VIDEO: A promise to never forget. Twenty-five years ago, Anthony Lockhart and Patrick King died in a four-alarm fire in the South Side neighborhood of Beverly. On Sunday, friends and family remembered the two fallen heroes. "We got that visit in the middle of the night that nobody ever wants to get ever, and it broke our family," said Gina King, Patrick's wife. An auto repair shop caught fire in 1998. The building collapsed as the fire escalated quickly. Fire officials at the time said there was only substantial smoke coming out. That was before it got much worse with flames bursting out. As crews escaped, they realized Lockhart and King never made it out. Their colleagues are now left with vivid memories of them.  

The Rockford Fire Department promoted 12 honorees during a promotions and appointments ceremony at Northern Illinois University's Rockford campus. Fire Chief Michele Pankow presented individuals as they celebrated this career milestone with family, friends and co-workers. Among the 12, Brian Carlson, was promoted to District Chief after previously serving as a captain of fire station 11 in Rockford. He says he manifested this position after serving the department for many years. "This is an accumulation of about 25 years of fire service", Carlson said. "This has always been my goal on the Rockford Fire Department from the day I was hired. This will keep me active in the role on the fire department." Other promotions included more district chiefs, lieutenant, and captain; while some were appointed as EMS coordinator, driver engineer, and chief administrator.  

An electrical fire late Saturday night has left Rockford residents without a home, according to firefighters. The Rockford Fire Department says crews were called to a home in the 2300 block of Kilburn Ave. just after 10 p.m. Saturday for a report of an electrical fire. RFD says the first firefighters got to the scene within four minutes, finding a small electrical fire on the inside of the single-family home. Everyone inside had gotten out of the home by the time firefighters got to the scene. No one was hurt in the fire. The Red Cross is assisting the residents of the home with relocation. Damage from the fire is estimated at $25,000.  

PHOTOS: One person was taken to the hospital after a large fire in a home in Boone County late Saturday night. In a Facebook post early Sunday morning, Sharon, Wis., Fire and Rescue says they and several other agencies responded to a house fire in the 21400 block of Burr Oak Rd. in rural northern Boone County Saturday night. The home is located roughly three miles south of Sharon near the Wisconsin/Illinois border. As first responders got to the scene, crews found large flames engulfing the home. Sharon Fire and Rescue says the fire was brought under control and extinguished within an hour. One person, the only one in the home, was taken to an area hospital for reported injuries.  

As firefighters investigate another fire that sparked in Quincy Saturday night, it might feel like we've had a lot of them lately, but they say it's not actually a trend. Quincy Fire Department Fire Chief Bernard Vahlkamp said the fire started around 10:30 p.m. "When crews arrived on scene there were flames visible from the back side of the house. Pretty much smoke on the whole second floor, smoke was covering up the entire street. They showed up and saw flames on the second floor pouring into the attic space," Vahlkamp said. He said while the house is not a loss, the family cannot stay there right now. There is no electricity and there is water damage throughout the home. Quincy Fire Department Captain Shawn Henson said they already know the cause, improper electrical wiring.  

Fire crews were called out to a house fire in Decatur early this morning near Oakland Ave. and West Tuttle St. The Decatur Fire Department responded just after 12 a.m. after reports of a structure fire. Firefighters arrived on scene to see smoke and flames coming through the living room windows. Officials were able to extinguish the fire and confirm that nobody was home at the time. There were no injuries reported and no one had to be relocated. The cause of the fires is under investigation.  

Firefighters have made progress overnight in the effort to extinguish a huge facility fire in Wayne County, a spokesman said Sunday morning. First responders remain at the scene in Dudley and have been aided by rain throughout the evening and morning as they battle the enormous blaze at National Salvage and Service Corp., 430 Old Mount Olive Highway. Genoa Road reopened Sunday morning but Old Mount Olive Highway remains closed around the site. Authorities reported that there have been no reported injuries. "Incident command released all out-of-county teams this morning, and we greatly appreciate their assistance overnight to allow our local responders time off," Wayne County Public Affairs Director said in a release.  

VIDEO: Being a firefighter and EMT is a tough job that calls for perfect communication skills. That's why a Kirby firefighter says people underestimate her and her extreme hearing loss. However, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, she can save lives just as well as her crew members. "There was something about wanting to have that challenge," Konstance Garner said. That spark of determination began at birth. "Being born with a cleft lip and palate and then, having to do 12 years of speech therapy and then over 20 surgeries I had to overcome," Garner said. Garner has profound hearing loss in her left ear and severe hearing loss in her right. With her passion for working in the medical field, general hearing aids wouldn't cut it.  

VIDEO: A promise to never forget. Twenty-five years ago, Anthony Lockhart and Patrick King died in a four-alarm fire in the South Side neighborhood of Beverly. On Sunday, friends and family remembered the two fallen heroes. "We got that visit in the middle of the night that nobody ever wants to get ever, and it broke our family," said Gina King, Patrick's wife. An auto repair shop caught fire in 1998. The building collapsed as the fire escalated quickly. Fire officials at the time said there was only substantial smoke coming out. That was before it got much worse with flames bursting out. As crews escaped, they realized Lockhart and King never made it out. Their colleagues are now left with vivid memories of them. "Anthony Lockhart; he was a jokester. So, we call him 'Tony,' and he was quite a jokester. So, just by their service, and what they did to try to put out a fire here, not knowing what they were going into," said CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holtz.  

In the 1980s, rookie firefighters at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport endured a hazing ritual known as the "foam shower." Recruits stood some 150 feet down the tarmac with 5-gallon buckets and were told to catch firefighting foam shot out of a crash-response truck's water cannon. They would wear the usual helmet and heat-resistant gear, but still ended up drenched as the bubbly white liquid rained down on them. "It was a rite of passage," said Thomas Sanchez, a retired Port of Seattle firefighter who first went to work at the airport in 1980. The foam contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and was long considered essential at airports for quickly smothering blazes. It was marketed as "environmentally benign." Today, the PFAS in these foams are known as "forever chemicals" and have contaminated aquifers across the country, including under Sea-Tac.  

PHOTOS: It is always an interesting article when we can find the "oldest" here in New Jersey. It's even more interesting when we can find the "oldest" in Jersey which is the oldest in America. That is the case with this article. First I want to commend all the men and women who served and continue to serve as firefighters here in New Jersey as well as around America and the world. These folks put themselves in harm's way every day to help us and this heroic effort deserves our appreciation and applause, "THANK YOU". The claim to the "oldest" firehouse in New Jersey goes to a station located in Burlington County and it is also claimed to be the oldest firehouse in America. The little yellow firehouse is located in Mount Holly, part of Relief Fire Engine Company #1.