VIDEO: The Peoria Fire Department is taking training to new heights. Literally. On Wednesday, a group of firefighters was working to complete a rope-rescue training program. The trainers come from the Illinois Fire Service Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Illinois Fire Service Institute serves as the oldest continuous fire training institution in the United States. Since 1925, the IFSI has trained first responders all over the state. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the firefighters worked with ropes and rappelled down the side of the Bob Michel Bridge which carries Illinois Route 40 over the Illinois River. The training will help if the department ever needs to use lines in a rescue situation. For example, the ropes could be used in an elevator rescue, or a building collapse situation.  

A new type of fire truck in Hinsdale will not only benefit residents, but surrounding towns, the interim fire chief said Tuesday. At a Village Board meeting, trustees voted to spend $1.7 million to buy what is known as a Rosenbauer Aerial Snorkel truck. The village expects to receive it in 2026. The truck would replace the village's ladder truck, which would cost $2 million new, according to a village memo. Over the next six years, the total savings would be nearly $1.8 million because the village could then eliminate other apparatus in its fleet, the memo said. The board first heard about buying a Snorkel at a meeting two weeks ago. The decision was relatively quick compared with neighboring Clarendon Hills a couple of years ago. After a months-long debate, Clarendon Hills trustees decided to buy a new ladder truck.  

A luxury yacht carrying nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition and fireworks caught fire shortly before capsizing in the Marina del Rey harbor on Wednesday evening. Two people were on board the 100-foot yacht when the fire ignited, but both were able to get off safely. The U.S. Coast Guard continued environmental cleanup efforts Thursday morning as the yacht bobbed on its side, testing air quality and remediating water contamination from fuel spillage. At around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, firefighters rushed to the docks at Basin A, where the boat, named "The Admiral," was heavily involved in flames, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Crews tried to fight the fire both by ground and by water, but it proved difficult to contain.  

Senator Michelle Hinchey announced that two of her bills to improve emergency care and support EMS providers statewide have been signed into law, including legislation creating three new reimbursement sources for EMS (S8486C) and expanding the ability of motor vehicle ambulance services to administer life-saving blood transfusions (S6226A). Previously, EMS was only reimbursed for transporting patients to hospital ERs. Senator Hinchey's bill, S8486C, expands this to include reimbursement for on-scene treatment, transport to approved healthcare facilities like urgent care and mental health clinics, and telemedicine consultations. This change, effective October 1, 2024, comes on the heels of a rally led by Hinchey, EMS, and Fire leaders urging for the signing of this bill. A second Hinchey bill, S6226A, allows ambulances to carry and transfuse blood during all emergency transports, not just between hospitals.  

A respiratory virus that sometimes paralyzes children is spreading across the U.S., raising concerns about another possible rise in polio-like illnesses. Wastewater samples have detected a significant escalation in an enterovirus called D68, which, in rare cases, has been linked to acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. The illness affects the nervous system and causes severe weakness in the arms and legs. This most often occurs in young children. "We are detecting EV-D68 nucleic acids in wastewater across the country now, and the levels are increasing," said Alexandria Boehm, program director of WastewaterSCAN, a nonprofit monitoring network and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University. That's the first clue to suggest that the nation might see an increase in AFM this year, said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and author of "Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks."