One week after voting down a plan to borrow $10 million and decommission two fire engines to balance Peoria's budget, a divided City Council has approved the proposal. District 5 Councilman Denis Cyr provided the swing vote at Tuesday's special meeting, changing his no vote from last week as the city staff's recommended budget restructuring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic passed on a 6-5 count. "I feel I was put in a box last week … and I didn't react very well," said Cyr, who went on to reference his pro hockey career in citing a need to "go back to the fundamentals" and noting he was elected on a campaign promise of opposing any tax increases. The engines slated to be cut are Engine 4 from the South Side's Jefferson station and Engine 20 on Wilhelm in the far north area of the city.  

VIDEO: Crews responded to a three-alarm fire at an apartment building in the West Woodlawn neighborhood. According to the Chicago Fire Department, the fire broke out at a three-story building in the 6100 block of Eberhart. No injuries have been reported. CFD said a cat was rescued from the burning building. According to the Red Cross, 22 adults and nine children were displaced in the fire. All 30 units were checked to ensure all residents escaped. One residents told CBS 2 that she woke up to the fire and her and her husband helped alert other residents.  

The Sycamore Fire Department was awarded a $218,534 federal grant for the replacement of the department's self-contained breathing apparatus through the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. The grant award of $218,534 covers approximately 65% of the total estimated cost, $338,116, of the replacement of 31 self-contained breathing apparatus. The City of Sycamore is responsible for the remaining 35% of the cost of the project, which will be approximately $119,581.  

Coal City Protection District has been awarded a $164,861 grant to replace its aging self-contained breathing apparatus [SCBA] air packs. The federal grant award was announced by Congressman Adam Kinzinger who stopped by the Coal City Fire Station 1 on Thursday, Aug. 27. Fire chief James Seerup [second from right] showed the congressman the air packs currently in use by the department. Joining in was fire protection district president Randy Alderson. Federally Funded Grants totaling $171,498 have been awarded to the Coal City Fire Protection District. The funds, awarded through the Assistance to Firefighter Grant program administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] will be utilized to replace aging air packs and fund enhanced cleaning of ambulances and equipment in response to the on-going coronavirus pandemic.  

The village of Brookfield is hoping it will be able to boost the revenue it collects from ambulance/paramedic fees by about 44 percent annually through a federal program now available to Illinois municipalities via legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly in 2019. Fire Chief Jim Adams on Aug. 24 asked village trustees to approve an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to allow Brookfield to participate in the Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) program beginning in 2021. GEMT is a federally funded Medicaid program that has been around for years, said Adams, but was introduced to Illinois via legislation last year. The program allows municipalities an opportunity to collect an additional Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance services, above and beyond what the state reimburses the village for Medicaid claims.  

VIDEO: The FDNY put a rarely used maneuver into action to save a woman who was hanging from a 16th-floor window during a high-rise fire in Manhattan. The fire was reported Tuesday near Lenox Avenue and West 135th Street just before 1:30 p.m. Firefighters found a woman panicking at a window on the 16th floor of the Lenox Terrace Apartments and decided to do something they rarely do -- a roof rope rescue from the 17th floor. Firefighter Brian Quinn said he stayed at the window and tried to calm her down and told her not to jump and the FDNY would come and rescue her. "This was really a heroic rescue and shows the talent and bravery of the members of the FDNY, something that is rarely done," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. "They used their skills quickly, assessed the situation quickly, did what had to be done, bravely. Thanks to their bravery, effort and ingenuity, we have someone who was saved here on Lenox Avenue. It's a happy day for her and a happy day for all of us."  

Several firefighters battled a fire at a wrecking yard in Kent Tuesday morning. The fire was reported around 4 a.m. in the 26100 block of 78th Avenue South, according to officials with Puget Sound Fire. Firefighters arrived to find about 30-40 junked cars on fire. "(It was a) deep-seeded fire in a stack of cars," said Capt. Joe Root with Puget Sound Fire. "The cars were stacked multiple cars on top of each other and multiple rows wide." No structures were burning, so firefighters just worked to keep the fire from spreading, officials said. Firefighters used about 12,000 gallons to douse the flames and a HazMat team was called in to monitor the runoff as it mixed with leftover fluids in the vehicles, but Root said the yard already had retention ponds to collect runoff and no contamination was expected. There is no word yet what started the fire.  

Three months after one of the biggest ship fires in decades in Jacksonville, 10 firefighters injured in a related blast are suing for their injuries. The law firm Pajcic & Pajcic filed a lawsuit on behalf of 10 Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department employees on Tuesday, 90 days after an explosion that severely injured some of them. Some had to be treated at the burn unit in Gainesville, and three first responders remain off the job due to their injuries. A 15-floor cargo ship caught fire on June 4 in the St. Johns River while at Blount Island. The cause is still under investigation, but the plaintiffs' attorney, Curry Pajcic, said the ship had just been loaded with 2,400 junked cars that were to be transported to western Africa. At 6:45 p.m. June 4, while fighting the fire from the inside, at least 10 firefighters were in the stairwell when there was an explosion on the eighth deck.  

Members of the Harmonville Fire Company are excited to announce the kickoff of their campaign to recruit volunteers featuring a new website JoinHarmonvilleFire.org that highlights the company's strengths and vision and will receive queries from potential volunteers. With the key values of honor, family and community, Harmonville Fire Company hopes to find like-minded people to volunteer in various roles at the historic company, which began in 1924. The busy fire company offers opportunities to fight fires in a variety of structures from homes to businesses to the Plymouth Meeting Mall. With its proximity to I-476 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Harmonville first responders are also called to save lives along the highways. The ideas for the new campaign, including the slogan "Honor. Family. Community," were developed through a visioning session with members of the Harmonville Fire Company. All felt strongly that these principles distinguished the volunteer experience with their station.  

More deaths associated with Hurricane Laura were caused by the improper use of portable generators than the storm itself. And officials warn that the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning persists, as thousands of households in Louisiana remain without power. Eight of the 15 hurricane-related deaths confirmed by the Louisiana Department of Health are attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators, which can provide life-saving power in emergency situations but also pose a deadly threat if used incorrectly. The unidentified victims of carbon monoxide poisoning range in age from 24 to 84 years old, and outnumber the deaths caused by drowning, fallen trees and storm cleanup. Officials in Lake Charles said at a press briefing on Friday that five people in one house succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning after fumes from their generator — which was running in an attached garage — entered through a door that was either partially or fully open.