This past Friday at 11:35 p.m., the Dixon City Fire Department was dispatched for a residential fire at 306 N Jefferson Avenue. When initial fire crews arrived on scene, heavy fire and smoke was noted coming from the side of the residence. Firefighters were also met with high heat and heavy smoke conditions inside the residence and were forced to back out of the home. After extinguishing most of the fire from outside of the structure, crews reentered the structure and extinguished the remaining fire. Due to the large size of the structure and the amount of fire, crews were on scene for five hours. No one was living at the residence at the time of the fire. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries during the incident. Fire crews cleared the scene at 4:24 a.m.  

Two children, their mother and a pet dog were safely evacuated from a Naperville hotel after a fire broke out Friday afternoon. Fire crews were called to the four-story hotel in the 1800 block of Diehl Road just after 12:30 p.m. for a report of smoke that was coming from an air conditioner on the hotel's second floor. First responders got to the scene to find flames and "heavy smoke," a news release said. Firefighters used a ladder to help the two children get out through a window. The children's mother and a dog were able to get out of their hotel room on foot. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Paramedics evaluated the children at the scene and released them to their father's care. A firefighter sustained a minor injury and was evaluated onsite. The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Friday afternoon.  

Improperly discarded fireplace ashes are being blamed for a Sunday evening fire in Decatur. According to a Decatur Fire Department news release, trucks were dispatched to 4550 Shadow Drive at 10:51 p.m. Responding units had been told the family was out of the home, but that a dog remained inside. They arrived to find moderate smoke and fire seen in the lower level of the bi-level home. The release stated fire crews made an aggressive fire attack with a handline to the lover level, where they encountered moderate smoke and fire conditions. A search of the home found the dog unharmed. There were no injuries reported. Firefighters cleared the scene at 12:06 a.m. Monday.  

A 23-year-old is dead after a motorcycle crash over the weekend. The Champaign County Coroner said Connor Wienke died after his motorcycle left the road and hit a tree off of W. Grand Avenue in St. Joseph. No other vehicles were involved. First responders found Wienke around 12:15 Sunday morning. A toxicology report is still pending. This crash is still under further investigation from the coroner and the Champaign County Sheriff's Office.  

A car burst into flames after it slammed into a box truck along U.S. 1 in Miami, triggering a search for the driver who fled the scene on foot, police said. According to City of Miami Police, the driver of a Kia was heading south on South Dixie Highway when they rear-ended a truck carrying frozen foods near Southwest 17th Avenue, at around 6 a.m., Sunday. A nearby surveillance camera captured the sound of impact. The force caused the driver of the Kia to jump a curb before coming to a crashing stop underneath an overpass, causing the vehicle to ignite. Investigators said everyone inside the Kia took off running and left the scene. Amaury Ruiz, the driver of the box truck, said he was making deliveries on his morning route when he was hit from behind.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A gunman was shot and killed by a Houston police officer after allegedly setting a fire to lure neighbors outside, killing three people in southwest Houston on Sunday morning, according to investigators. At about 1 a.m., officials responded to a fire and a person down at 8020 Dunlap Street. As the Houston Fire Department arrived at the scene, firefighters said the suspect began shooting, leading them to take cover. According to authorities, when Houston Police Department officers arrived a short time later, an officer spotted the suspect and opened fire. HPD confirmed that the suspect died and described him as a Black man in his 40s. Investigators said they believe the suspect set fire to prompt neighbors to come out of their homes and shoot at them.  

PHOTOS: For more than a decade, Golden Gate Bridge officials have labored to build a massive net to catch people who jump from the span. Now, as the estimated $215 million project nears completion late next year, work is beginning to solve another problem: how to help people out. On Friday, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District voted to purchase a new $824,000 training facility near Mill Valley. The idea is to train Bay Area first responders, law enforcement and bridge ironworkers on how to recover people who may be injured in the 20-foot fall after hitting the stainless steel net. Rescue crews face multiple challenges, including what to do if a person is uncooperative or if they attempt to jump from the net into the waters 200 feet below.  

PHOTOS: "This is phenomenal," the governor gushed, following his speech to a large crowd of community members. "It is exactly what these firefighters deserve," he continued. The $6.5 million facility is state-of-the-art and will allow for better response times, in addition to improving the living and working conditions for department members. "Our old house had some deterioration and was actually past its life of use, so the city deemed it necessary," said Chief Doug Simpson. There's also a human element to this as many of these firefighters are required to live in the house for a few nights each week. "We want them to be able to relax, feel like it's their home, and have some type of a decompression," Chief Simpson added. The men and women of this department, despite being hundreds of miles away from the devastation from the tornadoes in western Kentucky and flooding in eastern Kentucky, answered those calls too.  

PHOTOS: Unused, unwanted and in disrepair, an old fire truck that began service in Rockport when President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House has been sold. But the 1928 American LaFrance ladder truck will not be far away when it settles soon into its new home, a cavernous, backyard former chicken coop on Barnstown Road. Andy Swift of Hope bought the truck from the town in early August. His $1,213 offer was the only bid received for the vintage vehicle that arrived in Rockport from the Rockland Fire Department in 1955 and has been out of service for 32 years, according to Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley. "I just want to have it," Swift said. "I'll have to get it running in my spare time." His firm, Firefly Restoration, restores antique fire engines and trucks. Typically, trucks have ladders, engines do not.