An Alton family unfortunately has been displaced from their home for the holidays after an intense fire damaged the living room/kitchen area on Tuesday. Firefighters were called to the scene in the 300 block of Aladdin Avenue in Alton near the lunch hour. Alton Fire Chief Jesse Jemison said his firefighters did an excellent job knocking the fire down. He said there was heavy damage to the living room/kitchen area. However, there was not a lot of damage to the exterior of the trailer because of the firefighters' efforts." Chief Jemison explained that the homeowner was present and heard their smoke detector going off. "The homeowner came out of her bedroom and saw black smoke from the area near her Christmas tree in front of the living room window," he said. "At this time, the fire is under investigation as 'undetermined electrical.'"  

Neighbors of one Loves Park home are fed up. They claimed that the man who lives next-door started a fire in his backyard that got out of control and burned her garage. Katie Arensdorf, the neighbor, said that something needs to be done. She said that the problem started more than a year ago and has complained to the city before the fire on Saturday, but that this was the final straw. "So we pull into the driveway, and we didn't even make it very far up the driveway, and we could see the whole back garage and our fence completely ablaze. So, I immediately jump out, I'm frantic, and my husband grabs the hose and he starts screaming for the neighbor," Arensdorf said. "That night we did not sleep, we thought for sure that the fire was going to catch back on. It was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare."  

Occupants of a Champaign home have been displaced after an accidental fire. Firefighters responded at 12:37 p.m. Tuesday to a single-family home located at 2004 Lynwood Drive. They found light smoke outside of the home and went in to discover a small fire in the crawl space. Multiple hose lines were used to extinguish the flames. The fire started in the crawl space area. No firefighter or occupant injuries were reported. "The Champaign Fire Department reminds everyone to maintain a working smoke alarm in their place of residence and to have and practice a home escape plan," a press release said. "Smoke alarms can provide early notification when seconds count."  

Two employees of the Wyndham Springfield City Centre were hospitalized after the accidental spill of acid used for cleaning. Springfield Fire Chief Brandon Blough said crews are dispatched at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to the hotel, located at 700 E. Adams St., where they found two male workers with breathing difficulties. This was after acid had accidentally been spilled into a sump pit and reacted with water in the pit. The Hazardous Material Team was called to the scene to neutralize the acid mix and pump it out. The building was ventilated - a task Blough said was difficult because the accident happened in the basement, where there were no windows to aid with ventilation. The two employees were taken to a hospital for evaluation. Their conditions are not believed to be life-threatening.  

A large Christmas tree outside Fox's Midtown headquarters was set ablaze early Wednesday by an arsonist who was quickly taken into custody. The 50-foot tree on Sixth Avenue went up in flames just before 12:15 a.m., and heavy flames then spread to smaller decorated trees in the display. Police say the 49-year-old suspect climbed up "the metal superstructure" -- the tree is an artificial sculpture that is shaped to look like a tree -- lit papers he brought with him on fire, and shoved the papers into the tree structure. He then climbed down and watched from the street level as it burned, and he was spotted by building security who pointed the man out to police officers posted in nearby Rockefeller Center. The suspect is identified as 49-year-old Craig Tamanaha, who is homeless, with a last known address in Brooklyn.  

PHOTOS: The Savannah Fire Department displayed artwork created by students at Islands High School and their teacher on Tuesday. The five pieces of artwork were part of an ongoing project to honor the history of the Savannah Fire Department. The project required students to do archival research in order to uncover photographs to incorporate into the artwork. Students also worked as apprentices for their teacher, Daniel Bonnell, for a week at a time while helping to make the murals. "The heart of this project is to let my students learn to develop a spirit of thankfulness," Bonnell said. "Let them learn that the greatest lesson in life is not about ‘me', but it's about serving others." Bonnell said that he was thrilled to have had the opportunity to create the artwork which included the large murals as well as some smaller art pieces.  

Saturday, December 11th marks the 30th anniversary of the Page County Courthouse fire. In commemoration of that tragic and historic event, KMA News presents a special series of reports looking back at the fire, its aftermath, and the effort by Page County residents to save the venerable structure. In part one of "The Night the Courthouse Burned," local officials past and present recall the moment the unthinkable occurred. Standing majestically in Clarinda's square since the late 1880's, the Page County Courthouse has been an enduring symbol of county government. That's what made what transpired on a cold night in December, 1991 even more shocking. And, anyone living in Clarinda that fateful evening 30 years ago remembers where they were when a major disaster took place.  

VIDEO: On any given call, the likelihood first responders will find an electric vehicle on the streets of Phoenix is going up. "There are more and more of these electric vehicles on the road, so we have to be more cognizant if it's a hybrid if it's an electric vehicle, how we approach it," Capt. Evan Gammage with Phoenix Fire Department said. It was Monday night in Paradise Valley when the Department of Public Safety said a woman crashed into the other lanes of traffic near McDonald Drive and 47th Street. DPS said Nicole Baldovino was pronounced dead at the hospital. Another driver was injured, but officials said they had non-life-threatening injuries. Baldovino's Tesla caught fire after the crash. Gammage said Phoenix fire crews worked to put the fire out, but because of the nature of the electric vehicle, it takes specific tactics to fight. Including having crews test the water coming off the fire for hazardous materials to keep hazards from flowing into the water system.  

For the first time in two months, the United States is averaging more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases each day, shortly after millions of Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday. The seven-day moving average of new cases was 121,437 as of Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to this week, the U.S. last topped the 100,000-cases-a-day mark in early October. Also on the rise is the number of COVID-19 deaths, with a seven-day average of 1,651 people dying from the virus each day as of Saturday, the JHU data showed. Average daily deaths haven't been this high in more than a month. The vast majority of new cases in the U.S. continue to be from the delta variant, but US health officials have detected the new omicron coronavirus variant in at least 16 states as of Saturday.