A new fire chief has been hired in Peoria Heights. Donovan D. Thompson, 51, will succeed Greg Walters, who recently announced his retirement. Chief Thompson will work part-time for the village, as his full-time job is as fire chief at Caterpillar, Inc. Previously, he worked for 26 years with Chillicothe's Volunteer Fire Department, where he also worked as chief. He said Walters, who was a mentor for him, left him with big shoes to fill. "He [Walters] has helped me out immensely and I really appreciate everything he did to help me get into this position," Thompson said. Recruitment, retention, and training of volunteers will be his immediate top priorities, said Thompson. The department's volunteer numbers have dipped the last few years, even as the call volume has not, he said.  

A firefighter was transported to the hospital after a Marengo ambulance responding lights and sirens to a call crashed into a snowplow truck Sunday in an unincorporated area of McHenry County. The McHenry County Sheriff's Office responded to the crash around 4:20 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of South Union Road and East Coral Road in Coral Township, which is southeast of Marengo and south of the town of Union. A Marengo Fire Protection District ambulance was responding lights and sirens westbound on Coral Road east of Union Road to a 911 call for a vehicle crash with injuries. McHenry County Sheriff Spokeswoman Sgt. Aimee Knop said a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 4500 truck with a snowplow was traveling northbound on Union Road south of Coral Road.  

Authorities are looking for a 34-year-old Illinois man accused of setting fire to his home while his wife and their children were still in the residence. On Tuesday, the Madison County State's Attorney's Office charged Andre Darnell Mathis, who remained at large and was considered armed and dangerous. The fire occurred Monday around 4 a.m. Deputies with the Madison County Sheriff's Office were called to the home in Godfrey for a possible domestic disturbance. The woman who called dispatchers said her husband was acting erratically and was emotionally distraught. She said he was also armed. Deputies arrived and found seven children near the home's entryway. Deputies got the children and the mother out of the home safely. Investigators learned there had been a physical altercation involving the homeowners. The mother told deputies she didn't know her husband's whereabouts.  

Lake Zurich Fire Chief John Malcolm has retired, the village announced Tuesday morning. Malcolm was hired by the village in 2015 after beating out more than 40 applicants for the job. Malcolm spent the previous 29 years of his career in the Mount Prospect Fire Department and was named that department's fire chief in 2010. Lake Zurich Mayor Tom Poynton wished Malcolm and his family the best in his retirement. "He did everything he could to improve the fire department, to leave it in a better place than it was when he took it over," Poynton said. "He was a tireless advocate for the safety of the department personnel, the residents and businesses of Lake Zurich and surrounding communities." Deputy Chief David Pilgard, who has worked in the Lake Zurich Fire Department for more than 32 years, has been appointed acting fire chief. Pilgard was named deputy chief two years ago, according to the village news release.  

No one was injured during a fire at a southeast side business Tuesday afternoon. Crews from the Rockford Fire Department responded at about 12:30 p.m. to a fire on the roof of Rockford Heat Treaters, 4704 American Road, District Fire Chief Will Pederson said. "It was a big HVAC fan system that caught fire," Pederson said. "Our crews were able to quickly extinguish it. We just had to ladder the building and get up on the roof and then determine that the fire was confined to the ventilation unit. Once power was shut down, we were able to extinguish the fire completely." A machine inside the business also was damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Pederson said it appears to have started from an equipment malfunction. The business was able to resume operations Tuesday afternoon.  

A Buffalo Grove home is uninhabitable following a Monday fire that caused $150,000 in damage. According to officials from the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, the single-family structure in the 600 block of Patton Drive started at around noon. Three residents in the home were able to get out safely with no injuries, while one firefighter/paramedic was injured. Roads were closed in the area for nearly three hours as firefighters from Buffalo Grove and five area departments worked to extinguish the fire, according to a release. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and remains under investigation. Police officers were initially at the scene and reported seeing fire coming from the roof. Moments later, firefighter/paramedics arrived, when fire and heavy smoke were then issuing from the rear roof of the house, according to the release. The fire initially traveled from the upstairs bathroom, up into the attic, then through the attic.  

VIDEO: A Fort Meade voluntary firefighter is "responsive and talking" after being struck by a train while battling a brush fire Tuesday. Polk County firefighters were on the scene of a 3-4 acre wildfire near 1491 14th St. NW in Fort Meade after it began threatening buildings in the area. The fire was contained and buildings were saved but while working on the blaze, officials said a Fort Meade voluntary firefighter was struck by a train. The man was transported to a nearby hospital where the Polk County Sheriff's Office says he has a broken leg. The sheriff's office says firefighters were in the process of stopping the spread of the fire when a CSX train was approaching the area. The firefighter saw that the door was open on one of their trucks, so he ran over to shut the door of the truck, but the train arrived at about the same time he made it to the truck.  

The swearing in last month of Dominick Trozzi as a new Parma Fire Department cadet marked a two-decades-old dream come true for the Parma native. However, setting goals and reaching for dreams is nothing new to Trozzi, who has been competing as a world-class weightlifter around the globe for the last decade. "My last USA Weightlifting competition was in 2018 or 2019," said Trozzi, 24, a 2015 graduate of Parma High School. "The Olympics has always been my goal, but obviously trying to make a living comes first. "So I had to put lifting on the back burner to get through school and everything. Now that I have this full-time job, I can focus on working, as well as trying to compete again. If the Olympics happen, it would be amazing, but I'd probably be looking at 2024 or 2028 games." Having competed in youth and worlds events in Uzbekistan. Peru, Poland and Columbia, Trozzi's best finishes include 130 kilograms (286 lbs.) in the snatch and 160 kilograms (352 lbs.) in the clean and jerk.  

VIDEO: Firefighters early Wednesday doused a two-alarm blaze at an abandoned building in West San Jose, near O'Connor Hospital, according to the fire department. At about 2:20 a.m., multiple units responded to the scene of a structure fire in the 200 block of Bascom Avenue, near Forest Avenue, the San Jose Fire Department said. Bascom was closed to traffic between San Carlos and Naglee avenues. The fire was declared "under control" just after 4 a.m., but some fire crews remained at the scene until daylight for clean up and to monitor hot spots, fire officials said. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was not known and is under investigation.  

A small Morgan County community is safer after getting a surprise that will save lives. In Rugby, a new donated fire truck is the talk of the town. Rugby is mostly quiet, with few cars passing by the historic sign and the town's R.M. Brooks Store. But, on Tuesday night, the air was filled with sirens and the sky with flashing lights. It's the sound and sight that will save lives in the 2 mile-wide community. "This is a big boost for Rugby, the community and everybody's fears," Fire Chief Gerald Hanwright said. It's a fire truck, given as a gift, all the way from New York. Deputy Fire Chief Steve Dunschee helped make it happen. He's a retired New Hampshire firefighter, who reached out to his friends up north for help. "It's a small town, and they don't have the funds or, or the ability to get a truck like this, you know, it takes a lot of time and effort," Dunschee said.