VIDEO: Though their deaths were decades ago, the East Peoria Fire Department honors the memory of four of their own who died in the line of duty. Former Chief Roger Aylward helped start the memorial service, which is in its 36th year. The most recent death for EPFD was in 1980. Even today, he believes their lives are a lesson in selflessness and sacrifice. "They took it upon themselves to respond to the emergency," Aylward said. "Nothing thinking of [themselves], just stopping to help his fellow man." "We need to never forget them, we need to always remember them, always remember their names, remember what happened," he continued. The four men honored were Asst. Chief Marvin J. Stein, firefighter George Cornwell Sr., Capt. Armando Ballerini, and firefighter William A. Folmar. Stein and Cornwell died while responding to a fire at Green Gables Tavern in 1959.  

Newman Fire Chief Wade Hales confirms a house explosion earlier today. When neighbor Melinda Labaume heard a blast around noon, she thought it happened in her own house. She jumped into action when she heard her neighbor yelling for help across the street on the 300 block of South Broadway. "She told me she was turning on her stove and it exploded," Labaume said. Upon arrival to the scene, fire crews found the house completely destroyed. The blast also damaged the house next door. Hales said only one person was injured, the woman who was in the house at the time of blast. The woman was then airlifted to the hospital with third degree burns, according to family members.  

Rockford fire officials say an accidental house fire Saturday morning caused thousands of dollars in damage. The Rockford Fire Department says crews were called to a house in the 600 block of King St. just before 7 a.m. Saturday for a report of a fire. As first responders got to the house within minutes of the call, they found smoke coming out of the single-family home. Firefighters had to break through to get in the home, finding a small fire in a back room. Crews quickly put out the fire with a water hose. Fire officials say the home is vacant and currently being remodeled. RFD says they believe the fire was accidental, but is still under investigation. Damage from the fire is estimated at $4,000.  

With winter coming up, the Quincy Fire Department wants to make sure you're prepared in case of a fire emergency. QFD showcased just how crucial fire safety is for families in the community. "This is just for us to remind everybody, kind of put something in the back of their mind to just be a little more aware of any prevention that we can do is better than having to go to fires. That's why we make a big push to try and remind people to not start fires before it gets too bad," said Public Education Officer Matt Reynolds. Resident Mary Kinscherf took her grandsons to show them the important role firefighters have. "Knowing that if they see a fireman anywhere, they can go up and get help if they need it or if something happens in their neighborhood or they see it, they know that these are the good guys that are working for us," said Kinscherf.  

The public was invited to the Effingham Fire Department Central Fire Station Sunday to see demonstrations and get up-close views of emergency vehicles — past and present. Several fire units, along with an ambulance and police car, were on display at the Central Fire Station for the Effingham Fire Department open house Sunday. The annual event was canceled the past few years due to COVID, according Effingham Fire Chief Brant Yochum. "We're just trying to get it back and going again," Yochum said. "We want to interact more with the community." The open house featured an extrication from a vehicle, fire extinguisher demonstration, fire units from different eras and a fire hose for the kids to try.  

VIDEO: Three firefighters were injured while battling a fire at a Long Beach strip mall. Firefighters responded to the 5600 block of Atlantic Avenue just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday and saw heavy smoke and flames coming from one of the buildings. Dozens of firefighters took defensive Three firefighters were injured while battling a fire at a Long Beach strip mall. Firefighters responded to the 5600 block of Atlantic Avenue just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday and saw heavy smoke and flames coming from one of the buildings. Dozens of firefighters took defensive mode and quickly worked to extinguish the third-alarm fire. mode and quickly worked to extinguish the third-alarm fire.  

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) celebrate the progress of the City's "Keeping Homes Fire Safe" campaign reaching over 60,000 New Yorkers with life-saving fire safety information and strengthening ties between the City agencies overseeing fire and housing safety enforcement. The five-borough outreach campaign builds on existing fire safety messaging and engaged thousands of households and property owners with valuable information on fire protection and keeping buildings safe. Knowledge about fire safety saves lives. As part of the campaign, the agencies participated in dozens of neighborhood outreach events, developed a wide-reaching digital and social media campaign, and targeted educational communications materials to thousands of property owners and residents.  

Two dozen Boston Police officers are shedding the blue for the red this year, switching over to Boston Fire in an unusually large swing among the city's first responders. Data provided by the city shows that 24 Boston police officers have transferred to the fire department in 2022, enrolling in the academy to become firefighters. That's compared with four, zero, six and one over the previous four years. On the flip side, only one Boston firefighter became a city police lofficer this year — and that was the first time since at least before 2018 that that had happened at all. Boston Police Patrolmen's Association President Larry Calderone said the department is "losing officers to the fire department at an alarming rate because, at the end of the day, it's a great job." "Great wages. Great working conditions. No forced overtime. A great quality of life and, arguably, greater respect," Calderone said in a statement to the Boston Herald.  

Derek Kaplan has had a passion for baking since the age of 15, but he never imagined that his side hustle would turn into a staple in the Wynwood dessert scene. Known by many as Fireman Derek, Kaplan opened his first bake shop in 2014. Eight years later, Fireman Derek's has customers traveling to Miami from across the country for a taste of their one-of-a-kind pies. Kaplan taught himself how to bake as a teenager by cooking everything from scratch with fresh ingredients. One of the first pies that he taught himself to make was key lime, which is still one of his favorites to eat and make to this day.  

During the 1990s and well into the 2000s, Las Vegas gained a worldwide reputation for imploding older hotels and casinos to make way for newer and bigger resorts. In true Las Vegas tradition, the building implosions were an event — an epic show with each one appearing to out-implode the previous. Between 1993 to 2016, 13 major properties were imploded, and others were just torn down. Below are links to watch the biggest and most dramatic implosions along and near the Las Vegas Strip. The first memorable implosion of the nineties took place on Oct. 27, 1993, when the Dunes Hotel was brought down to make way for what was billed as the most expensive hotel in the world: the Bellagio. The implosion drew national attention. It was made to look as if the pirate ships at Treasure Island fired on the old hotel to set off the blast.