VIDEO: Twenty-foot flames lit up a block in Chicago's South Loop. More than a hundred firefighters fought to get the overnight fire under control. Two businesses were fully engulfed in flames near Michigan and 23rd Street. Firefighters said both businesses, Pronto Cleaners and Lax Energy Works yoga studio were a "total loss." The fire forced people in nearby buildings outside. "All of a sudden smoke was everywhere," a witness said. "It started outside in the back, they said it's outside in the back on the garbage can or something." The fire department said the fire started from the back of the cleaners, then moved to the front.. They needed 12 engines, nine trucks and a ladder to get the job done. No one was inside the building at the time.  

There have been four fires at the Eugenie Terrace Apartment Tower in the past few weeks. CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reported Monday on who may be responsible. A teenage boy will now be placed in Chicago's juvenile Firesetter Program, meant to educate young people caught starting small fires before they start. "I'm mad. Others are mad. We want answers," said Colette Turner. She's angry because Sunday night there was another fire in her luxury apartment building overlooking Lincoln Park. "I'm kind of freaked out by all of this," Turner lamented. There have been four fires in the Eugenie Terrace Apartment Tower, at 1730 N. Clark St., since January 18. "It's pretty scary. Scary when you look down and see firetrucks and you can smell smoke," said resident Michael Gagne. Smoke that firefighters believe is the result of fires that were deliberately set by a teenage boy.  

When a gunman shot 10 people at an Aurora company in February 2019, more than 300 first responders turned Luigi's Pizza and Fun Center into their command center. "What shocked me was, I just can't believe the response that came from 50 miles around. We had people from Crystal Lake here, Somonauk was here. Yorkville, Willowbrook. All of these communities came like that," said Bill Poss, owner of Luigi's Pizza and Fun Center. Gary Martin opened fire, leaving four employees and an intern dead and five police officers injured Feb. 15, at the Henry Pratt warehouse after he was told he was being fired for a safety violation. "When those cops went in, they were getting shot at right through that door, right through the windows. They couldn't see who was shooting at them. They didn't know where he was. It was something that was unbelievable," Poss said.  

A Bloomington mobile home kept the fire department out in the cold Monday night at Cardinal Ridge mobile home park on the city's south side, but no injuries were reported after the smoke cleared. Just before 7 p.m., firefighters were called to 2409 21st St. where neighbors said flames were visible under the home. When the Bloomington Fire Department arrived, no fire was visible, but firefighters eventually found flames and hot gas under the home, Battalion Chief Gary Smith said. The neighbors had attempted to extinguish the fire before they arrived, he said. No injuries were reported and the sole occupant declined assistance from the American Red Cross. Smoke filled the home, and the firefighters had to "take some of the trailer apart to get to the seed of it," Smith said.  

Brian Failing detailed the past, present and future of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum. The museum's executive director chronicled the 51-year-old museum's history and prospects Monday, Jan. 20, at the Aurora Noon Lions Club's biweekly luncheon meeting at Luigi's Pizza in Aurora. According to Failing, exhibits at the museum, 53 N. Broadway, include a permanent display and a temporary exhibit. "Getting There, Getting Water, Getting Rescued," the permanent display, traces the evolution of tools and technology firefighters use. Five antique firefighting apparatus are featured, including an 1850s hand pumper. The current exhibit, "Staying Safe: From Firehouse to Your House," explores fire and life safety topics.  

New Orleans firefighters claim current staffing shortages threaten their ability to put out fires in the city on a timely basis. "When it comes down to the actual manpower on the streets, we're at critical mass now," Firefighters Union President Aaron Mischler said. According to the Mischler, his members will no longer work excessive overtime to cover for a city administration and department that can't attract or retain employees. "They're trying to bring people in," Mischler said. "Last year, the mayor budgeted for 50 new hires. We hired 8. This year, they budgeted for another 50. We're at 39 going on through the process, right now, but it's not keeping up with attrition." The union claims the NOFD's call volume has increased 150% over the last decade while the number of firefighters has dropped by 25%. The department's 480 or so rank-and-file personnel constitutes the lowest staffing level in the agency's 128-year history.  

VIDEO: The parents of the late Lubbock Fire Department Lieutenant Eric Hill want to carry on his legacy. With the 5-5-5 initiative, Mark and Susan Hill hope to save lives in his memory. "Most people know, before radio, and things like that, they would ring bells to let fire department personnel know what was happening in different places, and when a firefighter fell, they would ring five bells three times," Mark Hill, Lt. Hill's father, said. Lt. Hill and Lubbock Police Department Officer Nicholas Reyna were struck and killed working a series of wrecks on North I-27 last month. "We've been told by several people here that he saved lives, and that people are walking around Lubbock today, because he was a good paramedic, and we want to continue that legacy," Mark said. The first "five" is leave five minutes early. The second is slow down five miles an hour below the speed limit. The third is hug five people you love every day.  

Researchers at Washington University have found that paramedics and emergency medical technicians are seven times as likely as the general public to have thought about suicide in the past year. Five emergency medicine doctors surveyed more than 900 paramedics in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Iowa over three months in 2017. The results were published in an industry journal this month. "They witness firsthand some of the most horrific things that can happen to a human being, so that in itself is stressful," said Dr. Bridgette Svancarek, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wash U and the assistant program director of the school's EMS fellowship. "On top of that, the pay is poor, and the hours can be pretty awful."  

Camden city officials, union officials and its fire department will send a set of proposals to the state Civil Service Commission that they hope will, once approved, avert the need to lay off any front-line firefighters. In a letter obtained by the Courier-Post, Mayor Frank Moran wrote to Deirdre Webster Cobb, chair and CEO of the Civil Service Commission, about the loss of a $2.4 million Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that in 2017 enabled the hiring of 27 firefighters by the Camden Fire Department. In the letter, which was sent via email Monday night and was to be hand-delivered to Trenton Tuesday morning, Moran outlines a plan to save $2,439,000 through a number of measures, including what he and union officials characterized as a "restructuring" of the department's leadership.