The Springfield Fire Department is getting the all clear to start recruiting new firefighters as dozens of retirements loom. After months of back and forth, the fire department will be hiring 18 firefighters this year and could hire another 18 shortly after. The department is already dealing with low staffing, down enough firefighters to fill two houses, according to union president Vince Zummo. Chief Brandon Blough says several large classes of firefighters hired in the late 90s and early 2000s are becoming eligible to retire. That means now is the time to get ahead of it, hiring another class of firefighters soon after this one. "We have to make sure that we hire so we can control overtime, and provide the right type of services, and make sure we have enough manpower to take care of everybody in town," Blough said.  

VIDEO: A massive fire early Monday morning in the Albany Park neighborhood destroyed two businesses and an apartment building, injuring one person and leaving several others homeless. More than 150 firefighters responded to the blaze at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Richmond Street. The fire started around 3:30 a.m. and swept through a three-story apartment building at 4337-39 N. Richmond St. It spread to the neighboring building at the southeast corner of Richmond Street and Montrose Avenue – which housed Twisted Hippo Taproom and Eatery, and Ultimate Ninjas gym. Late Monday, the Fire Department said the point of origin for the fire appeared to be in a gangway between the two buildings. The gangway had two sets of exterior stairs and the fire was believed to have started under one of them.  

Decatur's first Black firefighter broke barriers and rose through the ranks. Jerry Taylor never intended to be the first Black firefighter joining the department in 1970 after missing the first test but passing the second. He was working at a manufacturing plant and wanted something different. Taylor stood out, not just for his color, but for his approach to the job. "I have run across a lot of situations, tragic situations that you really couldn't do anything about," Taylor said. "Even those affected by it, you could put your arms around them and support them." Taylor would face discrimination sometimes. He recalled a day sitting outside of the firehouse when a woman yelled for him to get out of her firehouse. She used the N-word. Taylor said flames don't know color and he climbed the ladder.  

A firefighter was injured after a fire broke out in Albany Park. The fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. early Tuesday morning on the 3300 block of West Cullom Avenue. The fire department the fire was put out just before 4 a.m. and that the building was abandoned. A firefighter was transported to Swedish Hospital with leg pain and was stabilized. On Monday, another fire broke out in Albany Park that destroyed two businesses and an apartment building.  

A mobile home community in Blue Island is holding onto hope after an elderly mother and her daughter were seriously injured in a fire Saturday. Authorities responded to the 13700 block of Division on the report of a fire. Neighbors looked on as firefighters rescued an elderly woman and her adult daughter from the blaze. "Can't even talk about it right now, yeah it's unexplainable," neighbor Robert James said. Neighbors told WGN the elderly woman uses a walker and needed to be rescued. She was unconscious when firefighters pulled her out. Both of the women were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. The fire marshal is investigating what caused the home to go up in flames.  

A fire broke out Monday afternoon in an apartment building on the west side of Evanston. The fire swept through a three-story apartment building in the 1600 block of Monroe Street, between Florence and Dewey avenues. Smoke was seen pouring out of the windows of the building. A total of 12 people from at least three families were displaced by the fire. However, firefighters did say everyone made it out safely – including two dogs and a cat. What started the fire remained under investigation late Monday.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A massive fire early Monday morning in the Albany Park neighborhood destroyed two businesses and an apartment building, injuring one person and leaving several others homeless. More than 150 firefighters responded to the blaze at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Richmond Street. The fire started around 3:30 a.m. and swept through a three-story apartment building at 4337-39 N. Richmond St. It spread to the neighboring building at the southeast corner of Richmond Street and Montrose Avenue – which housed Twisted Hippo Taproom and Eatery, and Ultimate Ninjas gym. Late Monday, the Fire Department said the point of origin for the fire appeared to be in a gangway between the two buildings. The gangway had two sets of exterior stairs and the fire was believed to have started under one of them.  

VIDEO: "These are people that are really serving our community and if they're not safe what has it really come to?" A long-time Harrisburg resident and community advocate, Dr. Kevin Dolphin, asked that question as he reacted to another shooting this weekend in Harrisburg. Authorities said it happened on Saturday just before 3 p.m., when there was a shootout between two cars on N. 16 Street in front of Harrisburg Fire Station 2. Several stray bullets struck multiple fire trucks and the walls of the fire station's garage but no one was injured. Community leaders like Dr. Dolphin say it's fortunate that this was one of the times in Harrisburg where a shooting did not cause a fatal ending. "We need everyone to come to the table. Everyone from the city officials to these grassroots organizations," said Dr. Dolphin, Founder of Breaking the Chainz, Inc.  

VIDEO: One local fire station has its very own mental health therapy dog. It's the first therapy dog designated to firefighters in the Tampa Bay Area. At the North River Fire District, the new mental health dog named Drew, right here, is changing the whole morale of the station, and officials say he's helping firefighters after they respond to traumatic calls. "We see most everyone on their worst days so we try to do our best and be professionals. Drew kind of comes back and be a human again," said firefighter, Michael Davila. We all know the saying "A man's best friend…" but what about a first responder's best friend? "He'll come and run up to you, give a nice little lick and you can pet him, he's always happy to see you," said Davila. For the firefighters at the North River Fire District, this little golden retriever named Drew is their best friend.  

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has released video showing who they call a 'person of interest' in a vacant rowhouse fire that killed three Baltimore firefighters in January. The video shows a man wearing a hoodie walking near South Stricker Street around 11:35 p.m. on Jan. 23. Hours after the video was shot, Baltimore firefighters were called to 205 S. Stricker St. and entered an abandoned house to extinguish a heavy blaze. The vacant rowhouse collapsed minutes later, killing Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler and firefighter/paramedic Kenny Lacayo. City and state officials, as well as the ATF, are offering a $100,000 in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 888-ATF-TIPS.  

Forty-nine states have announced plans to drop their indoor mask mandates as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations steadily decline across the country. The only holdout remains Hawaii. The island state has taken strong precautions against the coronavirus from the beginning of the pandemic and is still requiring out-of-state American travelers to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to avoid a mandatory quarantine. Over 75% of Hawaii residents have received two doses of a COVID vaccine – 10% higher than the national rate – according to the Hawaii Department of Health, and coronavirus cases have dropped by a whopping 64% from Feb. 5 to Feb. 18. Hawaii's rapid drop in COVID cases mirrors nationwide statistics: Reported U.S. cases on Saturday barely exceeded 100,000, a sharp downturn from around 800,850 five weeks ago, according to Johns Hopkins University data.