The $1.4 million cut from the Springfield Fire Department budget in the next fiscal year may soon be reallocated to its budget. An ordinance reallocating the money is on the city council's committee of the whole meeting agenda scheduled for Tuesday. The ordinance was first referenced by Mayor Jim Langfelder at the committee's June 29 meeting and seeks to repair a budget cut earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan act. That $1.4 million was originally cut from the fire department's fiscal year 2022 budget in an amendment passed by city council in February and was expected to impact overall operations. Each city council member and Langfelder is a sponsor on the ordinance to restore that money to SFD's budget, though many of them justified the budget amendment at the time.  

After a roughly five-month hiring process, the Quincy Board of Fire and Police Commissioners selected Assistant Fire Chief Bernie Vahlkamp to replace departing Fire Chief Joe Henning on Friday. Henning announced his plans to step down as fire chief earlier this year in order to take a teaching position at Western Illinois University. His last day will be Friday. In June, the search had been narrowed down to two local candidates and two external candidates. These finalists underwent a series of training exercises assessing their leadership, management and budgeting skills. On Thursday, three finalists were interviewed by the police and fire commissioners as well as a stakeholder group led by Mayor Mike Troup. Barry Cheyne of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners said Vahlkamp had a willingness to lead and an energy that led the board to believe he would do a great job as fire chief.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Family, friends, first responders, and the community bid farewell to the late South Roxana Fire Department Chief Todd Werner Friday and Saturday at a visitation and funeral procession from Roxana Church of the Nazarene to Wanda Cemetery. South Roxana City Administrator/Police Chief Bob Coles said 217 first responders performed the walk-through for Chief Werner on Friday evening at the Roxana Church of the Nazarene. Fire and police agencies from all over the region escorted the fire chief to his final resting place on Saturday at Wanda Cemetery. Citizens also lined the route from the church to the cemetery to pay their final respects to the late Chief Werner and his family. Through the entire route to the cemetery, banners lined the way put in place by the Bethalto Fire Department members and First Baptist Church of Bethalto. Werner recently suffered a massive heart attack and died while visiting his mother in Wood River.  

Lake Land College EMS graduates were recently honored at a pinning ceremony in Alumni Park. Each student received a pin and a keepsake card. "These students have worked very hard to get here," Emergency Services Program Coordinator Jasmine Ballard said. "We are all very proud of their accomplishments." Lake Land College President Josh Bullock presented Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Sheri Barnett, thanking Barnett for her service to the community. Several students also received awards at the event. Derek Chancy, Altamont, earned both the Top Student Award for GPA and the Shirley Sherwood Award for Excellence in EMS Education. Allison Tinnon, Arthur, earned the Professional Development for Most Improved Award. Amanda Landrus, Marshall, earned the Perseverance Award, and Seth Largent, Pana, earned the Bumble Bee Award for Untapped Potential.  

A fire in East St. Louis caused a family to evacuate early Monday morning. The fire department received a call for the fire at about 4:00 a.m. The fire started at a vacant home, but it quickly spread to an occupied home. All six of the people in the home located in the 900 block of North 86th Street were able to evacuate safely, including an elderly woman on oxygen. FOX 2's Nissan Rogue Runner reporter Jason Maxwell was at the scene. It is unknown what caused the fire.  

VIDEO: Firefighters responded to a fire at a business in Concord at Willow Pass Road and Waterworld Parkway. According to the Contra Costa Fire Protection District, they got a call regarding the fire around 2:40 a.m. Monday morning. When crews arrived on scene, they found fire shooting through the roof of the building. Video shared with ABC7 shows the site of a closed restaurant up in flames. As of 4 a.m., crews were still on scene of the 1-alarm fire. The fire is just down the street from Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. It's unclear if anyone was injured in the fire.  

On the corner of East Duval and North Fifth Street, city leaders and members of the Richmond Fire Department gathered for a ceremony celebrating the 71st hiring anniversary of the first Black career firefighters in the city. Out of 500 applicants, ten men were chosen to serve for the fire department under Engine Company No. 9 on July 1, 1950. They would go on to be the first Black career firefighters in Richmond and Virginia. Friends and family of these ten men, including Pat Whitfield, came up to the podium to share their memories about their impact. "I was three years old when my dad got inducted into the fire department," Whitfield said. Pat Whitfield's father, Arthur L. Page, was one of the ten men hired for the job. "He earned positions, but I remember him getting turned away," she said. "Not because of the content of his character, but because of the color of his skin."  

PHOTOS: Dedicated in 1975 and opened the following year, the New York City Fire Academy is a world-class training facility. Also known as "The Rock," the fire academy is the hub of training for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). Indeed, every FDNY firefighter begins their career here in our probationary firefighter school. However, probationary firefighter school is only the beginning of a career-long learning experience. Most members typically attend one or more of our various classroom training programs at the fire academy each year. This is in addition to the daily training in our subway simulator, tactical live fire training, chauffeur training school, and a host of other hands-on scenarios that take place daily on our 27-acre campus.  

Three feet of water was in the basement of the Monongahela Fire Department after Thursday's rainstorm. Images posted to the fire department's Facebook page showed how bad the flooding was. Crews are now in clean-up mode and searching for answers. On Friday, restoration crews tore down drywall and pulled out soaked insulation. "It was just so quick and fast. We did lose some stuff but nothing too major," said Monongahela Fire Chief Aaron Leezer. "Absorbent, we use for fire calls, a couple of pumps we lost for pumping water in these situations to help out residents." The city said the fire department has been dealing with flooding for years and it's slowly getting worse. City officials are pointing to a collapsed storm drain as the cause. The problem is that the drain sits under a nearby Norfolk Southern rail line.  

A North Carolina firefighter is sharing his brutal battle with COVID-19, warning others to take the virus seriously and get vaccinated. 26-year-old Corey Spencer, a firefighter with the Pinecroft Sedgefield Fire Department, is now regaining strength in a rehabilitation center after spending 41 days hospitalized with 33 days in the ICU, on a ventilator, and in and out of a coma. "I was one of those that didn't wear a mask. I kind of took it as a joke. I thought it wasn't going to happen to me because I'm young," Spencer told WFMY News 2 from his room at the rehabilitation center. "I'm not in shape, but I'm healthy. I didn't think it would happen to me, but when it hit me, it hit me hard." Spencer said his nightmare began in mid-May when he began feeling sick and then tested positive for COVID-19 while at the fire station.