A Wabash Fire Protection District firefighter died Sunday while responding to a crash on I-57. According to Gary Kepley with the Wabash Fire Protection District, the firefighter was responding to a multiple vehicle crash. Illinois State Police say it happened at just after 4:30 p.m. Sunday when 21-year firefighter Mehdi Mourad, of Mattoon, was headed to the crash. ISP says a vehicle was stopped on the side of the interstate due to severe weather at milepost 188. The vehicle Mourad was driving lost control and rear-ended the vehicle stopped on the side of the interstate. Mourad was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extradited. Mourad was taken to Carle Hospital where he died. The two passengers, a 54-year old and 12-year old, in the car which was pulled over on the interstate were taken to an area hospital but are expected to be OK. They are both from Centralia. It is unclear if anyone else was hurt in the crash.  

In Illinois, fire departments impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are now eligible to receive $1 million in funding. Governor JB Pritzker and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal says the grant is meant to help volunteer/combination departments make up for lost revenues due to the lack of fundraising events during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to be eligible for the assistance grant the applying fire department must: Be an Illinois combination or volunteer fire department; Operate within a jurisdiction with a population at or less than 7,500 people; Have an approved annual budget at or less than $150,000; Have an OSFM Fire Department Identification Number (FDID); and Be current with their National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) reports at the time of application.  

One worker was killed and another was injured early Sunday when they fell from a boom lift while working on a parking garage in Lisle. At 6:20 p.m., Lisle police and Lisle-Woodridge firefighters were called to 2300 Cabot Dr. in the western suburb for the accident. Police said two men were using a boom lift to conduct work on the building when the rear wheels of the lift broke through the concrete flooring covering the garage. The workers both fell from the lift. One was rushed to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he died. Information on the other worker's condition was not available Sunday evening. Building engineers for the property and Village of Lisle representatives determined the building and structure were unsafe, and prohibited further work until testing and evaluation are conducted. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will determine the cause of the accident.  

Chicago firefighters rescued "many" people trapped in cars in floodwaters on Sunday as storms roared through. Firefighters said that as of 6 p.m. or so Saturday night, "many viaducts remain flooded." The Chicago Fire Department encouraged drivers to stop and turn around if water on a flooded street touches their wheel rim, noting that "even if you make it through, your brakes may be compromised by the water… Abandoned vehicles may suffer more damage!" FOX 32 News also received video of water shooting out of manholes near Lawrence and Rockwell. Saturday's severe storms caused widespread flooding across Chicago. There were several tornado warnings across the south suburbs.  

An explosion and massive fire at a chemical plant in northern Illinois that filled the sky with black smoke and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes for days was started accidentally during maintenance work, a senior fire official said. Rockton Fire Chief Kirk Wilson said in a press release Friday that the June 13 fire at the Chemtool plant near Rockton started when contractors were replacing insulation on an elevated heat transfer piping network. The system heats vessels used in the manufacture of lubricating greases. "At the present time, the most credible scenario is that the scissor lift struck a valve or other piece of piping with sufficient mechanical force to cause the release of mineral oil," Wilson said. "Chemtool operators promptly detected the release and shut down the boiler. They were in the process of placing containment booms, as well as de-pressuring the heat transfer piping network, when the fire ignited."  

Emergency personnel from Woodridge and Darien fire protection districts told Patch they haven't had a moment of peace this Friday morning, as power grid repairs have caused fire alarms to go off across the city. Since a devastating EF-3 tornado touched down in areas of Woodridge, Naperville and Darien, electricity companies have been working to restore power to affected residents. In order to test the newly repaired power systems, officials from ComEd said they have to send out intermittent power surges, which can often cause fire alarms to go off or lights to flicker. "This morning we've been on about eight calls," Battalion Chief Seth Dale said Friday. "And we've got to go to every single one, every time."  

VIDEO: Crews rescued residents and knocked down flames at the scene of a five-alarm fire at a Salt Lake City apartment building Monday morning. Residents on the fourth and fifth floors of the Incline Terrace Apartments near 1000 East and 400 South reported the fire about 2 a.m., according to Salt Lake Fire Capt. Anthony Burton. When crews arrived they found heavy smoke and flames on those floors and used ladders to rescue some people. Other residents were escorted from the building's hallways. Fire officials went through the building and believe everyone is accounted for, Burton said. Resident Alex Sallade told KSL he and another man knocked on people's doors and yelled "fire" to alert other residents. No major injuries were reported, but two people were taken to local hospitals for evaluation, according to KSL NewsRadio.  

City detectives are investigating a shots-fired incident near the Fire Department's Central Station that resulted in a firefighter being grazed by shrapnel or pavement. Police said that about 8:45 a.m. Saturday, someone fired a handgun from inside a vehicle traveling in the area of 6th Avenue and Jacob Street. The suspect appeared to be targeting another occupied vehicle, police said. A city patrol officer was in the area at the time, heard the shots and notified a police dispatcher while trying to locate the suspect. Police were also getting 911 calls about the incident as well as radio reports from Troy firefighters. A firefighter standing in the front of the station was struck by a piece of shrapnel or pavement caused by the suspect's gunshot. She sustained no lasting injury, police said.  

If your childhood dream was to own a fire truck, then it might come true. The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum in Harrisburg is hosting a raffle to provide one person with a chance to win a vintage fire truck. Tickets are $100 to enter the raffle. Museum officials say they plan to sell 200 tickets before closing sales. John Bruetsch, who is on the museum's board of directors, says if they can sell the 200 tickets, they will raise $20,000 to fix the building's air condition system. Anyone with a license and proper insurance can drive the truck. No commercial driver's license (CDL) is needed. The 1989 Mack Truck is still in new condition, runs and pumps water properly, according to Bruetsch. "They were workhorses," said Bruetsch. Mack Trucks were discontinued in 1990.  

There has been a lot of recent movement in the upper ranks for the Manchester Fire Department, including the departure of Fire Chief Dan Goonan. Whenever that happens, a reshuffling takes place as people move up in rank. That means that several city firehouses saw new captains this year. Captains run the firehouses. They work out schedules, make sure equipment and the building are maintained. And they address what may be the most far-reaching and sensitive issue of their tenure — the fire company patch. Every MFD station has its own patch, and at least one has expanded into a mascot. The emblem attempts to capture the setting, the psyche, the spirit of the firehouse, and the focus ranges from muscle-bound flamingos to cigar-chomping skulls. Some patches have endured for decades. Others are new this year, the work of a new captain, who either by whim or consensus initiates a new aura for the firehouse.  

VIDEO: The pandemic caused a lot of events and activities to transition to virtual platforms. Sioux Falls Fire Rescue got creative when the pandemic hit, taking their fire education program virtual. "We weren't allowed to get into the classrooms. So we've got a virtual program now. So we sit down with the kids virtually, they watch a short program and then we interact with the kids. We answer questions, they ask us questions," Sioux Falls Fire Rescue fire inspector Tyler Tjeerdsma said. First through 4th graders across KELOLAND participated in the program that covered topics including escape plans all the way to how to call 9-1-1. And the takeaway has been great.