Chicago firefighters battled an extra-alarm fire in an Edgewater building Tuesday morning. The fire started inside the pizza restaurant at the corner before spreading to two more business. One of them is a convenience store, Thorndale Mart, which has been in this neighborhood for decades. The owner, Ajay Shah, is left cleaning up the pieces while vowing to return. "This is like my second home. And, working almost every day," Shah said. "So many fire trucks. That's the first time I've seen so many fire trucks at one place. Probably over 15, 20 fire trucks." Shah has run the store for nearly 40 years. "When I got in I said, 'Oh no.' I was sad," Shah said. Chicago firefighters battled the blaze early Tuesday morning on Thorndale and Winthrop avenues, where smoke filled the streets.  

The Decatur Fire and Police Departments are on the scene around Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Kenwood Ave at the Home City Ice building. A portion of MLK in front of the building has been closed to through traffic. WAND News reached out to DFD who confirmed that a hazmat team had been deployed but could not provide further information at this time. WAND is working to learn more, and will update this story with the latest information.  

A full-scale exercise will pit first responders and emergency management teams against an agroterrorism scenario. Responders from fire, medical, law enforcement, emergency management and Illinois National Guard will at Rubenacker Farms for the event. The exercise will include scenarios like grain bin rescue, technical rescue, hazardous materials release and a large-scale water operation. The agencies involved are MABAS Divisions 47, 52 & 68, MABAS Illinois, multiple public safety answering points, multiple emergency medical services, law enforcement, emergency management and state agencies. The exercise is happening on July 21 and 22.  

As temperatures neared 110 degrees in North Texas Tuesday, Dallas fire crews felt the heat—and then some—while battling what amounted to a six-alarm blaze at an east Oak Cliff church. Just before 2 p.m., Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) responded to reports of a fire at the Saintsville Church of God, located at 2200 South Marsalis Ave. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the vents and eaves of the church. A little over a half-hour later, the fire escalated to a third alarm and crews began defensive tactics. Air 1 was then sent to assist, and South Marsalis—between Eastwood and Illinois—was shut down for several hours. The fire was largely under control by the time a fifth alarm was called; however, DFR stated six alarms were ultimately called due to the extreme heat and the need for more manpower.  

VIDEO: Friday's tragedy has impacted the entire Fargo-Moorhead community, especially our first responders. Firefighters were on-the-scene for what seemed like a routine fender bender. They were about to leave the scene and let Fargo police take over, when a man opened fire. The shooter ended up killing a Fargo police officer, critically wounding two others, and injured a bystander. The Fargo Fire Department jumped into life saving action once the shooter was neutralized by Fargo police. Fargo Fire Chief Steve Dirksen says the department requested ballistics gear after the mass shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Adding, "If the cops are in there with their guns and their looking for things, we feel that that's a good place for us to be, following behind them and get in and start treating people."  

Tumwater Fire Chief Brian Hurley is joining a countywide mission to show it's OK for firefighters, EMTs and other frontline workers to talk about their mental health. It's being done through the Peer Support Program, a confidential opportunity to debrief with colleagues. Hurley and Rian Winter, lead of the Peer Support Group and EMS lieutenant, gave a presentation to the Tumwater Public Health and Safety Committee on July 11. Tumwater will be the next city to join the program, which Winter said most cities in Thurston County already participate in. There are 46 firefighters and EMS employees in Tumwater, and the goal is to have eight of them be trained in peer support. Two people per shift will go through a total of 24 hours of training with professional mental health counselors and other trainers involved in peer networking, and they'll receive yearly continuing education. "As a volunteer when I started you didn't talk about mental health," Hurley said. "