An overnight fire killed at least one person, and there are concerns about several animals that were inside the home when flames started to spread. Firefighters from the Mitchell Fire Department responded at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to a home in the 3100 block of West Chain of Rocks Road in Madison County, Illinois. The fire chief said they arrived to find thick smoke and big flames coming out of the trailer home. One neighbor said he woke up to huge, orange flames right outside his window. "I was laying in bed and I heard someone screaming, ‘Don't go in there, it's dangerous!' When I heard that word dangerous, I jumped up and when I did I saw my window was orange. As soon as I opened it and stuck my head out, the entire porch was engulfed in flames," Larry Burgan recalled. The flames were so intense the siding on a neighboring home started to melt.  

Firefighters said a Danville responder fell through a weakened floor while battling a Wednesday fire. Crews were dispatched at 4:31 a.m. to 502 Grant St., where they found a fully involved structure with flames shooting through the roof. The unoccupied home is considered a total loss. No injuries were reported and the fire remains under investigation. At 5:55 a.m., responders went to 608 N. Griffin St., where they found heavy fire at the front of a structure. This response was where a firefighter fell through a fire-weakened first floor into the basement. The firefighter was taken to OSF by ambulance for evaluation and was later released. The two occupants of this home were awakened by a smoke detector and escaped without injury. This structure is also considered a total loss and the cause is under investigation.  

For firefighters everywhere, just getting to the call can be as dangerous as the emergency itself. Enter the Illinois Fire Service Institute, or IFS, and their state-of-the-art simulator. Anything that rescue crews could or would encounter on a real call can be duplicated with the simulator. IFSI's Dan Bracken said what can take years to learn in real life can be offered much sooner through the simulator "It's a safer environment. We can change the weather. We can go from night to day," he said. "It gives them the full experience to drive a fire truck." He estimates 850 firefighters in Cook County have been trained on the SimTech-developed simulator since it was introduced. Harvey Deputy Fire Chief Howard Fisher said the technology can literally be a lifesaver. "When you combine technology and training, we can correct their bad habits," he said. "It also saves us money on the training."  

PHOTO: An Alton vehicle went up in flames Wednesday evening minutes after its occupants had gotten out. Alton firefighters were called to the 3400 block of Meridocia Street in Alton just before 5 p.m. Wednesday for a car fully involved in flames in the driveway. The owners of the Chevrolet Sonic had only arrived home a few minutes before the fire started, witnesses said. The couple were inside the house and escaped, carrying their family dog. No injuries were reported. Numerous people in the neighborhood came outside to watch the spectacle as tires on the car exploded with muffled bangs.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A fire at a Walmart warehouse distribution center has cast a large plume of smoke visible throughout Indianapolis. Nearly 200 firefighters are on scene with officials calling on anyone living near the looming plume of smoke to shelter in place and stay indoors along with not touching any of the debris that is raining down on the city's west side. Plainfield Fire Department officials confirmed the fire is at a 1.2 million square foot Walmart warehouse located at 9590 AllPoints Parkway between Avon and the Indianapolis International Airport. Neighboring facilities near the warehouse are being evacuated, officials said, as a precaution. According to Plainfield Fire Chief Brent Anderson, the fire started inside the warehouse on the third floor a little before noon on Wednesday.  

The St. Andrew Pipes & Drums band plays year-round at graduations and funerals. But there's nothing like the thrill of Kansas City's legendary St. Patrick's Day parade. Iain McKee grew up listening to the hum of the Highland bagpipe. Sixty years ago, his grandfather Wallace McKee helped found St. Andrew Pipes & Drums. "Nobody ever told me I had to play the pipes," Iain says. "I was around it, obviously, growing up and I was over at my grandparents house one day and my grandpa said, 'Hey, maybe I can show you how to play a scale.' And I said, 'Oh, that'd be kind of cool." Iain thought the resulting sound was "pretty neat," so he showed his dad what he'd learned. "He got really excited," Iain remembers, "and he started lining up lessons with me and my best friend and just kind of took off from there."  

When it comes to protecting first responders at accident scenes nationwide, brighter isn't better. A recent study by the Emergency Responder Safety Institute revealed that the light-emitting diode flashers on police cruisers, fire engines, and ambulances that spray the night with intense beams to protect first responders from oncoming traffic actually create a lot of glare, and that effect intensifies when the light bounces off retroreflective chevrons attached to the back of emergency vehicles. Calling their findings "surprising," the researchers determined that rubbernecking motorists can become blinded by the intense LED lights and won't be able to see emergency personnel near the roadway. The US Department of Transportation reports that vehicle accidents are the second most common cause of fatalities among police officers and firefighters, and the leading cause of death of tow truck operators.  

Saturday, March 19, 2022, marks the 40th anniversary of a fire that killed a Petersburg firefighter Mike Goff and nearly cost the city its entire downtown. For those who were there, the day is remembered as a nightmare. "Every second. It was yesterday. You know, in your minds, it was just yesterday," retired Petersburg Fire Captain Glenn Dean said. "You can still see the scene. You can still see what you were doing and what was happening around you." Even before firefighters arrived at the burning three-story building on the corner of Franklin and Sycamore Streets, they knew it was a serious fire. "When we pulled up on the scene, on the second and third floor, there were residents in the windows with flashlights and handkerchiefs," retired Petersburg Fire Captain Jimbo Rice said.