Families displaced after flames spread to Chicago apartment building

VIDEO: Four people, including two children, are displaced after an apartment building caught fire on Wednesday morning, Chicago fire officials said.Chopper 7 was over the building fire near 77th Street and Peoria Street on Wednesday around 9 a.m. The fire started at a vacant building, Chicago fire officials said. At some point the building collapsed. The flames spread to an apartment building, however firefighters got it under control quickly. A man was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries related to smoke. Two adults and two children were displaced. It's unknown how the fire started.
WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago

Naper Settlement exhibit honors the 150th anniversary of the Naperville Fire Department

PHOTOS: Naper Settlement commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Naperville Fire Department with the new sitewide exhibit, “A Strong Back and A Strong Mind: 150 Years of the Naperville Fire Department.” Now on view at Naper Settlement through December 2024, the exhibit highlights the evolution of the Naperville Fire Department and the unique ways it serves the community while recognizing the courage, physical strength, and extensive knowledge firefighters must have to perform the job. Featured in the exhibit are artifacts, archival materials, and oral histories from Naper Settlement’s collection as well as loans from retired firefighters. Firefighter equipment, firefighter uniforms, fire prevention materials, and many other artifacts are on display in four of the exhibit galleries inside the museum’s Pre-Emption House.
Daily Herald - Metered Site

Champaign firefighters swiftly control garage fire, occupant suffers burns

PHOTOS: On Wednesday, May 8, at 1:25 p.m., the Champaign Fire Department responded to a fire in the 600 block of Alabama Ave. Fire crews were able to quickly get the fire under control. Firefighters responded to a report from a passerby of a detached garage on fire. Once on the scene, fire crews reported moderate smoke and fire coming from the garage. The occupant of the garage was outside at the time the Fire Department arrived, suffering from burns. Firefighters provided medical attention to the occupant and deployed a single hose line to extinguish the fire. The cause of this fire was accidental and attributed to welding. There were no firefighter injuries reported. The occupant of the garage was treated on scene for their injuries.
WICS-TV ABC 20 Springfield

Augmented reality helping Moline Fire Department practice fire safety

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Moline Fire Department has a new way to simulate a fire in any room and practice putting it out. The department purchased the FiAR training system, a device that uses augmented reality to test the user on operating a fire extinguisher properly. The device is a touch screen and mock fire extinguisher, which can place items like a grill, wooden pallets or a car into an environment and simulate different types of fires. "Flammable metals, oils, fats, it lets us practice putting all those types of fires out with those different extinguishers," Moline fire inspector Kevin Sorby said. FiAR grades the user on whether the right fire extinguisher was used, and the proper technique applied. "There's a saying, it's PASS — pull, aim, squeeze, sweep," Sorby explained.
WQAD-TV ABC/MyNetworkTV 8 Moline

Chicago Fire Department helicopter pilot celebrates 27 years of service with South Side retirement sendoff

VIDEO: Chicago firefighters and their families gathered for a happy goodbye Wednesday afternoon, as veteran helicopter pilot, Lieutenant Tom McPhillips held his retirement ceremony after nearly three decades of service with the Chicago Fire Department. “I’ve been doing something I’ve loved for 27 years,” McPhillips said. “I hope the guys coming behind me love it as much as I have.” The celebration was held near 95th Street and the lakefront, a symbolic reminder of the countless rescues McPhillips conducted over the water just off the Chicago shoreline. “I can’t think of anyone who’s done what he’s done for this unit,” said CFD Commander David Doggett. McPhillips comes from a long line of men of who have served in the CFD within his family, but his story of service to his community actually began with him serving his country as a helicopter pilot in the armed forces before taking those skills home to Chicago.
WGN-TV 9 Chicago

Electrical fire displaces residents in Peoria

The Peoria Fire Department responded to a house fire that displaced three near Kingsway and Miramar drives on Tuesday. According to Battalion Chief Ryan Calhoun, fire crews responded at about 10 p.m., and reported heavy fire coming from the garage of a two-story house. Firefighters worked to put the fire out in the garage and multiple bedrooms above the garage. Three people evacuated the home before fire crews arrived. A fire investigator determined that the cause of the fire was electrical and unintentional. The fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damages. Due to the amount of damage done to the home, it was deemed uninhabitable, and the local chapter of the American Red Cross was called to the scene to provide alternate housing to the displaced residents.
WMBD-TV CBS 31 Peoria