During its public safety and administrative and community service (ACS) committees Thursday, aldermen voted not to close the Montclaire Fire Station, for now. The committees' caveat to the station's reprieve is that if or when Montclaire needs a moderate-to-major repair or upgrade, the council will stop sinking capital expenses into it. "I believe the growth of our community and shifting development patterns necessitate the construction of a more efficient station on the city's eastern edge," said Alderman Will Krause. "Since the early planning stages of the new public safety facility downtown, closure of the Montclaire Station has always been considered an inevitability." However, Krause said his constituents and area first responders contacted him about the perceived folly of closing Montclaire before a new fire station is built and ready for use, which the committee said is two to five years away.  

A 27-year veteran of the Elgin Fire Department has been named its interim chief, officials said. Assistant Fire Chief Robert Cagann will head the department until a replacement is found for retired Chief David Schmidt, City Manager Rick Kozal said. After 30 years with Elgin, Schmidt retired last week to become fire chief in Carrboro, North Carolina. "I am wholly confident that the exemplary service for which the Elgin Fire Department is recognized will continue unabated under Interim Chief Cagann's leadership until a new fire chief is appointed," Kozal said in a news release. Cagann started his career as an Elgin firefighter in 1993 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2001, captain in 2008, battalion chief in 2015 and assistant chief in 2017.  

Mattoon firefighters spent part of Monday morning putting out a fire in the 3300 block of Marion. The Mattoon Fire Department was sent to the area for a possible structure fire when a caller said they were unable to wake anyone inside the residence. When they arrived on the scene, smoke could be seen coming from the roof. Firefighters and the caller later learned that all of the people inside the home made it out safely, thanks to the caller pounding on their door and waking them up. Fire crews went inside the home to rescue the family cat and dog. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is believed to be in the area of the exhaust fan in the attic. The Mattoon Police Department and Charleston Fire Department were on the scene to assist.  

A Rockford garage goes up in flames and spreads to an attached home Monday morning. Crews arrived at 5004 Highcrest Road to find fire shooting out of the roof of a garage and smoke billowing across the neighborhood. We do not know if anyone was injured. The Illinois State Fire Marshall has been called to help with the investigation. 23 News has a crew on the scene and will update the story as more information becomes available.  

A massive structure fire Saturday took out one building within a somewhat interconnected series of about eight that form an entire block of Main Street's business district in downtown Staunton in Macoupin County. The Staunton Fire Protection District was called at 8:18 p.m., Staunton Chief Rick Haase said. The commercial building's first floor was a dog grooming and boarding business undergoing remodeling and unoccupied, but the second floor had three apartment units that were evacuated before the fire department arrived by a Staunton police officer who happened to be in front of the building for a traffic stop. There were no injuries and tenants found shelter with family or hotel rooms provided by the Staunton Clergy Association, Haas said.  

VIDEO: Firefighters in New Bedford protested the mayor's inauguration Monday night over the city's longstanding blackout policy. Fire station blackouts have been in effect since 2009 when the former mayor, Scott Lang, initiated the policy as a way to try and save money during the Great Recession. Through the policy, a different station is closed, or "blacked out", for a 24-hour period to cut back on staffing, therefore reducing costs. "We were in a fiscal apocalypse then. [Mayor Lang] had no choice," said Arthur Mello, of New Bedford Firefighters Local 841. However, now that the economy is in a better position, firefighters like Mello want to get rid of the blackouts. "The economy has changed, it's grown. But as it's grown, Mayor Mitchell has chosen to not only continue the blackouts, but to double down on them," said Mello.  

The city faces $10,800 in fines from the state for safety violations at the Warrenton Fire Department. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation after anonymous complaints. It fined the city $7,500 for not ensuring a proper respiratory protection program, $2,100 for not ensuring employees wore the right protective equipment, $420 for improper training, $420 for not maintaining a safety committee, $180 for a lack of equipment inspections and $180 for not keeping a hazard communication program. Tim Demers, the former fire chief, resigned amid the investigation. The findings come shortly after the city hired Brian Alsbury, the former deputy fire chief and volunteer, to replace Demers. Investigators specifically took issue with the city's use of the term "combat firefighter" for volunteers to keep them engaged while they completed the required training to combat structure fires.  

VIDEO: York police said a registered sex offender has been arrested after showing up to emergency scenes pretending to be a firefighter. Robert Shipman, 29, was arrested Saturday after officers said he blocked the roadway at a serious accident on East Jefferson Street and had red lights on his truck. Officials said Shipman arrived before they did and had already blocked the street with his pickup truck. Firefighters lost time getting to the injured victims because they had to get around him first. York Fire Chief Domenic Manera told Channel 9's South Carolina bureau reporter Greg Suskin that he met Shipman face to face at another accident scene two days earlier. Police said Shipman was on East Liberty Street where a car had run into a brick wall in front of the Lowe's store, seriously injuring the driver.  

Engine 72 used to put out fires in North Olympia. Now one rages inside of it, guaranteed to cook a fresh pizza in two minutes. Christopher and Janene Murray are the owners of Murray's Rustic Pie, a wood-fired pizza operation built in a converted fire engine. The mobile food truck has been in commission for the pizza business since last summer, traveling to farmers markets, breweries, community events — even weddings — when they're not serving about 30 pies a day from the driveway of the Murray home at 536 NE C St. The two are hardly new to pizza though. Or, for that matter, vehicular ovens. Before this, Chris Murray and a friend built a 3-foot oven in the back end of a '77 Datsun pickup and hauled it all over Washington and Oregon to serve wood-fired pizzas at events.  

The city contends the firefighters union shouldn't be permitted to intervene in a civil lawsuit filed by a state board seeking an injunction to stop Youngstown from reducing the number of battalion chiefs. It also argues in a Monday filing that the State Employment Relations Board, which filed the lawsuit Dec. 18 against the city, isn't entitled to seek an injunction in this matter. In the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court filing, Jeffrey Moliterno, the city's senior assistant law director, wrote the union's request to intervene should be denied because its filing was "procedurally deficient as it does not contain a pleading of any form." Moliterno wrote: "Although the union has supported its memorandum with arguments for why it should be entitled to intervene, it has not set forth its claim or defense for which intervention is sought. Thus, the union's motion to intervene must (be) denied. This is particularly so because of the very tight briefing schedule in this matter."