepared to report for duty at any time. "We're all married to this pager and when it goes off we all come." said Sluga Senate Bill 3224 would create a $500 dollar tax credit that qualifying volunteer firefighters and EMT's can claim when they file their Illinois income taxes.  

Danville's new fire chief is Don McMasters with unanimous city council concurrence Tuesday night. McMasters was sworn in by Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. in a city council chambers filled with firefighters and their families, friends and other supporters. McMasters, 47, of Westville, has been interim fire chief for about nine months. Williams said the interim period was longer than he expected, but said he appreciated how McMasters has handled his "quite taxing" duties of having a regular firefighter shift and completing chief duties. McMasters told the Danville City Council he appreciates them "taking a chance on me, if you will." He thanked the firefighters for their support, too. He said he hopes to bring the fire department "up to a much higher level until we can't go any higher." The fire department has 44 firefighters, and Williams said they will have to hire one more to replace McMasters.  

A fire broke out at a West Lawn home overnight, killing a toddler and injuring nine others. Firefighters were called around midnight and police said the fire started in the attic of the house. A 1-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the Christ Hospital. The victims range in age from 5-months-old to 40 years old. Neighbor Selena Ledezna described what she saw as the family tried to escape. "They were really scared, " Ledezna said. "The daughter was half awake. She looked lifeless when they were carrying her out. It was a terrifying experience." Police said fire was likely accidental, but the exact cause is unknown at this time. According to Chicago fire officials, the house has working fire detectors, but the escape was blocked.  

First responders are getting in gear to prepare themselves and others against coronavirus. CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reported on the issue Tuesday from Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. Personnel with the Chicago Fire Department will have a protective equipment kit. Each comes with 10 different items including two 30-gallon biohazard waste bags. Because when it comes to cornavirus, the more than 6,000 members of the Chicago Fire Department aren't taking any chances. Field Chief Dave Ernst is making sure paramedics are properly putting on the gear needed to protect them from the new coronavirus. It's a new protocol that the fire department is instituting in the wake of a global epidemic that has killed more than 3,000 people. In Washington state, more than two dozen firefighters ended up in quarantine after treating coronavirus patients at a nursing home.  

A lit stove in a Hyde Park apartment building left a 70-year-old man dead Tuesday of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Emergency crews responded to building after a carbon monoxide alarm went off about 9:20 p.m. in the 800 block of East 53rd Street, Chicago police said. While they were evacuating the residents, firefighters noticed a stove turned on in the unit where the alarm was going off. A man in the apartment across the hall was found unresponsive and pronounced dead on the scene, police said. Though the Cook County medical examiner's office has yet to conduct an autopsy, preliminary information suggests the death was related to carbon monoxide, according to police. Fire officials said the area was being treated as a crime scene, but police said there was no preliminary information that suggested foul play.  

A fire on Tuesday afternoon made a home in Spring Grove uninhabitable, according to the Fox Lake Fire Protection District. Battalion Chief Brent Connelly of the Fox Lake FPD said the fire that occurred about 4:22 p.m. at the 38200 block of North Fifth Avenue, was mainly on the exterior of the single-family, two-story house. Heavy smoke caused damage inside the house, rendering it uninhabitable, he said. Neither the family nor the firefighters suffered any injuries. The first crew to arrive on the scene saved a dog and four birds. Firefighters contained the fire within five minutes, Connelly said, and tore off vinyl and wood siding to ensure the fire didn't get into the walls and extend into the house. "Significant amount of time was doing overhaul or making sure that some of the burned area was not still on fire," Connelly said.  

The City of Ann Arbor and the firefighter union agreed Monday night to new collective bargaining terms before the expiration of the current contract for the first time in 25 years. City Council voted 8-1 to approve the contract March 2 at Larcom City Hall, 301 E. Huron St. Council also voted unanimously to approve a new contract with the police department deputy chiefs. The firefighters' contract is good for five years until Dec. 31, 2024, a press release stated. Chris Buscemi, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 693 Union, called negotiations with the city "fair and productive." "Having a five-year contract will not only provide stability within the fire department, but it will also allow our focus to be placed elsewhere," Buscemi said in a news release. "We have always seemed to be playing catch up with two contracts settled in 2019; one of which has been expired for more than two years."  

PHOTOS: The criminal complaint filed against Press Bar owner Andrew Charles Welsh outlines firefighters' efforts to contain the fire and details leading up to the blaze. Welsh is suspected of setting the Feb. 17 fire that destroyed the historic building by igniting an accelerant on his office desk, according to court records. One firefighter became disoriented while working to control the fire in the basement, but was later helped to safety. Just minutes after the last firefighter escaped, the entire bar was fully engulfed in flames, according to the complaint. Press Bar employees told investigators business at the bar had been declining recently — and that Welsh had been reducing staff and ended the sale of tap beer, according to the complaint.  

Republican State Senator Jason Barickman of Bloomington along with Democrat Ram Villivalam from Chicago are sponsoring legislation to help volunteer firefighters and EMT's with a $500 tax credit. Metamora Fire Chief Mike Sluga said he hopes this new tax credit could help boost recruitment. Metamora's Chief Sluga has been on the job for almost 40 years. "It's a calling really, you love what you do, that's why we do it. You don't do it to make money, you're not going to get rich doing this job I guarantee it. You go to help the community." said Chief Sluga The firefighters have other jobs, but they are prepared to report for duty at any time. "We're all married to this pager and when it goes off we all come." said Sluga Senate Bill 3224 would create a $500 dollar tax credit that qualifying volunteer firefighters and EMT's can claim when they file their Illinois income taxes.  

As Milwaukee prepares to host the Democratic National Convention some leaders within the city are getting new roles to keep the area safe. Milwaukee Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Hafemann is the person behind the city's fire and EMS response for the DNC. He has been planning for everything from a person suffering from heat exhaustion to a bomb. "I have to plan for the absolute worst," said Hafemann. According to Hafemann, fire and law enforcement are collaborating to form multiple teams of experts. "We might have a fire member on a rescue taskforce team with perhaps law enforcement or an FBI agent or somebody else," said Hafemann. He said that way if the emergency was more of a fire or a Hazmat concern than the firefighter would help direct the response. And if the situation was related to a gun or a bomb than the law enforcement  

Anyone who hasn't been to the city for some time will be captivated, and possibly alienated, by the new architectural profile of New York. The Empire State, the Chrysler and other 1930s classics have maintained their grandeur. But they seem to be losing much of their visual relevance to the most recent construction development: the ultra-high residential apartment buildings that continue to spring up in Manhattan. These structures are some of the most expensive residences in the world, and among the tallest. Developers have amassed air rights and made use of loopholes in zoning laws to create luxurious enclaves which in some cases are only occupied on a part-time basis by individuals who maintain multiple homes. Large portions of these buildings may contain no apartments at all, since up to a quarter of the interior space can be reserved for the necessary mechanical equipment systems.