In a dramatic scene caught on video, a dozen first responders were able to rescue a woman who was trapped underneath a collapsed awning on Monday night in suburban Schiller Park, and they're sharing their stories of the harrowing incident. According to Schiller Park Fire Chief Mike Cesaretti, the woman went out to clear snow from the back of her home at approximately noon when the awning collapsed, trapping her underneath. The woman was trapped under the awning for 10 agonizing hours, with neighbors unable to hear her screams because of the snow and debris. "She stated that she was calling for help, but nobody was able to hear her because of insulation of the snow, and she was at the back of her house," Cesaretti said. Finally, a family member returning to the home found her and called 911 at approximately 10:15 p.m. "She was stuck by her leg," Cesaretti said.  

VIDEO: The Palatine Fire Department honored three volunteer firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Warren Ahlgrim, John Wilson and Richard Freeman died fighting a fire in 1973. The honor guard remembered the men at the firefighters' memorial with a prayer and the sounding of the fire bell.  

Four Kewanee firefighters were saluted Monday for saving the life of an ambulance patient. During Monday's City Council meeting, Mayor Gary Moore praised firefighters Andrew Welgat, Tim Doubek, Phil Esquer and Joe Rediger for their work to revive the patient. The patient, a Courtyard Estates resident, was being transported on the ambulance when the incident occurred, the mayor said. The four firefighters were able to revive him and get him to the hospital. Moore said the firefighters would probably say they were just doing their jobs, but he feels they are a great credit to the fire department.  

Galesburg Fire Department's Local 555 pushed past pandemic restrictions last year to raise $15,460. The money benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The first responder crew launched the virtual Fill the Boot Campaign to abide by social distancing guidelines. Galesburg's Fire association said 26 local families in Knox County receive services from MDA. "Galesburg Firefighters have once again shown their immense dedication and care for MDA's families during their 2020 Fill the Boot," said Development Director, Kelsey Tomko. "Their 2020 Fill the Boot was a success, and we're so grateful for the generosity of those in the community who have helped support MDA's mission again this year."  

A Cook County Sheriff's Deputy discovered a head-on crash involving a Mercedes sedan and a pickup truck with three people hurt Sunday morning in front of the Escape Lounge and Sports Bar. Police, firefighters, and paramedics from Schaumburg responded about 7:09 a.m. Sunday, February 21, 2020 to a report of a serious crash some people down in the roadway. A ladder truck and an additional ambulance were dispatched on the report of the seriousness of the crash by 7:12 a.m. The first fire crew on arrival reported two vehicles with heavy damage on Algonquin Road in front of the Escape Sports Bar. A third ambulance was dispatched by 7:20 a.m. — Rolling Meadows Ambulance 16 was assigned. A quick extrication may have been performed, but Squad 55, often dispatched for extrication, was returned before arriving on the scene.  

An 18-wheel truck hit a train carrying chemicals and fuels in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for several days. The Milam County town of 5,400, about 72 miles northeast of Austin, was rocked by the boom around 6:45 a.m., according to Cameron Sheriff Chris White. White said the driver of an 18-wheel flatbed truck lost control of his vehicle, was unable to stop, swerved around a parked vehicle and into a rail crossing, where his truck struck a passing BNSF train. "Nobody was injured or killed," White said. A barn burned to the ground, and several nearby houses were evacuated, but most people have returned to their homes. The first 11 cars of the train were filled with gasoline, coal and petroleum products, causing the initial explosion and fueling a fire that was still burning Tuesday evening, White said.  

The city of Orlando opened a brand-new fire station in the Rosemont community on Monday. Station 9, known as "Outpost Nine," is the new home to 30 firefighters on Center Loop off of Shader Road. The 12,000-foot building has private bunk rooms and restrooms for crews and it even includes a secure room for female firefighters. "We have a room here where a female is nursing at the time, you go in and do her lactation in privacy and not have to worry about anyone looking at her or anything in that nature. We have a refrigerator in there as well," Chief Benjamin Barksdale said. Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale said the fire station was designed to promote diversity within the fire department as part of the "Inclusivity and Equity Action Plan." The plan came after the department was sued by the assistant fire chief for discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace which led to the resignation of former Chief Roderick Williams in 2019.  

It's been 48 years since three volunteer firefighters lost their lives battling a blaze in a downtown Palatine store, but the tragedy still resonates with the community and weighs heavy on its first responders. And so firefighters, village leaders, community members and family of the fallen gathered Tuesday morning at the Palatine Firefighters Memorial to pay tribute to volunteer firefighters Warren "Auggie" Ahlgrim, 32, John Wilson, 40, and Richard Freeman, 25, and honor their ultimate sacrifice. The three volunteers died Feb. 23, 1973, while fighting a fire in the basement of the Ben Franklin store at 36 N. Broadway St. Wilson, who owned the store, believed the furnace was the source of the fire and led Freeman and Ahlgrim through the long, narrow structure to a set of interior stairs that would take them to the basement. Each was equipped with an air pack that was expected to last 10 to 20 minutes.  

VIDEO: An artist's work is now on display at the Black Archives of Mid-America and it's a sense of pride for Sean Tiller. It's also his way of giving back and perhaps inspiring others. "This is one of my more recent, made last year," Tiller said. He calls it space art. Tiller, 27, said painting brings him joy -- the colors, the texture and the fantasy of these imaginary planets. His works are now being featured at the Black Archives of Mid-America coffee shop in the 18th and Vine District. "To have this level of attention being brought to my artwork is still hitting me. Feels good. I'm very appreciative of it," he said. Tiller started getting attention on social media, showing his spray-painting technique. While he's always loved art, he said he only discovered this passion for painting in his 20s and it's not his day job. He's also a Kansas City, Missouri, firefighter. "I love being a firefighter. I love being able to enact change in whatever significant way I can," Tiller said. "I think those are the two similarities between firefighting and art. I want to be able to impact somebody's life with it."  

VIDEO: In the harrowing moments after a rollover crash in Rancho Palos Verdes that left golfer Tiger Woods hospitalized on Tuesday, radio communications by the Los Angeles County sheriff's and fire departments reveal the efforts by deputies and firefighter-paramedics to assess the incident and respond to the scene. Woods was alone in the SUV when it crashed into a raised median shortly before 7:15 a.m., crossed two oncoming lanes and rolled several times, authorities said. In an initial transmission, a Fire Department official communicates the location of the crash site, noting that sheriff's deputies have already arrived and that at least one person was trapped inside a vehicle that had veered off the side of the road. "Code 3 response is now needed on that 902T," a sheriff's dispatcher is heard saying in a similar broadcast. "Hawthorne Boulevard, Palos Verdes Drive North, Rolling Hill Estates. Unit 3 respond, code 3."