VIDEO: A Chicago firefighter has been hospitalized after battling a blaze on Chicago's Far South Side, officials said. The firefighter was injured while responding to fire in the 13100 block of South Rhodes Avenue in Chicago's Riverdale community area. It is unknown if any other people were injured in the fire. The injured firefighter has been transported to Trinity Hospital, where they are listed in stable condition. The fire has been secured, according to fire officials.  

PHOTOS: In a statement released early Saturday morning, the Rockford Fire Department shared a complete narrative concerning Friday night's commercial fire. The story begins with Rockford firefighters responding to 2525 11th St., Rockford, for a fully involved commercial structure fire around 6:42 p.m., Dec. 15. Responding in 5 minutes, crews arrived to find heavy flames from a 5-story vacant warehouse's roof. Consequently, second and third alarms were called for additional equipment and firefighters – with 39 eventually responding. Crews then deployed defensive tactics: three aerial master streams surrounded the building and its flames. Similarly, Rockford Fire protected exposed buildings to the north (Collins Aerospace) and to the east. Nevertheless, the warehouse fire never spread to other buildings.  

VIDEO: Fire Station 16 is slated for upgrades after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19 and budget cuts. Fire Station 16 has been an original structure since it was built in 1965. Minimal updates to the fire station have been made over the years to accommodate housing up to seven firemen. The firehouse has gotten a small kitchen and a bunk room, but it is still tight quarters. The project will consist of demolishing the current building and rebuilding on the same property. Once rebuilt, Battalion 3 will make Fire Station 16 its new home, providing an extra resource for the first responders. Upgrades like a new toner system, mapping system, and a bigger kitchen and sleeping quarters will all be implemented. "Our response times are going to be better, our shoot times, basically getting out the door, are going to be much better, I talked about Batallian 3 having an additional resource here." said Shawn Sollberger, Fire Chief for the City of Peoria.  

Crews from Aurora Fire Rescue and surrounding agencies responded to a two-alarm fire at a construction site in Aurora on Saturday. Smoke from the fire that was burning at an apartment construction site near E. Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street could be seen for several miles. The Link Apartments Fitz, developed by Grubb Properties, is severely damaged. A spokesperson with Grubb Properties says they will work with local authorities in the investigation. Aurora Fire Department said the fire was initially burning on the fifth floor before spreading rapidly. No injuries have been reported. Several agencies reported an overwhelming amount of 911 calls concerning the smoke.  

A new legislative proposal promises to provide a significant boost in pension contributions for active first responders throughout Delaware. House Bill 266, officially introduced Friday, December 15th, aims to expand the criteria for compensation taken into account when calculating pensions for retired members of the County and Municipal Police and Firefighter Pension Plan. Rep. Cyndie Romer, a Democrat from Newark and the bill's sponsor, explained the necessity of the proposed legislation, noting, "Through the years, we've seen a decline in those volunteers that once readily answered emergency calls throughout Delaware. This has led to an increased burden on those in paid positions, often resulting in mandatory overtime. It's only fair that these overtime hours be added into retirement calculations."  

While businesses across every industry are in dire need of workers, the paramedic workforce is especially thin right now. Spirit EMS in Greenville has struggled due to the shortage but got creative with finding a solution. That sent the company to another continent to find the employees it needs. After partnering with an EMS recruiting firm, three Aussies are now Greenville residents, moving around the world to help address the emergency workforce shortage. "You have numerous facilities that are waiting 6, 8, 10, 12 hours to move patients to more definitive care. With the addition of these three it will allow us to deliver more endless care to other outlying facilities we might not have been able to help or reach," said Brian Brown, Spirit EMS operations manager.  

VIDEO: The sleigh from the movie "Elf" traveled through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, past the sea of twirly-swirly gumdrops and then down the Long Island Expressway and through the Midtown Tunnel. The 18-foot, one-ton sleigh -- with the Clausometer on the dashboard and Kringle 3000 jet turbine engine mounted underneath -- returned to Manhattan on Sunday for the first time since Buddy the Elf helped save Christmas two decades ago. The sleigh got a police escort from its home at the Halesite Fire Department in the Town of Huntington on Long Island to Bergdorf Goodman department store on Fifth Avenue in celebration of the movie's 20th anniversary. It was on display between 57th Street and 58th Street, where fans of the film climbed aboard or stood alongside the sleigh for photos -- or, as some were saying: "Elfies."