The Ottawa Fire Department received confirmation Saturday one of its members tested positive for COVID-19. The exposure was a result of a non-work related incident, said Ottawa Fire Chief Andy Borkowski in a press release. The La Salle County Health Department was notified and the staff member is recovering at home. The firefighter testing positive last worked a 24-hour shift on July 14 and was assigned to a fire engine on that date. The six other members of the Ottawa Fire Department that worked July 14 all were tested for COVID-19 and all received an initial negative result as of Monday. These members will continue to be monitored and all Ottawa Fire Department members will continue to complete daily symptom monitoring sheets as a precaution, Borkowski said.  

Twenty people in a Naperville multifamily residential building were displaced as the result of suspected arson on the 700 Block of Inland Circle on Tuesday afternoon. There were no injuries to any occupants (18 adults and two children) or firefighters operating at the scene. The cause of the fire was determined to be suspicious, and six occupied units were deemed uninhabitable after an inspection. Investigators from the Naperville Fire Investigation Team and Naperville Police Department are working to identify a suspect. At 3:57 p.m., Naperville's Public Safety Answering Point received a fire alarm notification from a first-floor unit. Extra time was taken to extinguish smoldering materials during overhaul and remove smoke from the building.  

Fifteen people were shot Tuesday evening outside a funeral home in Gresham on the South Side — the largest number of victims in a single Chicago shooting in recent memory. The shooting happened about 6:30 p.m. as people left a funeral in the 1000 block of West 79th Street, Chicago Police First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter said. Several police evidence markers placed near spent bullet casings were lying outside the entrance to Rhodes Funeral Services on the north side of the block. All told, Carter said, police recovered 60 of them. The 15 victims were being treated at five area hospitals, Carter said. Chicago fire officials said they were listed in conditions ranging from serious to critical. All the victims ages range from 21 to 65-years-old, police said. Ten of them are women.  

VIDEO: Emergency crews pulled a man who was trapped in a deep trench on the Northwest Side after about two hours of effort on Tuesday. The man, a construction worker, fell into the trench while his crew was excavating near Galm Road and Swayback Ranch. He was waist-deep in dirt, officials said after the dramatic rescue. After San Antonio Fire Department crews were able to pull the man out of the hole, he was immediately transported to the hospital an Airlife helicopter. The unidentified man is in stable condition but may need immediate surgery, officials said. Crews used a crane to pluck the man out of the hole and then he was placed on a stretcher. He could be seen moving while on the stretcher. About five to 10 San Antonio Fire Department members lowered themselves into the trench to strap the man to a stretcher. The cause of the trench collapse is still unknown.  

Buffalo Fire Officials say first responders were blocked while responding to an emergency early Sunday morning on Laurel. "We couldn't pass through that intersection to get to the scene," said Buffalo Fire Commissioner Bill Renaldo. Firefighters were responding to a call for a car into a house further down on Laurel. When firefighters got to the intersection of Laurel and Purdy, they were blocked by cars illegally parked on both sides of the street. Commissioner Renaldo says there was a large block party going on, and firefighters had to lay on the horn until someone came out to move the vehicles. It took an extra three minutes to get to the accident scene. Firefighters then say members of the crowd started throwing beer bottles and other bottles at the fire rig. When firefighters arrived to the accident scene, they say people were trying to extract the woman from the vehicle where she was trapped. Firefighters say the female driver was pronounced dead at the scene.  

VIDEO: A special mural in honor of a volunteer for the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation is finally finished. It's for Patty Vallance who recently passed away. Vallance commissioned local artists, Wagon Burner Arts, to paint a mural honoring firefighters just one week before she went into the hospital. But she died before ever getting to see it. The mural, located at 2801 E. Grant Road, is 15 feet high, 85 feet long and represents the brotherhood and the sacrifice these men and women share. But none of them have faces. The artist said that's intentional. He wanted to show how every firefighter is one under the badge. There's also a painting of Vallance to honor her help in starting the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation back in 2010 and the thrift store, where the mural is painted.  

PHOTOS: Four Davidson and Randolph County firetrucks were damaged in three separate accidents over the weekend. The Westside Volunteer Fire Department in Asheboro responded to a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 73/74 northbound near Vision Drive on Friday night. At around 9:30 or 10 p.m., a vehicle hit their firetruck in the back, said Chief Racil Williamson. No one was injured in the accident, but the truck is out of commission, Williamson said. The Linwood Rural Fire Department in Davidson County responded to a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 85 south near mile marker 86 early Friday morning. They were using the firetruck to block the left lane, and at around 5:30 a.m, a car struck their truck. The back right corner of the fire truck was damaged, and the truck is unusable, said Linwood Fire Chief Terry Leonard.  

Convenience stores across America are joining together this Friday, July 24, to recognize the contributions of front-line responders, medical personnel and American Red Cross volunteers on 24/7 Day. The NACS Foundation's 24/7 Day features a variety of free in-store offers from 18 different convenience and fuel retailing partners, most of which are available to doctors, nurses, EMTs, police officers, firefighters and American Red Cross volunteers. The regional deals range from free coffee and soft drinks, to breakfast sandwiches, to combo meals; bp and Amoco are offering a 10 cent-per-gallon "Heroes Bonus" for up to 99 fueling transactions. The largest participating national chain, Shell, displays offers available to first responders through the month of July.