A Springfield firefighter is recovering after donating his organ to his son. Jared Washko donated a kidney to his 2-year-old little boy, Ty, at St. Louis Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Ty was born with chronic kidney disease. He's been on peritoneal dialysis since he was born, but thanks to his dad, he no longer needs it. The hope is that the new kidney will last 20 years before he needs another one. Jared is a firefighter at Station 12.  

Emergency crews rushed the scene of a four-vehicle crash on Route 3 at the Union-Alexander County line on Monday morning, June 20. The crash happened just south of the line at 9:30 a.m. A photo from a Heartland News crew on the scene shows first responders putting out a fire involving at least two vehicles, an SUV and a pickup truck. According to Illinois State Police, the driver of a full-size SUV, traveling north on Rte. 3, lost control of their vehicle and crossed into the southbound lane. ISP said the SUV side-swiped the driver's side of a southbound GMC pickup truck. The driver of a semi tractor-trailer, traveling behind the truck, tried to swerve over into the northbound lane to avoid the SUV, but the rig was sideswiped on the passenger side by the SUV. The SUV then hit a Ford Ranger head-on.  

Crews were called out to a fire and Haz Mat situation on Stevenson Drive Saturday morning in Springfield. Firefighters were called to a smoldering fire next to storage silos in the 1100 block of Stevenson Dr. around 8:40 a.m. A piece of equipment described as a filter that collects plastic out of the water that flows through it was smoldering about ten feet from a storage silo. Employees said that it has never caught on fire before and it had a functioning sprinkler head inside. Employees told the firefighters it was smoldering Friday night, and they used a garden hose on it and thought it was under control. A piece of equipment described as a filter ...  

The Quad Cities' American Red Cross is celebrating the success of their most recent fundraiser, having successfully brought in almost $100,000 for a critical emergency need. In a press release, the American Red Cross Serving the Quad Cities and West Central Illinois announced that Thursday, June 16's A Taste on the River event brought in $92,000. The money is going into a critical fund supporting people who have been affected by home fires, allowing the Red Cross to help more families recover from fires. The organization added that it had provided this assistance to four people during the past week; supplying fire victims with basic needs and health services in the wake of the disaster. The Red Cross also says that more than 300 people attended the event, which featured music, food, and a live auction.  

Local fire districts turn to their constituents for funds. Both North Park Fire Protection District and Northwest Fire Protection District have referendums on the ballot for June 28. North Park currently operates out of three locations, but wants to shrink to one, claiming the stations are severely outdated and too far away from the people they serve. The cost of building one centralized location could cost taxpayers in the district $35 to $70 more per year. "The buildings- they're old. They're falling apart; they're not sized appropriately for current fire apparatus in our operations," said North Park Fire Chief Joel Hallstrom. Hallstrom says even though residents will pay more, it will be worth it in the long run. "Long term there'll be savings realized. A newer building is much more efficient to operate. When we consolidate these buildings our need for duplicate equipment reduces," he told 23 News.  

VIDEO: Local firefighters battled what Las Vegas Fire & Rescue reports to be the largest fire involving occupied buildings in the city of Las Vegas in 25 years. At least ten buildings were either damaged or destroyed in the massive fire in Downtown Las Vegas early Sunday morning. As the fire jumped from building to building, several vehicles were also destroyed. At least 100 people were forced to evacuate. As firefighters worked throughout the night to contain the spreading flames, only one minor injury was reported. Just before 1:00 a.m. Sunday a Las Vegas Fire & Rescue crew returning to their station from a previous call first noticed a large column of smoke on East Charleston Boulevard.  

VIDEO: Hennepin County is relying on a growing network of special weather stations to aid emergency managers in planning for and responding to heat-related emergencies. "We want to know in what areas are going to require the greatest amount of resources," said Eric Waage, the county's director of emergency management. "Typically they're the areas with disparities and folks lacking air conditioning who face challenges, but there are also areas with exceptionally high heat island effects." According to Waage, a heat island is an area where conditions on the ground, including architecture and topography, may make it a hotter spot versus some others. The special tool to pick up those readings is much more than a typical thermometer - a "wet bulb." The actual instrument is a black globe about the size of a softball and it includes a moisture wick inside to simulate how a human body might react in direct sunlight, as opposed to standard thermometers that are usually placed in the shade.  

VIDEO: The city of Bristol has launched a new, life-saving program so firefighters can move quicker and smarter when they respond to calls. It's called Community Connect and the city just launched it last week. It's a secure, encrypted website, like the ones run by banks, where neighbors and business owners can upload information to help first responders. "This is a game-changer. [...] The potential for this software is, I believe, limitless," said Chief Richard Hart with the Bristol Fire Department. "So that we can react and provide a more efficient and effect service to the residents and businesses in Bristol." Neighbors can enter things like, who lives there and how to get in touch with them, if anyone has a disability or speaks another language, the layout of the house, special security codes, and even how to shut off your water and electricity.  

Gettysburg Fire Department Firefighter Doug Kahn recently packed up his gear and jetted off to Israel for a week as part of the Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP). EVP is a nonprofit rescue program whose mission is to be able to deploy aid and volunteers to Israel at a moment's notice. Through a partnership with the Israeli government, EVP has trained thousands of volunteers across the United States and Israel. Through the partner program, along with five other American volunteers, Kahn spent a week training with his firefighter brothers and sisters of the Israeli fire services in Jerusalem. Kahn had never volunteered with an international fire station before and welcomed the chance to learn different aspects of emergency response. "It was a great opportunity," he said. Givat Mordechai Fire Station is the main fire station headquarters in Jerusalem just outside the Old City, he said.  

PHOTO: It stood tall among the smoking debris surrounding it. A cross was all that remained of Balsora Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Texas, after a fire swept through the building Friday, leading to a response from a dozen area agencies. The Boonesville–Balsora Volunteer Fire Department described the church fire as a "devastating loss" to the community but noted that the cross was a "sight to behold." "A symbol that the building was just that, a building. The Church is the congregation, and where 2 or more gather, there he shall be also," the department wrote in a Facebook post, alluding to Matthew 18:20. The roof began to collapse while firefighters were still inside, and several firefighters were treated at the scene. Extreme temperatures taxed resources and available manpower, the department said.