Over the course of eight days, two people lost their lives in a string of at least eight fires across Central Illinois. Monday, Nov. 22, a fire torched several businesses in downtown Farmington, including Whiskey Dixie's and O'Brian's Parkside Deli and Diner, which Farmington Fire Chief Matt Watters called a "total loss." Wednesday, Nov. 24, a tragic house fire killed 12-year-old Madelynn B. McCain in Creve Coeur. Thanksgiving night, Thursday, Nov. 25, two fires hit Peoria, one fatally. Peoria firefighters rescued one resident of a house fire near W. Nebraska Ave. and N. Bigelow St. Later that night, the Peoria Fire Department found 66-year-old Terry Glenn Slaughter, Sr. dead in a house fire at W. Hayes St. and S. Livingston St. In order to raise awareness, beginning Wednesday, the Peoria Fire Department will launch the 26th annual "Keep the Wreath Red" campaign throughout the month of December.  

Heavy fire and smoke engulfed the first and second floor of a house on Monday. Around 11:30 a.m. The Rockford Fire Department responded to a residential fire in the 1000 block of N. Church St. First-responders continued to extinguish the flames for over two hours. Rotating crews including 32 firefighters gained control of the blaze around 2 p.m. Damages are estimated at $40,000. Brenda Kitchens' mom lives at the residence. She says her niece smelled smoke coming from downstairs. No injuries were reported although Brenda says her mom did inhale the smoke but is doing OK now. "Thank God that everybody got out safely because it could've been totally different. Everybody got out so, I'm very, very happy about that," Kitchens says. Crews remained on the scene to help salvage what was left of the home and investigate the cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing. No residents were hurt during the incident.  

An Illinois State University graduate student is pushing for a stronger fire code at all student apartments within the town. It all stems from a scare. An online petition started by 22-year-old Claire Wagner calls for student apartment buildings in Normal with no sprinkler systems to provide fire extinguishers to its residents. "I actually didn't notice until I had a very close encounter with my roommate. Something flew a little bit too close to her light fixture, and it started sparking, and we thought, ‘Let's go look for a fire extinguisher in case it starts escalating,'" Wagner said. When they went to look for a fire extinguisher, they could not find one and grew concerned when they noticed no other way of putting it out within the apartment. Thankfully, she said, it didn't grow. "I think that it is incredibly important to have a working sprinkler system and if not that, at least a fire extinguisher," Wagner said.  

A T-bone style collision at the intersection of Adams and Spalding in downtown Peoria left one car fully engulfed in flames and another down an embankment. Prior to the Peoria Fire Department arriving, three patients exited both vehicles. Firefighters extinguished the fire while paramedics gave medical care to all three patients, who were later transported to a local hospital with what is expected to be non-life threatening injuries. The Peoria Police Department is investigating.  

VIDEO: Fire engulfed the center building at Maid-Rite Steak Co. Inc. in Scott Township, sending flames high into the night sky. The fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Explosions rocked the ground as firefighters from 17 local departments tried to knock down the fire inside the meat processing facility. The company's human resources director says the building was evacuated after the fire broke out, and everyone is accounted for. Battling the blaze proved difficult. Scott Township Fire Chief Matt Pritchyk says a nearby pump did not work, so he called in tanker trucks to retrieve water from a nearby pond. PennDot crews salted the roads to keep them from freezing. "Very cold conditions, lots of ice on the ground. Commonwealth Health Ems set up a recovery station for the firefighters battling the blaze in the cold," said John Montes, Commonwealth Health Administrative Director of EMS.  

John H. Oates, former fire chief of the East Hartford Fire Department in Connecticut, has been named the new CEO of the International Public Safety Data Institute by the organization's board of directors. Oates replaces Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, who was appointed to lead the U.S. Fire Administration by President Joe Biden in October. "Educating fire departments around the country on how to leverage technology and data to provide lifesaving insights is my mission," said Oates. "We can't keep using 1981 procedures, techniques and data to solve 2021 problems. The fire service needs to improve how it views and applies information in its decision making, and IPSDI has two products in NFORS and FireCARES that are uniquely positioned to help rethink the future of safety in communities across America."  

The holidays after losing a loved one can be a difficult time, which is why the Buchanan-based non-profit, Sirens and Salutes is honoring those who lost their lives this year in the line of duty. In front of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Station, there is a white Christmas tree with a special meaning. Each ornament on the tree represents a service member who was killed in the line of duty this year. There are 278 ornaments on the tree. "Red for firefighters, blue for police officers and K-9s and tan for military. Anyone who has been killed in the line of duty in 2021 for this year has a star on the tree with their name on it, and where they were from and the date they lost their lives," said Sirens and Salutes President, Bill Price. Price has created a tree like this every year since 2017 when he lost his own father who served as a police officer.  

PHOTOS: Oftentimes first responders must physically get out and open unmanned security gates in neighborhoods when there's an emergency, but now technology is helping get them through much quicker. For all the unmanned gates protecting communities in Palm Beach County, for years now they've been required to have Knox Boxes. A key is required to turn in the box in order to get the gate to open for emergency personnel. It can take a minute to a minute and a half. Now more communities are getting what's called Click2Enter boxes, which allow the gates to open with a push of a button on a radio over a protected frequency. A fire truck or ambulance could get through in seconds. "It always matters, the faster we get there, the better we are and the better outcome," said Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Fire Marshal David DeRita.