The year after the Great Chicago Fire, city officials kept their fingers crossed and hired six Black firefighters. The Tribune reported on Dec. 6, 1872, that a Black fire company would be stationed on the foot of May Street, and cautioned those who might decide to protest: "Any infringement on the rights of the members by the people residing in the vicinity will be punished by the removal of the engine." That was a credible threat in a city where 300 had been killed and 100,000 made homeless by the enormous fire of 1871, for which the city's Fire Department was woefully unprepared. New pumpers were acquired, including one to be staffed by the city's first Black firemen. Even if city officials hadn't foreseen that a small measure of integration would be anathema to white Chicagoans, they would have realized that the day after Engine 21 with its Black crew was assigned to May Street, near the site of the previous year's fire.  

Authorities responded to a fire Thursday evening in White County. According to dispatch, the fire broke out on Main Street in Crossville. We're told the fire burned for several hours Thursday night At one point, firefighters were trying to keep the main wall on one of the destroyed buildings from falling onto the Citizens National Bank located next door. We're told crews were pumping water on the fire from above to keep temperatures down. Jan Ridgeland, president of Citizens National Bank in Crossville, was home in Albion when he got the call. "By the time I got here, it was put out," Ridgeland said. "It took me about 40 minutes to get here, but it was flaming really good. It really was."  

A small plane crashed and exploded in a Bucks County neighborhood on Thursday, killing both people on board. The crash occurred around 5 p.m. on Morgan and Victoria lanes in Hilltown Township. A ring camera from Catherine LaPat's home captured the blast. "I heard the engine shut off and glanced up and it did a flip and a spiral over my head," LaPat told NBC10. After the crash, LaPat and other neighbors ran toward the plane to try and help the people on board. The crash also caused Tariq Thomas' truck to catch fire. "I was thinking I have chemicals in the back there and people are walking over," Thomas said. A propeller from the plane also flew into Thomas' home. "On impact, different shrapnel hitting different homes," Thomas said.  

A firefighters union in Alexandria has won the right to collectively bargain on behalf of first responders in the city. This win is being called ‘historic' — it's the first time in decades that a union will be able to collectively bargain contracts for public sector employees in the state of Virginia. Josh Turner, president of the union, IAFF Local 2141, says it's been a long time coming. "It's been 44 years since public employees could have a seat at the table," said Turner. Collective bargaining between for public sector employees has not been allowed in the state for quite some time, after a Virginia Supreme Court ruling 1977 prevented collective bargaining for government workers in the state. That is, until a law took effect in May 2021, allowing localities to adopt an ordinance to enter into collective bargaining. Alexandria was one of the first localities to do so.  

Thirty-three years after two Orange County firefighters died while responding to a building fire, Orange County Fire Rescue Department continues to honor their contributions to the fire service. Engineer Todd Aldridge and Firefighter Mark Benge paid the ultimate sacrifice while responding to a building fire near Lake Buena Vista on February 24, 1989. Between Feb. 7 and March 31, Orange County firefighters will participate in exercises called the "Honor Challenge," which simulates the physically challenging situations Aldridge and Benge faced when they responded to their last alarm. On Thursday at various Orange County stations, crews took part in the 36-minute challenge, including Station 36, where Engineer Aldridge and Firefighter Benge were assigned.  

VIDEO: Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snider was recently interviewed for "America's Deadliest Concert: The Guest List", a Reelz documentary about the infamous Great White concert fire nearly two decades ago that killed a hundred people and injured hundreds more. Featured on the documentary soundtrack is one of the most heartfelt, moving songs from Dee's latest album, "Leave A Scar", titled "Stand". Today, in honor of those lives lost, Snider and "The Guest List" director/producer David Bellino have unveiled a brand new music video for "Stand", featuring footage from the documentary. Snider says about the "Stand" music video: "While I didn't write 'Stand' for the Station nightclub fire documentary 'America's Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List', it is a perfect fit.  

VIDEO: A one-of-a-kind restoration project is finally complete. The Canton Volunteer Fire Department spent more than 25 years bringing one of its trucks back to life. A piece of history has made its way home. "History's good for some things (laugh). It's nice to let everybody reminisce how things were and how things have changed," Canton Fire Chief Nate Laubach said. The Canton Volunteer Fire Department started restoring this century-old chemical truck in the 1990s, but the project quickly stalled. AJ's Automotive inherited the restoration about four years ago. Simply locating parts was a challenge. "The truck was torn apart for a long period of time and so we had to find parts that were in different shops it had been in and it just took awhile," AJ's Automotive Body Shop Manager Troy Drewes said.