City of DeKalb police, fire and public works departments could turn to leasing vehicles instead of buying them to help offset the significant capital costs needed to sustain an up-to-date fleet. The City Council will on Monday consider whether to begin a fleet leasing program at the Committee of the Whole meeting set for 5 p.m. at the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 S. Fourth St. With City Manager Bill Nicklas looked to right-size government spending and budget shortfalls in 2019, with a balanced fiscal 2020 budget, the priority turns to fleet maintenance. Funding for what city staff said are priority vehicles such as emergency fire apparatus and large dump trucks for snow removal has been hard to come by, documents show. The fiscal 2020 budget accounts for a new fire engine expected to cost more than half a million dollars.  

As South Jacksonville grows, its fire chief worries the department is not keeping up. But meeting those needs is hard to do without money and manpower. Fire Chief Rich Evans Jr. told the village's Public Protection Committee this week that South Jacksonville has seen several major additions — including added hotels, two gas stations, businesses and a movie theater — but the fire department has not grown to meet the extra responsibilities. The growth means more calls and more time-consuming paperwork. "If your community grows, you must have your departments be able to support that growth, as well," Evans said. "South Jacksonville is not the sleepy little village that it used to be."  

Double D Express President Keith Piano learned at 3:57 a.m. Saturday the Peru trucking business was on fire. Within 90 minutes, firefighters had the blaze under control, and by 10 a.m. he was learning about the extent of the damage. An hour later, he and his office staff members were fielding calls or placing inquiries to find an office space for revving up the trucking business again, and he had just met with a fire-cleanup team and his insurance adjuster. "We've had quite a few people reach out to offer a hand," Piano said. Saturday afternoon, he was hoping to get trucks and trailers from Peru back onto the road within a week. He did not immediately know how long some of the 150 employees and office staff would be affected or how exactly they would be affected. He noted that Double D also has a terminal in Springfield, Ill.  

If there was ever a story to make you smile, this is it. A 6-year-old little girl who recently moved with her family from Ukraine to Bloomington and who loves firefighters got to meet her heroes. Anastasiia, 6 years old, moved from Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine to Bloomington in November. She loves fire trucks, and after pretending a Hot Wheel impala car was a fire truck, her family decided it was time to get her a real toy fire truck and surprise her by bringing her to a Bloomington Fire Station to see the real thing. When the family came by to visit, firefighters were met with a unique challenge. They spoke mostly Russian. That did not get in the way for too long though. Firefighters used the Google Translate app to talk back and forth with little Anastasiia and her parents.  

A fire in an industrial sales building on Broadway shut down part of the street late Friday morning as fire departments from Alton, East Alton and Wood River dealt with the blaze. The fire was reported at about 11 a.m. at Industrial Machine Sales, 2625 E. Broadway. No injuries were reported. Alton Deputy Fire Chief Bradley Sweetman said the fire was quickly put out and other departments were released from the scene less than an hour after arriving. However, Alton fire crews remained on the scene to monitor the building. A man who identified himself as the owner, but declined to give his name, said the fire started when a wood-burning heater malfunctioned. He said the building was evacuated, in part because of flammable materials stored on site.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A fire chief in Scottsboro, Alabama has confirmed fatalities in a massive fire that consumed at least 35 boats docked along the Tennessee River early Monday morning. Witness Carol Fuller took video of the boat dock as it was engulfed in flames. She tells us she could hear people cry, but was frustrated that there was no way to rescue them. Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Mecklaus isn't saying how many people have died. Scottsboro Fire Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen tells WTVC's Aaron Farrar the number of missing, which was 7 earlier, now stands at 8. Chief Deputy Harnen says when crews arrived, there were several people in the water, who crews were able to rescue. Chief Mecklaus said 7 people were hospitalized, and the fire destroyed at least 35 boats docked in Jackson County Park.  

The union representing full-time Yonkers firefighters is accusing the city of cutting future benefit payments for some fire officials who may retire after becoming permanently disabled while on duty. Yonkers Firefighters, Local 628, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO filed a petition against Yonkers and the state Public Employment Relations Board last month. The petition hinges on whether current members of Local 628 and the Yonkers Uniformed Fire Association are affected by the city's 2015 choice to stop disbursing night differential, check-in pay and holiday pay to retired firefighters who qualify for certain benefits under state law. Permanently disabled firefighters and fire officers who receive a retirement pension are generally entitled to the difference between their disability retirement and their regular salary or wages until they reach the mandatory retirement age, according to state law.  

Since 1998, the city's fire department has had a tactical paramedic team that assists the Summit County sheriff's SWAT team whenever called. With a 2018 change in state law, the nine members on the team and Fire Chief Jeff Funai are hoping that next month City Council will OK the paramedics to be armed during such calls. The council approval could come Feb. 11 or Feb. 25. Team members have paid for their own 9 mm semiautomatic weapons, which Funai repeatedly stressed, would never be carried by Green paramedics when responding to routine medical calls, just on SWAT emergencies. The handguns would allow team members to protect themselves when needed Funai noted that Green isn't the only community in the region with specially trained paramedic teams working with SWAT units.  

Ron Howard knew Paradise, the northern California town devastated by the most destructive wildfire in California history. His mother-in-law had lived there and he had visited the town. He had some understanding of its people. Ten days after what became known as the Camp Fire swept through Paradise, killing 85 people and destroying roughly 19,000 buildings, Howard went to see it. "I've never seen anything like it," he said. A little over a year later, Howard came to the Sundance Film Festival to premiere "Rebuilding Paradise," a documentary he directed about the aftermath of the Camp Fire, including the colossal cleanup and rebuilding efforts of the close-knit rural community. "It's the story of a community, not the story of a fire," Howard said in an interview. "It's a story of a very cruel test."  

Huntington is now a mentor site for law enforcement officers and first responders from across the United States who are looking to launch or expand drug diversion programs like those already in place in Cabell County, including the Quick Response Team. "There will be people coming from all across the country, actually coming here to go out with the team and see what we're doing firsthand," said Connie Priddy, program coordinator for the Huntington QRT. Those with the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance recently selected the eight locations for the Law Enforcement and First Responder Diversion and Referral Program Mentoring Initiative out of a competitive process. Along with Huntington, the other mentor sites are in Philadelphia, Pa., Colerain Township, Oh., Plymouth County, Mass., Lucas County, Oh., Seattle, Wash., Lake County, Ill. and Pima County, Az.