A 10-year old Chicago girl threw a mattress from her burning apartment late Wednesday night so she could escape the smoke and flames. She was home alone with two other younger children. A fire was reported at a large apartment building just before midnight Wednesday in the 6100-block of South Wabash Avenue in Chicago's Washington Park neighborhood, fire officials said. Fire officials also said that in an effort to escape the blaze, a 10-year-old girl threw a mattress from a third floor window and managed to jump onto it to safety. When firefighters arrived, they found a 4-year-old boy hanging out one of the windows, ready to jump, and were able to rescue him using a ladder. They also found a 2-year-old boy inside and got him out safely. "This looks like it was a kitchen fire," Chicago fire spokesman Larry Langford said. "The mother was nearby ... it does not look like anything is life-threatening but we were lucky tonight, very lucky."  

A Chicago firefighter fell through a floor while responding to a blaze Wednesday in Englewood on the South Side. Crews were called to the scene of a fire about 9:35 p.m. in the 6900 block of South Green Street, Chicago fire officials said. One firefighter fell through the floor while crews battled the flames, but was not injured, fire officials said. He was quickly removed from the building by other firefighters and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center as a precaution, fire officials said. He was listed in good condition. The fire was rapidly extinguished, fire officials said, and no other injuries were reported.  

A fire chief known for implementing new and innovative programs in Rockford is leaving for a new job in Fort Collins, Colorado. Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten on Wednesday accepted the position of chief of the Poudre Fire Authority. ""The Rockford Fire Department has been my home for more than 27 years," Bergsten said in a news release. "I'm proud of the work the department has done during my tenure, including strengthening our team, improving our response and preparing for the future. The Rockford Fire Department is a large part of my family and saying goodbye to this department and its people will be extremely difficult." Bergsten's last day with the Rockford Fire Department will be May 7. The Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners will now begin searching for a new chief to succeed him.  

VIDEO: Crews from the Phoenix Fire Department faced massive flames as they battled a mobile home fire Wednesday night. Video showed flames shooting into the night sky as the home burned near Fourth Street and Broadway Road in south Phoenix. Firefighters got the call just after 7 p.m. Crews arrived at the scene to find the home fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters were forced to take a defensive position and surround the building, hitting the fire with water from the outside. Crews quickly brought the fire under control but the home was a total loss. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out of the home safely, and nobody was hurt. Fire investigators are now trying to figure out how the blaze began. A community response team is assisting the home's two displaced residents.  

VIDEO: Local first responders have a new way of training during the COVID-19 pandemic. Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) is now using virtual reality training programs. "We can basically do anything that you can do in real life, you can do in virtual reality," said Commander Keith Noble, ATCEMS. With the help from the City of Austin, Augmented Training Systems, and a grant from US Ignite, ATCEMS is now implementing virtual reality training. "I bring the research together with staff members here and in this case, it was EMS. We sit down and we figure out what we need. What is something that's doable by the university researchers and something that's a challenge or would help in this case, our first responders," said Ted Lehr, Data Architect for City's Communication and Technology Management Department.  

VIDEO: Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue's Station 2 and Station 12 each house some of the departments' most unique and largest trucks, which also provide special rescue and firefighting capabilities. Station 2, located on Paul W. Bryant Drive, has been home to the fire department's first and only Tractor Drawn Aerial apparatus, also known as a tiller truck, since 2017. The truck, Truck 32, was purchased for $1 million and was dedicated in memory of former Tuscaloosa fire chief Bob Delbridge, according to previous reports. The vehicle is 58 feet in length and uses two drivers to operate the front, the tractor driver, and the rear, the tiller operator. It is equipped with a 107-foot, steel-frame ladder and other rescue tools and equipment, such as road rescue equipment, extrication equipment and other ground ladders.  

VIDEO: Even though a devastating house fire took their home and belongings on Tuesday night, the Moniz family is praising God. On Wednesday, professional surfer Kelia Moniz posted to Instagram that her parents' home in Hawaii had burned down overnight, incinerating everything inside. "My parents house, my childhood home went up into flames. Very crazy you have quickly things can change," she wrote alongside a carousel of photos showing the house's charred foundation and her parents, Tony and Tammy Moniz. Moniz shared that under normal circumstances, the entire family, which includes five siblings and four grandchildren, would have been gathered inside during the time the fire started. "So last nights scenario could have had a much different outcome," she wrote. "Today we remember a house full of love, and so many (memories) thanking God we have my mom and dad here with us."  

VIDEO: Even with the race to vaccinate as many Americans as possible accelerating, some experts are warning that if Americans do not also follow proper safety and mitigation measures, the U.S. could see a COVID-19 resurgence. Although the country's national daily case average continues to fall -- about 32.5% over the last month -- nearly a third of all states have seen their average number of cases rise at least 10%. Those 15 states are: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and West Virginia, according to an ABC News analysis of state data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several states -- Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and West Virginia -- have seen their case averages increase by at least 25% in the last week.