U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, delivered a speech Thursday on the Senate floor about the importance of supporting rural fire and emergency medical services (EMS) agencies. In his remarks, Durbin spoke about his bipartisan law, the SIREN Act, which was passed in the 2018 Farm Bill to provide grant funding for public, tribal, and private non-profit fire and EMS agencies in rural communities nationwide. Since becoming law, grants have been awarded to rural fire and EMS agencies in Nauvoo, Amboy, Jerseyville, and Gibson City, Illinois. Durbin began his speech by recounting the origin of the SIREN Act. In 2018, Durbin met with a group of EMTs, including Mark and Mavis Kennedy, from Nauvoo, Illinois, who emphasized the importance of proper training and equipment for EMS workers in rural counties.  

The residents of 23 apartments at the New Hope Apartments are displaced after an electrical fire Thursday afternoon. Peoria firefighters were called to the building at 301 NE Jefferson Ave. for smoke in the building, finding an electrical fire and activated sprinklers on the fourth floor. Damage estimates are unknown. The Red Cross is assisting the impacted residents. The Phoenix Community Development Services operates the building that helps house the homeless.  

The owner of a home in Creve Coeur has been displaced after a fire Thursday. Creve Coeur Fire Chief Brad Gill says the first floor and attic of the home sustained damage, with the first-floor taking substantial damage. There were no injuries reported. A dog was able to escape. East Peoria and North Pekin assisted. No cause has yet been identified. A damage estimate is unknown.  

The Champaign Fire Department responded to a fire around 5:56 a.m. Friday morning in the 300 block of Mercury Drive in Champaign. We're told crews found heavy fire on the roof that extended into nearby commercial spaces. The fire spread across the roof due to high winds. Fire officials used fans to clear smoke from the building. Nearby occupancies were impacted by water damage. The Champaign Fire Department was assisted by the Urbana Fire Department. We're told three ladder trucks had to attack at once.  

The Harlem Roscoe Fire Department will ask voters to approve a new tax on April 4 to help prepare for the future. Harlem-Roscoe Fire Chief Patrick Trollop says steadily increasing call volumes and population in the district will likely require the department to increase its full time staff. To prepare for the future, Trollop and the board of commissioners put a question on the ballot asking voters to approve a new tax specifically designated for pension funding. Trollop says that money would only be used for pensions, and that the tax would only cost homeowners with a $100,000 home 48 cents a year. If approved now, Trollop says the small tax would build a big enough base to allow the department to roll right into hiring when the call volume rises above what they can handle right now.  

Dramatic video captured the moment two Orange County firefighters narrowly escaped getting crushed by a flaming storefront that suddenly collapsed. More than 40 firefighters responded to a blaze at a strip mall in the 12500 block of Valley View Street in Garden Grove just after 8:40 p.m. Thursday. Video showed the building's facade come crashing down as two firefighters battling the flames scrambled to get away. A knockdown by the Orange County Fire Authority was reported around 9:37 p.m. OCFA said there were no injuries. It's unclear how many businesses were damaged by the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  

At least one local fire department received reimbursement from Norfolk Southern for damages and losses suffered in the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that Norfolk Southern has completed its first $1 million in reimbursements to Pennsylvania fire departments, first responders and Beaver County Hazmat. Bessemer Borough received $174,699 from Norfolk Southern after having put in a request for the funds last Friday, said Bessemer fire Chief Jeff Breetz. "We put in the request a week ago and we got the payment that night," Breetz said. The department lost a lot of hose, turnout gear, nozzles and other items considered contaminated after the response. "They compensated us for everything we turned in," he said. "They treated us well. We didn't ask for anything we didn't lose."  

VIDEO: For the tenth time, firefighters and other first responders from the Midlands team up to see who can pull a 40,000 pound fire truck, all with the purpose of raising money for the mission of Curing Kids Cancer. The organization, of the same name was founded in 2005, and over the years, has raised over $25 million for research, resources, treatments and more. This years event is planned for 10:00 AM on Saturday at Soda City, on the corner of Main and Lady Streets. The event is rain or shine, and although there may be a small line of thundershowers late in the morning on Saturday, the event will go on.  

PHOTOS: As some already know, The Great Sacandaga Lake is a manmade lake, but do you know why it was made? Its purpose began in 1913 when the country's second deadliest flood took thousands of lives across 15 states, and left a quarter of a million homeless. While the flood led to great losses, it also led to the creation of the Sacandaga Lake, (which provides a runoff area for any excess water in the Hudson River, preventing flooding) among other societal advances. According to Trudy E. Bell from New York State Archives Partnership Trust, a strong, high-pressure storm hit the country on Good Friday in March of 1913. The storm brought torrential downpours and in Buffalo, record-breaking winds up to 90 mph! Apparently just North of Albany, 4-6 weeks worth of rain fell over the course of just 5 days.  

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Jetson Electric Bikes recalled their 42-Volt Rogue Self-Balancing Scoots/Hoverboards due to fire hazards that resulted in the deaths of two Pennsylvania girls. A 10-year-old girl and her 15-year-old sister died from a fire on April 1, 2022, in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. The hoverboard was the point of origin for the fire, although the cause of the fire remains undetermined. Fire spread from the originating room to other portions of the house. The girls' parents suffered from smoke inhalation injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. There have been other reports of the hoverboards burning, sparking, and even melting. Some of these instances involved reports of flames, the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated.