A 7-year-old boy from Plainfield was recently sworn in as the newest member of the Plainfield Fire Protection District. Last week, Blake Burton, who was diagnosed with advanced pediatric leukemia at age 4, was dubbed an honorary firefighter by Chief Jon Stratton and members from Fire Station 2. Plainfield's Wilding Pointe subdivision came to life Sept. 26 when residents in the neighborhood put their heads together to organize the "Halloween Spooktacular for Blake" event Sept. 26. A person dressed as Spider-Man came to surprise kids; there was an exotic car show; real-life police and firefighters even showed up. "Our neighbors went above and beyond," Blake's mom, Robyn, told Patch, adding that it was a lot of fun for her son. "It was over the top. … It was almost like a carnival for him."  

Two DeKalb residents were displaced Wednesday after the DeKalb Fire Department responded to a structure fire that broke out at 12:52 p.m. at 1019 W. Hillcrest Drive. The fire was deemed an accident because of unattended cooking, according to the DeKalb Fire Department news release. DeKalb Fire Chief Jeff McMaster said the fire broke out in the kitchen of an apartment unit located above the Northern Fresh Market on Hillcrest Drive. The kitchen was severely damaged. The ceiling of the apartments reportedly dropped, according to the police scanner. Smoke was seen coming from the upstairs windows. The amount of damage was an estimate of $100,000, according to fire officials. Due to the fire and water damage, the building has been deemed uninhabitable until a safety inspection can determine which apartment units can reopen.  

The State Fire Marshal made a stop in Southern Illinois to recognize some local fire departments and give some much needed funding. The Illinois Fire Department COVID-19 Relief Grant spread $316,000 dollars between 36 Illinois fire departments. Fire departments with a budget less than $150,000 qualified for a grant. In Southern Illinois eight fire departments received grants of up to fifteen thousand dollars. State Fire Marshall Matt Perez says the grants match what the departments lost from not being to hold their regular fundraisers. "When I found out how hard they had it, how hard they worked, and a lot of times we're not even getting paid. My heart went out. I just wanted to do everything I could to help them and get them resources they needed, so it feels great to be able to come and meet with firefighters here and have a big check to give to them." In Illinois seventy percent of fire service is rural or volunteer.  

VIDEO: The Rockford Fire Department responded to 5238 Pepper Drive just before 11 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a house fire. When firefighters arrived, heavy fire and smoke were visible from the front of the house on both the first and second floors. Fire officials say two teenagers were able to safely get out with a neighbor assisting them before fire crews arrived. One occupant was transported to the hospital purely for precautionary evaluation. Damage to the house and contents inside are estimated to be around $200,000. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.  

Chicago police are investigating a suspicious fire that destroyed a playground on the city's Northwest Side Tuesday. Video showed the playground on fire at Nixon Elementary School in Hermosa around 6 p.m. in the 2100 block of N. Keeler. Now, 7-year-old Celeste Zarzoza and other kids will need to play somewhere else after police say an arsonist possibly started the fire on purpose. "I hate when things burn down," Zarzoza said. "Upset because I don't know who did it." Security camera footage revealed a possible subject starting the fire, police said. Much of what remains of the playground is now charred, some of it unrecognizable. "Angry. Angry. Upset. You know, sad," said Alma Kreuser, vice president of the Hermosa Neighborhood Association. The fire is personal for community members like Kreuser, who spent years bringing together around $300,000 before literally building the playground themselves in 2018.  

Shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Rockford Fire Department responded to 3304 Alida Street for a structure fire. Once on the scene, heavy smoke was coming out from the back of the home along with a fire being found in a bedroom. Firefighters say they were able to get the fire under control in 18 minutes. A man and a woman were both displaced from the home. The Red Cross is assisting them. There were no injuries in this fire. The home suffers an estimated loss of $40,000 from the fire. The cause is unknown and it's under investigation.  

PHOTOS: After a car struck a deer in the early hours of the morning, a tanker truck then collided with the car, causing the truck to overturn and explode, police said. According to police, Marissa Patterson, 18, of Forked River, was driving east on Route 37 at around 3 a.m. when a deer ran out in front of her car. As a result of hitting the deer, the car spun out and became disabled in the roadway, unable to be driven. Patterson told police that she left her car and stood in a safe location while she called 911. During that time, a truck pulling a tanker trailer filled with 8,700 gallons of gasoline drove right into Patterson's car causing the truck to swerve and hit the concrete center barrier. The truck then separated from its trailer, went over the concrete barrier and came to a stop on the westbound shoulder of 37. The trailer then overturned causing the gasoline to spill and explode.  

St. Paul Fire Capt. Mike Paidar loved helping people and his family is hoping a new determination about his death will allow that legacy to live on. Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington recently concluded Paidar's death from cancer was linked to his work and therefore occurred in the line of duty, making his family eligible for public safety officer death benefits. The designation for Paidar, who was 53, is a historical first for the state, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21. The St. Paul union's president said it's important because studies have found that firefighters are at greater risk of cancer due to carcinogens they are exposed to in their work. "It can hopefully create a new pathway for families, if firefighters succumb to cancer or leukemia" because of their work that their deaths are regarded as line-of-duty, said Julie Paidar, Mike's wife of 25 years.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A unique piece of history has returned home to one North Texas town. A 1948 fire engine was recently discovered in a field by landowners in Sweetwater, Texas. Anna Fire Chief Ray Isom says the landowners contacted the department and offered to donate the engine back to the city. "They actually sent photos of it," Isom said. Historical photos confirmed it was the truck from Anna, Texas. Not long after, the 1948 engine was being loaded on the back of a tow truck, headed home. Wayne Tilley was a volunteer firefighter in Anna from the late 1950s until 1980. He's made hundreds of calls on the truck but never knew what happened with it. Seeing it parked outside the fire station brought back memories, he said. "I'm tickled to death to see it," Tilley told NBC 5.  

Mitch Hokanson was making noise on the side of Oasis Rd. and causing drivers to turn their cars around to see what he was creating. Hokanson was in the middle of carving a large fish out of wood with a chainsaw, and this is his twentieth year finetuning his craft. Hokanson creates chainsaw wood art and said he was first taught skills from his artistic mom and learned woodcutting from his dad, but he is also has learned a lot on his own. "I saw a guy at a farm one time carving bears," Hokanson said "I got my wallet out; I got my money out to buy it and I thought, 'you know, I'm going to try it.' I've got a little bit of chainsaw skills; a little bit of art skills, so I bought a book and taught myself. And after probably a thousand carvings and 20 years, this is the point I'm at." During the summertime, Hokanson is a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service.  

First responders across Massachusetts are warning residents to avoid a scam text message claiming to be running a t-shirt sale to benefit local fire departments. The texts, fire officials say, impersonate the "friends of" groups of towns' fire departments and offer limited edition t-shirts to support the firefighters. On Wednesday, the Auburn Fire Department shared an image of a yellow t-shirt with a kneeling firefighter on it. The shirt featured the emblem of the department with text that said, "stand for the flag, kneel for the fallen." Nearly identical t-shirt designs have been sent to residents in Spencer, Belchertown, Grafton and multiple other towns around the state. The shirts mostly only change to match the logo of the local fire department.