The Fire and Police Commission voted unanimously Monday to appoint Carla Redd as the next Rockford Police Department chief and Michele Pankow as the next Rockford Fire Department chief. This is the first time in the city's history that either department will be led by a woman. The appointments conclude a four-month-long search that involved virtual and in-person community meet-and-greet events. Chief Redd joined the Rockford Police Department in 1998. She was a patrol officer, field training officer, community services officer, detective and sergeant before becoming the first Black woman to achieve a command rank as a lieutenant in 2015. Chief Redd currently serves as Assistant Deputy Chief. Michele Pankow joined the Rockford Fire Department in 1992. Working her way up the ranks, she became the first woman in the history of the Rockford Fire Department to become a division chief in 2016. Chief Pankow currently serves as the Division Chief of Operations.  

A Chicago firefighter and three people were injured in a blaze Monday night on the South Side. Shortly after 7 p.m., a fire broke out in the stairwell of a multi-unit apartment building in the South Shore neighborhood. The incident took place in the 6900 block of South Clyde Avenue. It is believed the injured firefighter fell through the stairwell where the blaze broke out. Three residents suffered minor smoke inhalation. They were all taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Hallways were charred and residents could be seen hanging out of windows. Some residents were rescued with ladders. Smoke detectors did go off on the upper floors and someone was able to call 911 immediately. That call may have saved lives. The cause of the fire is unknown, but the Chicago Fire Department did note that the blaze broke out around dinner time when people were cooking.  

Two people escaped from a car with minor injuries after it struck a pole and became fully engulfed in flames Sunday afternoon in Crystal Lake. The Crystal Lake Police Department and Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded around 1:40 p.m. Sunday to the Waste Management, 1400 South Virginia Road. First responders received a call for a single-vehicle crash directly in front of the Waste Management building on Virginia Road. Witnesses reported an older model sedan was traveling northbound on Virginia Road when it struck a pole on the east side of the street. The sedan then drove off the roadway to the west and it caught on fire, the witnesses said. The driver and a passenger were able to get out of the car before firefighters arrived. One of the victims appeared to have sustained a head injury, one witness reported.  

A one-story brick house north of Joliet sustained significant damage Monday evening during a crash involving four vehicles on Route 171. Joliet resident Bob Hernandez went to the scene around 7:30 p.m. to produce one of his Facebook Live videos for his followers. Hernandez said the Illinois State Police were investigating the wreck, and that the Red Cross was summoned to the scene to provide temporary housing to the people whose dwelling was damaged during the wreck. The wreck happened outside the city of Joliet limits, about a mile north of the Old Joliet Prison. Hernandez said he talked with a witness who told him that one of the drivers was taken by a Lockport Township fire department ambulance to an area hospital.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: At least one person was hospitalized, and multiple properties were damaged as a mansion went up in flames in Upper Saint Clair Monday morning. Emergency crews were called to the home, which was still being built on Scarlett Drive, shortly after 11 a.m. "It sounded like this big thud, it must have been some type of explosion in the garage," said neighbor Bryan Mathews. Within minutes, the structure was fully engulfed. Mathews is among a handful of homeowners who faced property damage as strong winds sent embers flying all across the neighborhood. "The coals were dropping down on people's mulch beds, smoldering," said neighbor Tanner Murray. Officials reported one person being transported to the hospital. Neighbors shared video of one man seen with burns.  

PHOTOS: Every fire department has its own customs and traditions that have been carried on through the years. Some have different colored badges to distinguish officers or different colored turnout gear, but DeFuniak Springs firefighters wear theirs on their helmets. Stickers in the shape of an extrication tool known as the "jaws of life" can be spotted plastered around the black, empty spaces of their helmets. Fire Chief Ross Sheffield said the stickers are awarded to firefighters who have worked hard to safely remove a vehicle from around a person who has been in a collision. The tradition began almost 20 years ago, long before Sheffield took over as chief in 2020, but continues to be a symbol of "honor" at the department.  

A Kentucky lawmaker plans to file a bill that would help the families of first responders who died from COVID-19. Rep. Thomas Huff, a Republican from Shepherdsville, said his proposal is a result of the twin tragedy that occurred at the Zoneton Fire Department. Chief Rob Orkies died in December 2020 after a battle with both cancer and COVID-19. Then in February, acting Chief Gary Key also fell to the virus. But the families were denied Kentucky's death benefit of $80,000 given when first responders die as a result of their jobs. Zoneton's new chief, Kevin Moulton, said he was told by the Kentucky Fire Commission that the families were not eligible because of the way the state law is worded. "In the KRS, it does not state COVID-19 or anything like that," Moulton said.  

VIDEO: Lucas Oil Raceway brought the heat on Saturday as the racetrack hosted the world finals for Beat the Heat, Inc. But behind the wheels of these drag cars weren't professional racecar drivers. Instead, the "heat" burning rubber up and down the raceway were police officers and firefighters from across the nation. Some of the cars used in the racing were even converted police cars. "This is another way to kind of get in touch with the youth, and the community and just kind of show them that hey we're here, we're not just the ones in the police car taking people to jail, you can come out, have fun with us, hang out with us, relax," said Beat the Heat Vice President Gary Fitzgerald. Along with being a community relations bridge and a program to help connect and educate youth, Beat the Heat is a non-profit organization comprised of police officers and firefighters who use racing to draw attention to programs that combat the proble of street racing, drunk driving and distracted driving.  

On September 11, 2001, members of the Islamic extremist group Al Qaeda coordinated four attacks using hijacked commercial airliners in the United States. Two iconic towers fell. The Pentagon sustained major damage. Nearly 3,000 victims lost their lives. Countless more suffered immediate injuries and long-term health issues that are still being felt to this day. The 9/11 attacks changed America, and the world, forever. Here's what it looked like on the ground, from the streets of New York to the Pentagon to a field outside of a Pennsylvania town, from the point of view of people who were there. The first attack: The first tower was struck at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001. Five attackers, armed with box cutters, crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the north face of the north tower of the World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan.