A homeowner and a child are safe Thursday after escaping a house filled with smoke. Several fire units dispatched just after 4 p.m. to W. State Road in Winnebago for what firefighters initially thought was a fire on the home's roof. Both the homeowner and the child were inside the house at the time of the fire. During the investigation, first arriving units found that the smoke was coming from the east door of the house, and made entry. All occupants were able to escape, but two pet cats were later treated for smoke inhalation. Win-Bur-Su Fire Chief Dave Loria said crews were able to get the fire under control within 25 minutes of arrival. Loria reminds the public that any size fire can become dangerous, fast. "If there's a fire in your house, exit the house- don't try to put it out," said Loria. "Call 9-1-1 quickly and just, don't try to put it out- let us do it for you."  

VIDEO: A fire has broken out at a south suburban home, where police said a person was barricaded Friday morning. Oak Forest officials tweeted just after 7 a.m. that an individual was barricaded in the 5500-block of Ann Marie Lane. They asked residents who live in the area to shelter in place. Chopper7HD flew over the home just after 7:15 a.m., and a large fire had broken out. Flames were visible through the roof, and there was heavy smoke. About 7:25 a.m., fire crews were attempting to put the blaze out. Oak Forest police said they initially responded to a "domestic situation" in the area. Central Avenue is shut down from 155th Street to Independence Avenue, and 155th is shut down from Central to Long avenues due to the incident.  

A Crystal Lake home is uninhabitable following a house fire Thursday afternoon. The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded at about 3:20 p.m. to the blaze in the 5700 block of Briarwood Road in unincorporated Crystal Lake where they found an attached garage fully engulfed in flames, according to a news release from the fire department. The fire began to spread into the home before firefighters declared the blaze under control at 4:03 p.m. The garage was deemed a total loss and the home, which sustained heat, water and smoke damage, is uninhabitable until repairs can be made, authorities said. Damage is estimated at $200,000.  

Fire in the kitchen caused an estimated $20,000 damage to a Rantoul residence Wednesday night. Fire Chief Chad Smith said the home at 725 Embassy Row was damaged. The fire was not cooking-related, Smith said, and started in the area of a pantry cabinet. He said there was nothing suspicious about fire, which remains under investigation. There were no injuries. Three cats were found alive in the home. Twenty-one firefighters responded to the 7:26 p.m. call. They cleared the scene at 8:35 p.m. Gifford and Thomasboro firefighters also responded.  

PHOTOS: A fire Wednesday evening that destroyed a vacant, historic building in downtown Shreveport is under investigation, Fire Chief Clarence Reece said Thursday morning. "Anytime a building catches on fire after it's been standing for a while, it's always going to be suspicious in nature. But again, we are doing our due diligence in investigating that," Reece said. Fire crews continued to put out hot spots through the night. All that's left of the building at 114 Texas Street – the former home of Sportspage and Humpfrees in The Square – are a pile of charred bricks. The fire call in the Red River District came in at 6:11 p.m. and firefighters were on the scene in 4 minutes, reporting heavy smoke and flames visible. More than three dozen fire units and 50 firefighters were fighting the intense blaze.  

VIDEO: Most kids can instantly recognize a firefighter by their uniform, but it's different for a child who is blind. That all changed for 6-year-old Junie during a recent trip to Plant City Fire Rescue's Station #3 with fellow homeschool students. The group got the chance to tour the station and explore the fire trucks. But for Junie, the most meaningful part of the visit was the opportunity to get some hands-on experience. "His favorite part was spending time with this patient firefighter who allowed Junie to feel all over his uniform and gear, touch whatever he wanted, hear the sounds his equipment made, and answered all of his questions," Junie's mother, Destiny Fiaschetti, wrote on her Facebook page, Adventures of a June Bug.  

VIDEO: Three Sonoma County fire stations are now equipped with a new emergency response tool: mobile generators powered by the sun. On Thursday, firefighters got a hands-on lesson on how they work. "What we're building here is a solar-powered generator," said Jim Kracke with the Sonoma Valley Fire Department "This is going to be in one of our stations. The station it is going to does not have a backup generator. So now it will." It could prove to be a life-saving tool in the field, but building it won't be easy. "It's a learning experience for a lot of us," Kracke said. "There are schematics, instructions. We have instructors that are overseeing the process." "These are higher voltage systems," explained Nate Heegard with the Footprint Project, an organization that helps communities build and maintain solar generators for power outages and disaster response.  

VIDEO: The death toll of firefighters felled by 9/11-related illnesses has surpassed 300, with one of the latest victims buried Thursday following a funeral Mass in Floral Park. Retired FDNY Battalion Chief Joseph McKie, 60, who died Sunday, was transported to Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in an America-flag-draped casket atop a fire truck. Hundreds of firefighters lined the streets to pay their respects. At a news conference before the funeral, leaders of firefighter labor unions urged Congress to reauthorize funding for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act before the money runs out in three years. "We are unfortunately here today with the proof that … the damages are ongoing," said Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association.  

VIDEO: The area around Fire Station 1 in Albuquerque is looking a lot brighter. The mural on the side of the station has been repainted. Albuquerque Fire Rescue says they reached out to the artist who created it after someone vandalized one of the faces and asked him if he could fix it. Instead, he repainted the entire thing. "It really is cool and a lot of folks don't know that it's there. It's on the backside of our Fire Marshal's office building on what is the west face of Fire Station one. And it's part of the one percent of the arts for Albuquerque and it's a great piece. A lot of folks have commented, we had put it up on our social media and a lot of folks are commenting because of how great a piece it appears to be and its quite bright and it really does quite encapsulate what we do in the fire department," said Lt. Tom Ruiz, Albuquerque Fire Rescue.