The Evanston Fire Department collaborated with local officials on a new law that creates a hiring preference for fire service career applicants with at least 600 hours of fire suppression work in a certified program. The law, signed on August 23 by Governor J.B. Pritzker, amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. The change will now allow qualified candidates to receive hiring preference if they have had the 600 hours of work within a 12-month period as part of a certified apprenticeship program. These applicants can receive up to 20 points added to their firefighter eligibility list score, thus increasing their chances of employment. "This law will not only encourage more individuals to explore a fire service career through a certified apprenticeship program," Scott said in a news release, "it will also help ensure that departments can hire the best candidates available, resulting in safer communities."  

Gordon Grand Pre has vivid memories of his first assignment as a Chicago firefighter in the 1950s. When he arrived at the burning three-story building, people were jumping from windows to escape the blaze. Grand Pre initially froze, he said. Another firefighter patted him on the back and said, "Keep moving, they'll jump on you, if you don't." "I got christened fast," said Grand Pre. "It was raining people." Now 93, Grand Pre sometimes struggles with his powers of recollection. But that memory stands strong in his mind. "I'll never forget that," said Grand Pre, who went on to become a lieutenant in the department. "It was a real experience." Grand Pre, a resident of Arden Courts Memory Care Community of South Holland, has memory lapses, but he remembers those early years as a first responder like they were yesterday.  

A construction worker fell into a hole and became trapped by a forklift while working at the Museum of Science and Industry late Monday evening. Police said the 51-year-old man was rescued by the Chicago Fire Department after being pinned under a forklift around 10:30 p.m. at the museum in the 5700 block of South Cornell Drive. Fire officials said they used "various life safety equipment" to lift the forklift off – a rescue that took roughly 45 minutes. The man was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in "critical but stable condition," according to fire officials. Police said he injured his left arm.  

Four people were taken to the hospital after a carbon monoxide incident Monday evening on Chicago's West Side, fire officials confirmed. The incident was reported before 5:45 p.m. in the 2000 block of West Fulton Street. Two people were taken to Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, while a third victim went to the University of Illinois Hospital in fair-to-serious condition. Information about the fourth victim was not immediately known. Carbon monoxide levels were elevated by the use of a portable motor, officials said. The building was evacuated as a result of the incident. Firefighters were using fans to lower the carbon monoxide levels on Monday evening.  

A Bourbonnais home was heavily damaged by fire on Sunday. Bourbonnais Fire Chief Ed St. Louis said his department and four other Kankakee County departments were dispatched at 11:06 a.m. to a home in the 1000 block of Country Lane. In all, 13 departments battled the blaze at the two-story home. When firefighters arrived, there was smoke coming from the eaves, St. Louis said. One of two occupants in the home told firefighters they were outside when they saw smoke coming from a light fixture in an overhang. The occupants were out of the house, as well as the pets when firefighters arrived. One firefighter was taken to the hospital after he was hit in the head with either drywall or lumber. He was kept for observation and released on Monday, St. Louis said.  

"For inside city limits, this is huge," Herrin Fire Chief Shawn Priddy said Monday evening, as crews neared their sixth hour fighting a brush fire on the city's east side. The fire, which began somewhere behind the Herrin City Garage, spread north throughout the afternoon, Priddy said, stoked by strong, unpredictable winds and recent dry weather. By Monday evening, the blaze had covered an estimated 30 acres of brush and low woods, in a large, open tract just east of town. "There were several times in the phragmites (tall grasses) where we were having 40- to 50-foot flames," Priddy said. "You worry about it starting something else." While crews from several area fire departments hauled water into the brush, on trucks and off-road vehicles, to fight the blaze, U.S. Forest Service personnel used a bulldozer to cut fire breaks around nearby residential areas.  

The Evanston Fire Department collaborated with local officials on a new law that creates a hiring preference for fire service career applicants with at least 600 hours of fire suppression work in a certified program. The law, signed on August 23 by Governor J.B. Pritzker, amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act. The change will now allow qualified candidates to receive hiring preference if they have had the 600 hours of work within a 12-month period as part of a certified apprenticeship program. These applicants can receive up to 20 points added to their firefighter eligibility list score, thus increasing their chances of employment. "This law will not only encourage more individuals to explore a fire service career through a certified apprenticeship program," Scott said in a news release, "it will also help ensure that departments can hire the best candidates available, resulting in safer communities."  

The first day of the Muncie city ambulance service kicked off Monday morning with a busy day of calls, but questions remain because of contracts that are not finalized. MFD started using its own ambulances Monday in much of Muncie, taking over duties from Delaware County EMS. MFD responded to three runs right off the bat, Fire Chief Eddie Bell and EMS Chief Rachel Clark said in a live video on the city's Facebook page announcing the change. The number of runs Monday quickly grew throughout the day as scanner traffic dispatched MFD and Heartland Ambulance Service's ambulance units to calls within the city. Bell confirmed Monday afternoon that the city had responded to 17 runs throughout the day with response times of under three minutes. "We've been very happy with response times," Bell said. The city and county are still in negotiations regarding how it will split duties in the city limits.  

A program bringing together fire departments, high schools, and Madison College is working to target future firefighters, as departments across the country face challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters. The program, called Start College Now, brings together area high schools and fire departments with Madison College to provide training using firefighting equipment to certify students in firefighting, as well as get them college credits. "This is an opportunity for high school students to achieve college credits and also gain firefighting experience," said Joshua Hecht, a lieutenant with the Baraboo Fire Department and an instructor with Madison College. Programs like Start College Now are helpful in giving potential firefighters a taste of the job, as well as getting them the training early, so departments don't have to wait for them to train in the future.  

For the first time in its history, Skagit County Fire District 14 in Alger has women accounting for more than a third of its 32 firefighters and staff, a marked change in a field still dominated by men. The women take pride in that the Alger department maintains the same standards across the sexes, something they say is a trait of the fire service overall. In other words: any job he can do, she can do also. Sarah Hill, an Alger firefighter and emergency medical transporter, has met women who have been firefighters for up to 30 years. "I think it's the work they've put in to set the standard that the work we do is no different than the man sitting next to us," Hill said. Michelle Young has been a firefighter in Alger for three months. For her, the seed of service was planted when she found herself in need of emergency response.  

Starting today, volunteer firefighters in North Carolina who have served for five consecutive years will be eligible to purchase a lifetime hunting and fishing license from the Wildlife Resources Commission for only half of the full cost. House Bill 597 passed the General Assembly in mid-August and was signed into law later that month. Over the past few years, volunteer fire departments have seen declining membership around the state and the hope is that the opportunity to receive a lifetime license at such a steep discount will be an important recruiting tool for departments around the state. "This decline in volunteer fire department membership that we have seen over the past few years is a serious issue, especially in rural communities like ours where most of the fire departments are volunteer," Senators Warren Daniel (R-Burke), Danny Britt (R-Robeson), and Ted Alexander (R-Cleveland) said in a joint statement.