VIDEO/PHOTO: A fire destroyed what was once the main office building of the former U.S. Steel early Saturday morning in Joliet. The Joliet Fire Department said in a release that firefighters responded to 927 Collins at around 3:11 a.m. for a report of a building on fire. Firefighters found heavy fire coming from all floors and the roof area of the vacant structure, the release said. Flames shot out 15 feet in the air from every window on the second floor, fire officials said. There were no report of injuries, officials said. The building is believed to be on the National Marker for Historic buildings, the release said. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.  

VIDEO: Wednesday will mark 23 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, where nearly three thousand people lost their lives, 343 of those were firefighters. F3 Central Illinois held its 3rd annual 9/11 Memorial Ruck to honor first responders who lost their lives on 9/11 and those who continue to risk their lives every day to protect the community. Around 50 people walked 9.11 miles with weighted vests. The group stopped at Bloomington and Normal's police and fire departments and the firefighter memorial. The weighted vests signify all the gear that first responders must wear on their calls, which can vary between 30 and 70 pounds. "So just thinking about them putting that on, and that's how they do their work daily. I go into an office with a computer, carrying about a pound," said event organizer Joshua Zilm.  

Nearly 50 firefighters were dispatched to a massive barn fire in Parkland, where one firefighter was later transported to a hospital after showing signs of heat exhaustion. The firefighter is expected to be OK. The incident happened at around 5 a.m. Monday, when units received a call concerning a barn and guest house fire. Aerial video from 7Skyforce showed flames engulfing the structure located along the 7300 block of Northwest 82nd Terrace. A neighbor was the first one to notice the flames and called 911. "I called 911 and then I tried to call my neighbor across the street and they didn't answer. So I ran over there and I knocked, I rang the doorbell, I was banging on windows and I finally got them up and I got them out of the house because I know how close their barn is to their house and I was afraid that their house would go up also," said Maxine Gutman.  

VIDEO: As part of a national effort to eradicate the use of a fire-suppressing foam containing PFAS, officials removed the last of the toxic foam from the fire trucks at the Bangor International Airport and replaced it with a PFAS-free solution. Positioned next to the airport's runway is the 101st Air Refueling Wing Fire Protection Unit. During the morning of Friday, September 6th, personnel from the 101st Air Refueling Wing Emergency Response Services ceremoniously removed the PFAS-filled Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) from one of the truck's tank. Being the last truck that contained AFFF, Friday effectively ended the toxic foam from ever being used again as a fire suppressor at the Bangor International Airport. AFFF contains the harmful forever chemicals PFAS.  

VIDEO: A loaded gun stored in the oven fired five rounds after getting overheated in Virginia, according to authorities. Chesterfield firefighters responded to a call regarding a fire. When firefighters opened the oven, they found a gun inside. Officials said someone turned the oven on with the gun inside. The gun overheated and five rounds went off, WWBT reported. "Please do not store guns or anything else in your oven," Chesterfield Fire and EMS said in a social media post. Thankfully, no one was hurt. "Keep them somewhere secure, like a gun safe," officials said.  

PHOTOS: When the North Tower collapsed on 9/11, Thomas Gambino III knew in his gut that his father, FDNY Firefighter Thomas Gambino Jr., was dead. At his father's funeral, he knew what he'd be doing the rest of his life. The younger Gambino, who was 20 at the time, is one of more than 75 sons and daughters of the 343 FDNY members lost on 9/11 — or later succumbed to Ground Zero-related diseases — who went on to become firefighters or medics. "I was actually supposed to go surfing with my friends and for whatever reason we had a late night and I didn't get up that morning," Gambino III, 43, told The Post. "I could hear the phone ringing in the kitchen of the house. I still lived at home. And it just kept ringing and ringing. I was like all right, I'm getting up." It was his friends calling to tell him to turn on his TV.