A quick spreading fire caused an estimated $40,000 in damages Monday afternoon to home in the 200 block of Rockford Avenue. First responders arrived on scene just before 1 p.m. to residents who had already evacuated. Firefighters say the two-story home showed heavy damage on the outside near the backyard. A total of four crews were able to get the blaze under control within 30 minutes. The Rockford Building Department has condemned the house, and four displaced occupants are being helped by the Red Cross. No injuries were reported during the incident.  

FBI Springfield is seeking information regarding an act of arson at a pipeline repair site in Harvel, IL. According to officials, around midnight on April 21, 2022, someone gained access to an excavator owned by Vance and Associates, Inc. using it to destroy a trailer and a sandblaster. The FBI reports the subject(s) then set fire to the excavator and a semi-tractor trailer resulting in several hundred thousand dollars of damage. Vance and Associates is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for this crime.  

Crews responded to a fire at the Great Western Products popcorn factory Monday night. The Assumption Fire Protection District said it received a call about the popcorn factory on fire at 9:48 p.m. Tuesday. A passerby saw smoke coming from the building and called emergency personnel. When the department arrived on scene, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming from the building. One building was completely destroyed by the fire. Another building was destroyed by the heat. Taylorville Fire Department posted on its Facebook page, firefighters from its department responded to the popcorn factory as mutual aid. Assumption Fire Protection said the factory employs 30 people. No one was working when the fire started. There were 9 other departments who responded as mutual aid. The cause is under investigation by the Illinois State Fire Marshal.  

PHOTOS: A mother duck reunited with her babies Monday morning after they fell through the grate of a storm drain, thanks to some quick thinking from the Rockford Fire Department. Concerned residents flagged down Station One firefighters near Court Street and Van Wie Avenue. They were surprised to discover eight baby ducklings stranded at the bottom of the storm drain, with the mother lingering nearby. First responders sprang into action, accomplishing a safe and successful rescue. They said in a post on Twitter the mother was certainly very happy about the reunion.  

An Amazon semi-trailer fully engulfed in flames along westbound Interstate 80 affected traffic near Greenwood for several hours Sunday night. Nebraska State Patrol said troopers were called to mile marker 422, near Greenwood, just after 9 p.m. Sunday. Ashland Fire and Rescue said its crews, Greenwood Fire and Rescue, and Murdock Fire all assisted with the incident. NSP also reported that the Cass County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene as well. There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire was not yet known, though authorities said it wasn't the result of a crash.  

A Los Angeles firefighter who was badly burned in a massive downtown L.A. explosion and fire two years ago is continuing his road to recovery. On May 16, 2020, explosions rocked a burning downtown vape shop. L.A. Fire Capt. Victor Aguirre rushed in to save lives and was the last firefighter to escape down a ladder when it was engulfed by a fireball. "I thought, this is how I die," Aguirre said. In total, 11 firefighters were hurt in the explosion. Aguirre's burns were catastrophic. "I went from fourth-degree burns, which is your bones being burned, to second- and first-degree burns throughout my body," Aguirre said. "I had...metal on the back of my head. I've had 31 surgeries." Aguirre's continuing physical recovery has been harrowing and inspirational. He returned first to his family, and then to work at the LAFD emergency dispatch center. Now he's focused on another type of healing, through fishing.  

President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Valor to 15 public safety officers Monday at the White House, including two officers who died in the line of duty. The Medal of Valor is the highest award a president can bestow on a public safety officer. In an East Room ceremony, Biden called the honorees "the heart and soul and very spine of this country," saying they were "the ones who ran in to help when everyone else ran away." Biden also paid tribute to Aaron Salter, the security officer who lost his life when a gunman opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, Saturday, killing ten people. Salter "gave his life trying to save others," Biden said. The Medals of Valor were awarded to nine police officers and six firefighters for acts of bravery in eight different incidents from 2019 to 2021.  

PHOTOS: Crewmen doused a mattress fire on the steamboat White Cloud, moored on the north end of the city's landing. They aired the bedding on deck, then dragged it back into a cabin. They must have missed an ember. About 10 p.m., flames burst from the passenger deck. Watchmen along the crowded landing clanged bells of alarm. Volunteers of Missouri Fire Co. No. 5, first to the scene, saw fire leaping from the White Cloud onto the adjoining steamboat, the Edward Bates. A hard wind blew from the northeast across the Mississippi River. It would serve as a bellows for the long, destructive night of May 17-18, 1849 - St. Louis' Great Fire. The firestorm added misery to the city's worst single disaster, a cholera epidemic that would kill at least 4,317 people. The May 17 newspapers were filled with news of death. The White Cloud was just another steamboat from New Orleans. The Bates burned free of its mooring on what is today's Laclede's Landing and drifted downriver, spreading fire.  

New Jersey will use $10 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to help provide fire departments with more safety and sanitary equipment, officials announced Monday. The state's Firefighter Grant Program will allow local and regional fire departments to apply for the taxpayer money from the American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed to provide stimulus funds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Phil Murphy said the money could be used not just for helmets, gloves, and boots but chemical-free protective clothing and cleaning equipment and products to help prevent the spread of illness, noting that firefighters faced many health and safety risks during the pandemic. Departments can apply for up to $75,000 in grants administered by the state Department of Community Affairs.