Peoria firefighters were called to a home on W. Howett Street, near S. Louisa and S. Webster, Monday night on reports of fire. Fire Battalion Chief Tom Stimeling said crews arrived just before 11:30 p.m., finding heavy fire at the front of the home, which was vacant. Firefighters had the blaze under control in about 25 minutes. Due to heavy fire damage, a building inspector was called to the scene and determined the home needed to be demolished. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No injuries on-scene were reported.  

Evanston lifeguards will likely operate under the purview of the Evanston Fire Department as of next summer. Parks and Recreation Director Audrey Thompson announced in October the lifeguard program would move departments, pending city approval of a new Fire Department lifeguard supervisor position. The merging of the lifeguard program with the fire department has been a point of discussion since late summer, according to EFD Chief Paul Polep. "It's going to be like a happy marriage working together to really enhance our lakefront operations with fire and lifeguards," Polep said. Evanston is the first municipality in Illinois to move its lakefront program to the fire department, though many west coast cities like San Diego have established this pairing, according to Thompson.  

The Chatham Fire Department responded to a house fire at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday. We're told the fire was at a home in the 300 block of Newcombe Lane. Firefighters said when they arrived on the scene they found a single residential unit with an attached garage fully involved with fire beginning to spread into the home. Officials say the fire was contained to the garage and entryway with smoke and water damage on the first floor and basement. The garage and exterior sustained major fire damage. The fire remains under investigation at this time by the Chatham Fire Department. All residents of the home were accounted for.  

Officials locked down the Illinois Department of Human Services Treatment and Detention Facility at 17019 Farm County Road in Rushville on Monday due to a hazmat scare in the mail room, officials said. Officials with the Peoria Fire Department's hazmat unit said they responded around 11:15 a.m. after a DHS employee discovered a "white powdery substance" in a piece of mail. Fire officials said the woman felt light-headed and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Redshaw said a DHS representative contacted his office Monday morning to ask whether the sheriff's office had a fentanyl test kit, but officials said they were still unsure Monday night of the nature of the substance.  

Montgomery County firefighters responded to a three-alarm fire in Rockville Monday morning, that has left more than 100 residents searching for a new place to live, just weeks before the holiday season begins. Fire crews were called to a three-story apartment building in the 800 block of College Parkway just before 9 a.m. When crews arrived, they found the building with heavy fire conditions and called a second and third alarm to get more firefighters to the scene. The blaze roared through the attic, eventually spreading to a second building, and leaving about 30 buildings gutted by smoke and flames or flooded by water. Firefighters said two residents were injured and rushed to the hospital, but they said both were expected to survive. Neighbors say firefighters had to break through the window of one of the victims here to get him out as fire raged above him, while another victim got a face full of burning embers.  

VIDEO: El Paso Fire station Number 9 is one of the most haunted fire stations in the country, according to firerescue1.com. ABC-7's Drew Cosgray went to the fire station in Central El Paso to hear about the tale. Firefighters at the station constantly hear doors open and footsteps while no one else is there and will be woken up right before a call in the middle of the night. Jesse Esterline, who has been a firefighter at Station 9 for six years, has had some odd encounters, and so has his friend Enrique Dueñas, another firefighter at the station. The story is told that Captain Bloxom, the captain of Station 9 in 1934, responded to a fire across the street and did not make it out alive. The firefighters believe Bloxom haunts the building and, above all, likes to play pranks on firefighters.  

When Tom Greif has a day off, one would expect him to unwind from the pressures of being Coeur d'Alene's fire chief. Perhaps spend a day golfing or fishing, two of his passions. Which he might. But disconnect? Even for a few hours? He can't. "Even if I go away for the week or go on vacation, I don't truly unplug. I don't feel like I can. I'm in a position now where I need to know what's going on," Greif said. It's been more than six months since he stepped in to take the place of the well-liked Kenny Gabriel, who retired after 30 years with the department. Greif oversees a department of about 70 people with an annual budget of nearly $13 million. Its four stations respond to about 10,000 calls, mostly medical, a year. That kind of responsibility might make one tense and serious. Greif, though, is relaxed and friendly. The former deputy fire chief was chosen from among four internal candidates.  

VIDEO: A New York City artist wanted to thank the men and women who saved his life in the best way he knew how -- with a work of art. Ray Trosa is a New York native hailing from Astoria, Queens whose mixed-media art style spans from large-scale paintings to lighting design. Back in April 2022, Trosa suffered a medical emergency and when members from FDNY Station 49 arrived, his condition worsened and he went into cardiac arrest. The EMTs and paramedics acted quickly, performing measures to revive Trosa and bring him back to life. Last week, Trosa celebrated his 50th birthday and wanted to spend it with the first responders who saved his life. Trosa visited Station 49 and met EMTs Zelman Shapira Jr. and Sandra Cotton, FDNY Paramedics Ralph Maisonneuve and Yani Borukhov, and Lieutenant Tony Voxakis who responded to the 911 call that day.