VIDEO: Five people were rushed to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after fire and smoke swept through an apartment building in south suburban Richton Park. As CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reported, the fire broke out at the Park Towers Apartment Homes building, at 3905 Tower Dr. in Richton Park. Three others had smoke inhalation, and one firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion. The flames erupted on the fourth floor. Thick black smoke poured out of apartments on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the apartment building. Three apartments were seen completely burned out. Chopper 2 caught video of four people getting fresh air on a balcony nearby. A firefighter was seen talking with them and making sure they were OK. Several apartments were clearly a total loss. Chopper 2 also showed a firefighter out on a balcony appearing to adjust his gear and then going back inside one of the burned-out apartments.  

Investigators have identified a man found dead in his burning home after an explosion in Rantoul. The person found in a bedroom of the residence in the 400 block of Broadmeadow Road was Raymond J. Wolst, 66, according to Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup. Wolst was pronounced dead on the scene at 2:40 p.m. Tuesday. An autopsy on the victim is scheduled for Monday, July 26. An inquest may be held at a later date. There were no other injuries reported. Responders said the structure involved in the fire was a single-story, three-bedroom home. Flames destroyed the building.  

Just 24 hours after getting hit by a car at a sidewalk café in downtown Evanston, two young women have blown up on social media. The women's viral TikTok video, letting the world know they are on the mend, now has nearly 400,000 views. And CBS 2's Jim Williams' report on the accident Tuesday plays a role in the video. It was a video the women made in their hospital room, hours after they were both hit by the car as they ate lunch outside the Aloha Poke restaurant at Davis Street and Orrington Avenue. When you think about what happened to them, it's stunning they could be in such good spirits. As he sat down with them outside Wednesday, Williams told Alison Wilensky and Courtney Mazeika – "Let me say this – I'm really happy to see you right now, after what happened yesterday."  

Thanks to a donation, the fire department bought a fire extinguisher training system. They said the intelligent training system will be used to teach how to effectively use a fire extinguisher. It will be used to train workers at businesses, students at schools and the public at fire prevention events. The system uses sensor technology to detect how well you use the fire extinguisher. It can sense if the user has aimed at the base of the fire, is properly squeezing the extinguisher handle and is properly sweeping the nozzle of the extinguisher. The fire department was able to buy the system thanks to a donation from the Living for Gavin non-profit and money raised from their annual chili dinners.  

VIDEOS: Two adults and four children were injured in a house explosion in West Brandywine Township, Chester County, officials said. The incident was first reported just before 12 p.m. Wednesday on the 400 block of Hibernia Road. Firefighters and EMS responded to the home and found the victims suffering from burn injuries. Officials said one adult and two children were flown from the scene by medical helicopter to an area hospital. Two others were taken to a hospital by ambulance, and one person refused treatment. Linsey Carpenter, who lives nearby, said she heard the explosion and went to help. "We saw the little girl run across the street. We grabbed her and checked her out. Her hair was singed, her eyebrows were singed. Then the little boy came out and that's when the flames started," she said.  

Alabama firefighters are trying to change a new state law, which they said causes safety concerns in Alabama's schools. As written, HB 220, which passed in the 2021 legislative session, removes state oversight of K-12 school construction projects of $500,000 or less. It gives that responsibility to the school systems. The law's supporters say the goal is to remove government bureaucracy and save school systems money. But Alabaster Fire Chief Tim Love said it could lead to school buildings not being up to code. "There will be no independent third party inspection or review of the plans or process as it goes along," Love said. "Without that, there's no guarantee codes are being followed." Love is president of the Alabama Fire Fighters Association. He wants the law changed before it goes into effect February 1.  

Robeson County paramedics and residents can feel a little safer Wednesday, the day some county EMS personnel donned body cameras in an effort to protect paramedics from assault and to provide the best care to patients. Wednesday marks the start of a 14-day testing and evaluation phase for six body cameras being incorporated into patient care, said Nestor Rivera, Robeson County EMS Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement specialist and paramedic. Three will be worn during the day shift and three on the night shift. Each Reveal body-worn camera can store up to 12 hours of continuous imaging and costs $599. The cameras will work in conjunction with dash cameras already installed in ambulances. The EMS service hasn't decided whether or not it will buy 18 or 32 cameras, using donated money.  

VIDEO: There was an intense underground rescue near St. Louis nearly 200 feet down at a wastewater tunnel construction site. One worker was injured. The site is part of the four-mile MSD Deer Creek project that stretches from Lemay through Shrewsbury to Clayton. The site was closed Wednesday after the accident, which was very scary for the injured worker and others who were trapped, plus two Shrewsbury firefighter/paramedics who went down to get most of them out. An on-site construction team was able to free the one worker who needed medical care, the firefighters said. He hurt his leg after a 3,000-pound form used to shape concrete fell around 9:30 in the morning. The construction team was able to shift the form with a crane and lift him out. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury, authorities said.  

The Middle Eastern country of Lebanon is a long way from the Hilltowns, but thanks to the internet, a bagel company and an enthusiastic young firefighter, firefighters in the capital area of Beirut are wearing gear donated by four local towns. And those who organized the donation are looking to send over even more. "We're still trying to get more gear over there," said recently retired Goshen firefighter Bob Labrie. The young firefighter that started the effort is River de la Vida Williams, 20, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and member of the Cummington and Goshen fire departments. "If you know River, you're not surprised by his ambition," Labrie said. When Williams joined the Cummington Fire Department at age 17, Bernie Forgea, the fire chief at the time, announced his recruitment at a town meeting. At the time, Forgea mentioned that the department had gear that was more than 10 years old sitting in unopened boxes