A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many are marking somber anniversaries, including the Chicago Fire Department. A bell tolled at Truck Company 25 for Mario Araujo. On April 7, 2020 the 49-year-old became the first Chicago firefighter to die of COVID-19 complications. Araujo joined the department in 2003 and spent most of his career at Truck Company 25.  

Mount Prospect has named Deputy Fire Chief John Dolan the acting fire chief. Village Manager Michael Cassady said Dolan will take the reins on April 16. His predecessor, Brian Lambel, resigned to become fire chief in Wilmette. Meanwhile, Cassady said the village is still waiting to name a permanent replacement for Lambel. "I think it will be a pretty quick (turnaround) on that," Cassady said. "Obviously with the retirement of Fire Chief Brian Lambel, we need to execute on our succession plan." Dolan is a 24-year veteran. He was introduced to the fire service through the paid-on-call program. "John has clearly shown to me, to the fire department, to the organization, to the community that he's ready to continue up and lead the organization," Cassady said. "From an operational perspective, a technical perspective, an interpersonal, and from a leadership perspective, he checks all of the boxes."  

An Illinois man who traveled to Minneapolis to participate in the riots following the death of George Floyd pleaded guilty to arson, according to the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office. Matthew Lee Rupert, 28, of Galesburg, Illinois, was charged on June 1 and pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court. According to Rupert's guilty plea and documents filed in court, on May 28, he posted messages on Facebook announcing his intent to travel to Minnesota, including one that stated, "I'm going to Minneapolis tomorrow who coming only goons I'm renting hotel rooms." On May 29, Rupert recorded a Facebook Live video that shows him in Minneapolis entering a boarded-up Sprint store on Nicollet Avenue. The video shows him surveying the store before going into a back room.  

The Effingham Fire Department and the Effingham City Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation and sponsorship by the American Red Cross, announce the "Sound the Alarm – Save A Life" program. The program offers free home safety information provided by the American Red Cross and smoke alarm installations provided by the Effingham Fire Department and Emergency Management Agency. This free program runs from April 8 to May 8. Fire Chief Bob Tutko said, "We are excited about this partnership with the American Red Cross that will help to reduce the risks of residential fires and enhance our overall Community Risk Reduction efforts. Fires in residential occupancies account for 3,704 deaths and 16,600 injuries nationally last year according to the latest information from FEMA. Early detection as well as early alarm notification are key elements to surviving a fire in a residential occupancy."  

Firefighters and paramedics from Long Grove responded about 12:48 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, 2021 to a report of a brush fire in the block of 20300 Route 22, between Old McHenry Road and South Kreuger Road. The first firefighters on a reported a haze behind a house west of Salem Lake Drive. Firefighters, paramedics and/or command officers from Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Countryside, Lake Zurich, and Palatine were assigned to the initial report of a brush fire. A MABAS Division 4 Box Alarm #55-71 for a wildland fire was activated at 1:43 p.m. Firefighters, paramedics, techs, mechanics and/or command officers from Antioch, Barrington, Barrington-Countryside FPD (tech unavailable), Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Cary, Countryside FPD, Crystal Lake, Des Plaines, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, McHenry, Newport, Northbrook, Richmond (tech unavailable), Waukegan, and Wonder Lake (tech unavailable) were assigned to respond to the scene.  

A massive four-alarm fire has destroyed an apartment complex in West Windsor Township, New Jersey on Wednesday afternoon. Twenty-two people from seven families are now without homes. With daylight Thursday morning, the severe damage the fire caused could be seen. The roof is gone from the building and the siding is melted away. The flames broke out at about 3:30 p.m. in the unit block of Taylor Court at Building 8 of the Avalon Princeton Junction Apartments. Views from Chopper 6 showed flames shooting through the roof of the three-story apartment building. "They had heavy fire on arrival from the second and third floor and it quickly extended from there," said Lt. Mike McMahon with the West Windsor Township Police Department. Roughly 200 firefighters battled the blaze for four hours. A fourth alarm was struck just before 5 p.m. before it was brought under control an hour later.  

VIDEO: Oklahoma State University computer science students have created new technology to help fight the pandemic. They created a virtual reality simulator that allows nurses and doctors to train to administer COVID-19 tests and even hook patients up to a ventilator without ever being exposed to the virus. Dr. Joe Cecil, Professor of Computer Science at OSU, says his students created the technology in record time. "We knew there was a shortage of well-trained nurses and first responders who could interact safely with patients. The goal was very simple. Create these simulators, give them to the hospitals so that the nurse trainees as well as the nurses can actually be prepared," said Dr. Cecil. Senior Sam Kauffman is the leader of the team. "It really makes me feel good that I'm doing something that benefits the pandemic," said Kauffman. Nurses from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas have tested the technology and helped the team improve it.  

PHOTO: It doesn't take much looking to see that Clay County is extremely military friendly. The county has numerous veterans, the City of Green Cove Springs holds several events honoring veterans and is the home of the TAPS Memorial. Camp Blanding is also in the county and is home to many active duty and reserve service men and women. Many personnel assigned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville live in Clay County. Veterans are truly respected and honored. With that respect, appreciation for veterans is shown every day and in different ways throughout the county. One of those ways is by Fire Station 25, which is located at Camp Blanding. Fire trucks are usually painted red and gold or red and white, to be easily seen from a distance as they go about their life and property-saving duties. For more than one year now, one of the engines at Station 25 however, has a completely different look to it.  

VIDEO: The Bowling Green Fire Department will use a decommissioned Comp Air Jet for training purposes. The jet had been decommissioned at the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport for several years and the airport donated it to the fire department. The aircraft was transported to its new concrete pad Wednesday morning. Susan Harmon, the Airport Manager, says "I'm very excited for the opportunity that the airport was able to do this and the fire department will be able to utilize it in many ways. I think it will also benefit the community, pilots and users of the airport, so that the firefighters have the full capacity training that they're allowed to have. I think this is a whole new level than what we've had here in Bowling Green before." Harmon added this will allow the firefighters to do real-life training.  

VIDEO: Following last month's massive fireworks explosion in an Ontario neighborhood which left two men dead and caused millions of dollars in damage, San Bernardino County Thursday was unveiling a new illegal fireworks reporting system. The San Bernardino County Fire Protection District and other local law enforcement agencies were holding a news conference Thursday morning to launch a new system which allows the public to report illegal fireworks. Illegal Firework Reporting System. Once a complaint is filed, it alerts law enforcement to conduct a follow-up investigation. Then the reports go into a database designed to assist agencies in "targeting the problem areas, thus focusing our patrol and interdiction resources to those specific areas," SBCFPD said in a news release.