After 47 years of service to the city of Rantoul, Fire Chief Ken Waters is officially retiring. For Waters, legacy runs deep. The saying ‘Following in your father's footsteps,' is quite literal. "That's why I got on the department initially and my brother at that time. Dad had been on since 1952, we'd see him go to all the fire calls and stuff, and then he'd come back and talk about them," said Waters. He says he remembers the day when his son Dave told waters he was going to be a firefighter too. "Exhilarating you might say, it was neat, and then to see him pass all the tests and everything," said Waters. Between Ken, his father, two brothers, and son, the Waters have given 110 years to the Rantoul Fire Department. "It's been an honor and a privilege to serve Rantoul," said Waters.  

PHOTOS: Police and fire investigators, including the state fire marshal, are investigating after a vacant costume store in Algonquin was damaged during a fire Friday. The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District responded around 6:11 p.m. Friday to the former Fantasy Festival Costumes, located at 901 Cary Road in Algonquin, for a report of a structure fire. Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District Deputy Chief John Knebl said a person driving by called 911 to report the fire. Firefighters arrived within five minutes to find a "large volume of fire" in the rear of the vacant structure. Crews made an aggressive attack from the exterior and extinguished the fire in 30 minutes, Knebl said. Two firefighters were treated on the scene by paramedics but did not require transport to the hospital. No civilian injuries were reported.  

There was a special national procession Sunday honoring 72 first responders killed in the line of duty. "To the families who've lost loved ones, we see you and we honor your sacrifice above all else," said Jana Williams of the National EMS Memorial Service. It's all part of the multistate EMS Memorial Service. The procession made a stop in Chicago on its way to Arlington, Virginia. "We realized that these people have given their lives in the line of duty. We meet with some of the families we help them through situations waiver ahead for them," said Barbara Williams, a volunteer with the National EMS Memorial Service. This year, three of Chicago's very own first responders are being added to that national memorial and loved ones of some of those heroes were there to take in that honor.  

A smoke explosion forced Decatur Fire crews out of a house fire, according to the department. Decatur Fire Department said at 12:46 a.m. crews responded to a report of a house on fire in the 300 block of South 19th Street. According to firefighters the fire was reported in the basement. First arriving crew found light smoke coming from a dryer vent with no visible flames. As crews began work to extinguish the fire, a smoke explosion occurred, according to Decatur Fire. Crews were ordered out of the house. According to the department, all personnel were accounted for and no injuries reported. Firefighters reentered the home and extinguished the fire in basement fire and fire that had extended from the basement to a first floor bedroom via ductwork. Decatur Fire said the fire started due to clothing placed too close to the hot water heater.  

Champaign's Fire Department (CFD) is working closely with the Urbana Fire Department because a fire in a multi-story apartment complex requires a larger response than a typical house fire. This came as dozens of multi-story apartment complexes go up around the Champaign-Urbana area. "High-rise fires are different and It's not going to take two minutes to put them," explained Gary Gula, Deputy Fire Chief for CFD. Gula said more time is needed in a high-rise building for firefighters to get up to the floor that's on fire. "By the time we get up there, it might be more than 20 minutes," Gula shared. Tenants must use the stairs, because elevators are programmed to go to the first floor. That way, firefighters can use them to bring their equipment up. Gula imagined it being nearly impossible to water from their truck in case of a high-rise fire.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: The North Las Vegas Police Department confirmed on Sunday afternoon that there was a plane crash at North Las Vegas Airport. Police said they received the call at around 12:04 p.m. The Clark County Department of Aviation provided a statement saying that at the airport, there were two general aviation aircraft that resulted in multiple fatalities. The Federal Aviation Administration said that a single-engine Piper PA-46 and a single-engine Cessna 172 collided in the traffic pattern at North Las Vegas Airport around noon local time Sunday. Preliminary information indicates that the Piper PA-46 was preparing to land when it collided with the Cessna 172. The Piper crashed into in a field east of Runway 30-Right and the Cessna fell into a water retention pond. Two people were aboard each aircraft.  

PHOTOS: The schematic design for a new campus that would include a new city hall and fire station was updated and presented to Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday, July 12. Principals from Davis Partnership Architects, who are designing the new fire station, and Anderson Hallas Architects, the designers of the new city hall, were present at Tuesday's work session to bring City Council up to speed on the designs' progress. The campus encompasses two parcels, one at the corner of 10th Street and Oak, and another at on the corner of 10th Street and Lincoln Avenue. The design places the new fire station on the northern parcel, where the current city hall building is located. Because the new fire station would need so much space, 10th Street would end at the alleyway between Lincoln Avenue and Oak Street, but the space between the civic campus and Centennial Hall will be an open thoroughfare for pedestrian and bike traffic.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Baltic firefighter Wayne Troyer held the fire hose in his right hand and placed his left on his co-worker's shoulder. The referee started the countdown. "Three!" Troyer looked up at the barrel. It was attached on a line that ran above him. Opposite his team were their opponents: three firefighters from the Winesburg Fire Department. "Two!" To his left, hundreds of spectators from communities in and around Holmes County watched from a nearby hill Saturday night as part of the East Holmes Firemen's Festival, adding more pressure to his first water barrel competition. "One!" A whistle sounded and Troyer placed both hands on the fire hose, supporting it for his team's point man who held the nozzle over his shoulder aiming it at the barrel.  

VIDEO: Drug overdoses are taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year in the United States. Law enforcement agencies are throwing all of their resources at drug dealers to put a stop to the trafficking of killer drugs, while local firefighters are trying to train the public in reversing the effects. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday the arrests of 13 people in what was called "Operation Meth Side Story," with deputies saying they're searching for five more people. The Sheriff's Office said the investigation resulted in the confiscation of enough narcotics to "kill the entire population of Palm Coast." "We've had 12 overdoses this year, not including three that we had within the last seven days," Staly said. Staly said toxicology tests are still pending to determine if Flagler County's latest overdoses are in any way connected to the arrests in the operation spanning more than two months.