The Jacksonville area will be down an ambulance at the start of August and some worry it will delay ambulance response times. The South Jacksonville Village Board of Trustees voted Thursday to defund the village's ambulance service, voting 4-to-1 against actions items that would have fully or partially funded the ambulance. The ambulance service will continue through July and operations will cease on Aug. 1 The decision to stop funding the service was, "simply economics," village Trustee Dick Samples said. South Jacksonville Fire Chief Rich Evans Jr. said defunding the service will be a loss for South Jacksonville and for nearby communities to which the South Jacksonville ambulance service provides backup. "There will be times where someone needing an ambulance will not get one right away," Evans said.  

VIDEO: Water rescues near dams can be particularly harrowing as the churning waters known as "the boil" can pull in people and rescuers. The Elgin Fire Department is painfully familiar with that, after two of its own died in 1974 during a rescue near the city's dam in the Fox River. The department now has a new tool expected to enhance safety, a Waterwog 3 rescue boat made by Creature Craft that works well near low-head dams, fire officials said. Its most salient feature is an overhead roll cage. "If the boats tip over because of the current, it still has the capacity to keep everybody safe and we can still perform a rescue," Lt. Michael Przybylski said. The nearly 14-foot boat has backup safety in the form of a rope about 300 feet long that can be pulled from shore, he said. The total cost was $33,800 including training, but the city spent $14,910 after a grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.  

Madison County officials this week approved $700,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding for projects and fire and safety equipment. The Grants Committee voted Monday to approve the funding on projects to include storm drainage and water main improvements, as well fire and safety equipment. The County Board will take action on the grant funding July 15. "CDBG plays an instrumental role in advancing locally driven projects that create jobs and contribute to economic growth," said County Board member David Michael of Highland, chair of the Grants Committee. The funding, made available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides annual grants to states and localities to invest federal dollars.  

Niles firefighters responded to a fire in a second-story bedroom of a two-story single-family home in the 7600 block of Oleander Avenue Sunday evening. Although the homeowner said the fire was out, Niles Fire Lt. Mark Bucher said when firefighters approached the bedroom, they found heavy smoke. Opening the wall near an electrical outlet behind a dresser, firefighters found an electrical box, glowing red, and flames in the wall — quickly quelled with a hand pump extinguisher. He said although a fully charged hose was brought to the second-floor bedroom, it was not needed. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 7:27 p.m., arrived at 7:33 p.m. and had the fire under control and airing out smoke by 7:48 p.m. Bucher said. Investigators remained on the scene until 8:55 p.m.  

The East Peoria Fire Department wants to transport all rescue calls within the city's corporate limits. Those areas include including Sunnyland, Robein, and subdivisions along Centennial Drive. This is a change for years' past, when the Northern Tazewell Fire Protection District handled EMS calls within that area. Commissioner Mike Sutherland said he was concerned about the move. "I just hope that we don't step on too many feet, and we don't get stepped on either. It's just been a good working relationship up there," he said. But East Peoria Commissioner Seth Mingus said Northern Tazewell wasn't necessarily "happy" about the move, but it's a $150,000 in savings for the city fire department to take on those duties itself rather than contract them out after East Peoria cut 15 percent from its budget due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Police and firefighter/paramedics from Des Plaines responded about 12:13 p.m. Tuesday July 7, 2020 to a report of a house fire in the block of 700 Albany. Flames were coming out of the attic at the side of the house. Fire command on arrival confirmed a working fire at a rear corner of the house. Engine 61's crew worked fire attack interior on the second floor. Engine 63's crew worked a fire attack line outside at a rear corner of the house — the right, rear corner when facing the front of the house. Tower 61's crew was also working interior. Mount Prospect Tower 13's crew was the Rapid Intervention Team. There were no roof operations at this fire scene. Secondary searches were underway by 12:25 p.m. Firefighters reported a knock on the fire from the exterior and the interior by about 12:25 p.m.  

VIDEO: A three-alarm fire broke out in an office building on Columbia Road in Hanover around 2 a.m. Wednesday. The fire has since been extinguished, but fire crews are still on scene at the three-story building, which houses the Jack Conway Realtor's office and other businesses. The fire appears to have started at the back of the building, which is believed to be a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Roads in the area were temporarily closed but most have since reopened. Hanover Fire Chief Jeff Blanchard said when first responders arrived on scene, they found heavy smoke and fire. Firefighters were initially unable to enter the structure because of those conditions. There was an automatic fire alarm in the building but it did not work, according to Blanchard, and firefighters had difficulty with the hydrants.  

Rhode Island firefighters are counting on state lawmakers to guarantee higher-paying, tax-free disability pensions to firefighters who get any form of cancer. And it looks like they made a winning case to the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. Both the House and Senate Labor Committees have scheduled votes on Wednesday, during the lead up to next week's special summer session, on bills that say: "Any type of cancer found in a firefighter is conclusively presumed to be an occupational cancer." The proposed law would be retroactive "to all cancer-related illnesses, injuries and disability claims pending on or after" the proposed law takes effect. Disability pensions in the state system equal almost 67% of pay, tax free, for life. They represent a significant amount of the pension liabilities in certain Rhode Island communities.  

VIDEO: Water rescues near dams can be particularly harrowing as the churning waters known as "the boil" can pull in people and rescuers. The Elgin Fire Department is painfully familiar with that, after two of its own died in 1974 during a rescue near the city's dam in the Fox River. The department now has a new tool expected to enhance safety, a Waterwog 3 rescue boat made by Creature Craft that works well near low-head dams, fire officials said. Its most salient feature is an overhead roll cage. "If the boats tip over because of the current, it still has the capacity to keep everybody safe and we can still perform a rescue," Lt. Michael Przybylski said. The nearly 14-foot boat has backup safety in the form of a rope about 300 feet long that can be pulled from shore, he said. The total cost was $33,800 including training, but the city spent $14,910 after a grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.  

PHOTOS: On April 30, 2016, a United States Post Office letter carrier in Fall River, Massachusetts, left his truck to do a 20-minute loop by foot to deliver some mail. When he got back to the truck, the dashboard was on fire. The next day, on the other side of the country, a letter carrier in Chandler, Arizona loaded his truck with the day's mail. After driving for about 10 miles, the truck lost power and the engine abruptly shut off. He pulled over, got out of the truck and called his supervisor. While on the phone, white smoke came out of the truck. He started walking towards the truck to investigate when he heard a "whoosh" noise. The truck burst into flames. Less than 24 hours after that, in Newport News, Virginia, a letter carrier driving her mail truck heard a loud pop and smoke started to come out of the engine. She turned the truck off and by the time she got out, a neighborhood resident came running out of their home to tell her the truck was on fire.  

Talk to federal disaster preparedness and response agencies like FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Guard and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration about training, and one thing comes to the surface repeatedly: Experiential training is the gold standard. To prepare their employees to do the work of saving lives in a disaster response situation, these first responders emphasize exercises that put their employees through their paces. But what happens when a pandemic prevents those employees from coming together physically to do just that? "I don't think there's any substitute for actually exercising a plan," USCG Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, who took over as commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area last month, told Federal News Network. "We're doing as much as we can virtually to ensure readiness, and we are ready, and we're going to continue to be ready."