VIDEO: An OSHA report on the fire that left a fire captain dead and three other firefighters injured in Bethalto, Illinois, said communication problems contributed to the dangerous conditions at the fire. Godfrey Fire Captain Jake Ringering was killed in a fire at 4064 Culp Lane on March 5. An OSHA report of working conditions at the fire was completed in September and was released to 5 On Your Side Monday. The report highlighted multiple problems with the effort to extinguish the fire. The report said 911 operators failed to notify first responders that all the residents of the home safely escaped the home, failed to tell first responders that the home was a "hoarder house" and that leadership of the fire departments failed to properly check the scene.  

The new year will bring a variety of challenges and opportunities in Quincy as the City Council looks to address a number of issues facing the city. Collectively, the aldermen interviewed by The Herald-Whig listed the implementation of a $33 million infrastructure initiative, reducing the unfunded portions of the police and fire pensions and crafting a development strategy for the city's riverfront as their top priorities for 2020. "I think the biggest thing on our plate is how are we going to proceed with all of this infrastructure work and coordinating the construction," said Alderman Eric Entrup, R-1. In 2020, the city will complete 32 ward-specific and seven communitywide street resurfacing and reconstruction projects, 154 sidewalk projects and 12 water and sewer projects.  

The owner of Stray Rescue of St. Louis plans to rebuild after a fire destroyed a farmhouse he used as a home for elderly, disabled and terminally ill dogs. The fire broke out Saturday at Randy's Rescue Ranch in O'Fallon, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Stray Rescue owner Randy Grim said that, with help from firefighters, all the dogs were saved but two senior cats who also lived there died and the farmhouse was a total loss. "Heartbroken and completely devastated," Grim wrote Sunday in a social media posting. Stray Rescue of St. Louis is an organization that takes in dogs that have been abused, neglected or dumped on the streets to fend for themselves. The O'Fallon facility opened in 2017 as something of a hospice for old, disabled and very ill pets. Many of the dogs live out their final days at the ranch.  

The owners of a rural Prairie Center home sat in a pickup truck maybe fifty feet away from their burning home. The owner Duane Krzyzek got to go into the main house after the fire was out. The house isn't habitable and a north addtion is destroyed. Serena Fire Chief Steve Kellogg is not sure what cause the garage to catch fire around 7:30 Monday night. Both Krzyzek and his wife were not home at the time. By the time Serena arrived, the garage was leveled. Firemen did keep the fire out of the main two story house, but it contained a lot of smoke damage. It's unknown if the house will be razed or not. There were no injuries to anyone  

VIDEO: An OSHA report on the fire that left a fire captain dead and three other firefighters injured in Bethalto, Illinois, said communication problems contributed to the dangerous conditions at the fire. Godfrey Fire Captain Jake Ringering was killed in a fire at 4064 Culp Lane on March 5. An OSHA report of working conditions at the fire was completed in September and was released to 5 On Your Side Monday. The report highlighted multiple problems with the effort to extinguish the fire. The report said 911 operators failed to notify first responders that all the residents of the home safely escaped the home, failed to tell first responders that the home was a "hoarder house" and that leadership of the fire departments failed to properly check the scene.  

Since joining the Fire Department in 2006, Lieutenant Kyra Neeley King has not only seen a great melding of various rescue services — including medical professionals and firefighters — into a cohesive response force, but she's also witnessed these brave first responders serving a common purpose of helping New Yorkers. King, a liaison to Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro and a photographer, has brought that idea of common purpose to life in a new exhibit now on display at the Fire Museum in SoHo in Manhattan through January. Called "Brave Colors," the exhibit features photographs she has taken of the men and women of the FDNY, working at various scenes. The collection, however, speaks to the human element of being a member of this prestigious department, one of the largest in the nation.  

VIDEO: The New Bedford firefighters union is once again calling on the city to end its policy of "blacking out" certain engines when the department is short-staffed. The city's black out policy sometimes leaves one random truck unstaffed to save money. The department has been operating under the policy for at least ten years. The closest engine to the fire on Myrtle Street Saturday night that killed 88-year-old Robert Seamans was out of service. "I believe that there was a blackout at the fire department today and they were saying that's actually why there were not here on time," said neighbor Holly Thomas Saturday night. In October, 85-year-old Louise Barboza was killed in a space heater fire on Coffin Avenue. In both cases, the closest engine couldn't respond.  

PHOTOS: Julian Reams literally is leaving his mark on the St. Lucie County Fire District. Reams, 32, a firefighter with the agency, also is an accomplished artist from Miami, and he brought some of his artistic passion to his job as a first responder. Reams has painted three murals on as many fire stations, two of which are stations where he's been based since joining the agency in December 2012. "There's no rules to art; there's no age limit to it. It's for everyone," Reams said at Station 12 in Port St. Lucie. "I think that's the cool part about art, what I enjoy about it the most." At Station 12 on Southeast Village Green Drive, Reams painted an enormous mural of a firefighter's head with a helmet and self-contained breathing apparatus. The painting adorns the wall above some lockers, and is about as tall as Reams.  

VIDEO: As a singer-songwriter, Larry Long has made a career out of making music with a message, but he hopes his latest creation will strike a chord on the issue of firefighter health and wellness. "You can never predict where a song is going to go or the effect it's going to have, but time will tell," said Long, who is from south Minneapolis. Long came up with the idea for "Firefighter (Duty, Honor, Courage)" after tagging along with a group of firefighters as they put out a restaurant blaze over a decade ago. The song chronicles the challenges the public servants face both on and off the job, like cancer, heart attacks and emotional trauma, which they are twice as likely to experience than the regular population. "There hasn't been a lot of music written for the fire service and the journey that all of us firefighters are on," said George Esbensen, a retired Eden Prairie fire chief.