Springfield now has a new budget. The city council got together for a special meeting Tuesday night and ratified the budget for the 2023 fiscal year. But, the meeting wasn't without fireworks...The main headline is the spending on the Springfield fire department though. Many aldermen called this budget historic because of the mass amounts of money they are spending to help the Springfield Fire Department. The passed budget has money for three new firehouses, seven new fire apparatus, and additional appropriations for the fire overtime budget. Fire chief Brandon Blough said this has been a huge year for the department and especially the city of Springfield. "I mean, it's, it's absolutely department changing," Blough said. "It is something that the citizens of Springfield will be able to reap the benefits of for the next several decades."  

The Des Plaines Fire Department has begun the process of hiring 10 new firefighters/paramedics to bring up-to-date its staffing levels. To do that, the department will implement a new physical ability test for candidates that's deemed fairer than the previous exam, addresses potential legal challenges, and possibly open the door for more women to join the force. The new test, Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), is used by nearly every suburban fire department, according to Des Plaines Fire Chief Dan Anderson. It's a nationally accepted exam of a candidate's physical ability to perform job tasks related to firefighting. Anderson added that it's a certified test unlike the one previously used by the city. The physical ability test, for example, takes into account pulling a hose by hand that's filled with water and climbing a ladder with a hose.  

The Illinois Department of Agriculture and the state fire marshal are encouraging farmers to review safety practices and recognize Grain Bin Safety Week from February 20-26. Fire departments in Illinois responded to a nation-leading 12 rescue incidents at grain bins/elevators in 2020, according to a release citing data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System. "Fire departments and districts continue to train so they are ready to aid and assist in the event of a grain entrapment," said Illinois State Fire Marshal Matt Perez. "In some rural areas, response times are increased due to the rural nature of these facilities, which makes it vitally important that farmers don't take any unnecessary risks and use safe practices."  

PHOTO: Several truck trailers caught fire Tuesday night in Rock Island. This was around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of 2nd Street and 5th Avenue, near the Habegger Corporation building and adjacent to the Illinois 92 expressway. Our crew could see smoke drifting across the expressway near the 7th Avenue exit. Multiple police and fire units responded, including crews from Rock Island and the Arsenal. It is not clear at this time precisely how many trailers and truck cabs were directly impacted by the fire, but flames could be seen extending well into the air. At least one extension ladder fire unit was extended out over the blaze. It is also not known at this time if there were any injuries.  

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of a fire that tore through a block of Albany Park early Monday, but city officials said it's unlikely that unsafe conditions at an apartment building that burned played any role. The fire knocked down the roof and west wall of the building that housed Twisted Hippo Brewery and Ultimate Ninjas Chicago, and it will likely need to be demolished, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office said in a statement Tuesday. The apartment building across a gangway could be renovated, depending what an independent structural engineer's report finds, the statement said. The conditions of both buildings are considered unsafe and have delayed an investigation into the cause of the fire. Investigators need heavy equipment to sift through the rubble, and several people still need to be interviewed, a Fire Department spokesman said.  

An IDOT vehicle was struck in an I-57 crash that "could have been a fatal accident", responders said. According to officials, Illinois State Police, Mattoon Police Department, Coles County Sheriffs Deputy's and EMS are responding to a traffic crash involving a box truck and an IDOT truck, and a passenger car, on I-57 northbound at milepost 188. According to the Lincoln Fire Protection District in Charleston, the box truck hit the back of the IDOT truck, which was blocking for workers who were patching the road. Heavy damage was observed at the scene. Authorities added a second crash occurred due to a person watching the first crash scene.  

Two firefighters were injured while battling a blaze at a grocery store in the Bronx Tuesday night. FDNY officials say the fire started just after 5 p.m. in the basement and first floor of Bravo Supermarket on Archer Street in the Van Nest section. They say the fire grew to four alarms and nearly 40 units and 170 firefighters worked to put it out. One firefighter was seriously injured and taken to Jacobi Hospital, although the injury is not believed to be life threatening. A second firefighter suffered a minor injury and was also transported to Jacobi Hospital. The fire has since been placed under control. Operations are ongoing and are expected to continue throughout the night. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  

Following the death of three Baltimore firefighters this year in the collapse of a vacant home, a member of Baltimore City Council has proposed a bill creating restrictions on when firefighters can enter vacant buildings and requiring firefighters to wear body cameras. The bill, introduced by Councilwoman Danielle McCray Tuesday evening, would bar city firefighters from entering vacant buildings if 25% or more of the structure has been consumed by fire. Additionally, firefighters could only enter a vacant building if the department "confirmed" an occupant was inside and "structural and hazardous conditions permit a safe entry." Firefighters would be barred from entering a collapsed structure unless someone's life is in immediate danger, according to the proposed legislation. The bill also requires firefighters to be equipped with a recording device that collects audio and video to be used only at the scene of fires.  

A Calvin man who lost his son due to a KIA Soul fire back in 2019 contacted KFOR wanting to once again share the family's tragic story after a new KIA recall. "We've had days that are okay, and we've had days that have not been very good," Robert Carlton told News 4. It's been almost two years since Robert and Becky Carlton lost their son, Jordan. "My wife, Becky, the situation that she was in, those memories will never leave," Robert said. Jordan and his mom were inside a 2019 KIA Soul, a rental, in Hawaii when it caught fire back in 2019. Both of them were seriously hurt. Jordan suffered from burns on more than 80 percent of his body. He died 14 months later. "No family should have to go through what we went through," Robert said.  

Across the University of Iowa's 175-year history, the campus community has experienced a wide-range of disasters including tornadoes, flooding, and fires. The most impactful events include the 2008 flood and fires at South Hall, the old library building, and the Old Capitol Building. The 2008 flood inflicted $750 million in damage to 22 campus buildings including the old Hancher Auditorium building, which was destroyed in 2013, and the Art Building, which has since been decommissioned. Mary Bennett, historian and archivist at the State Historical Society of Iowa, has lived through the three most recent disasters in her 50 years in Iowa City. Bennett graduated from the university in the 1970s. Bennett said she remembers the wide-ranging destruction caused by the 2008 flood and that generally, it was difficult to get around town with Dubuque Street and the Park Road Bridge submerged. "I think that the whole community was so impacted," Bennett said.