VIDEO/PHOTOS: An extra-alarm fire ripped through a parking garage in the Illinois Medical District on the city's Near West Side Tuesday afternoon. The fire broke out in a truss-roof parking garage for the Garibaldi Square on the Park townhouse complex at 711 S. Ashland Ave., between Flournoy and Polk streets. One car caught fire, and the blaze spread to nearly 30 other cars. The roof of the garage collapsed onto the vehicles, potentially causing more cars to catch fire. A 2-11 alarm was raised for extra equipment and manpower. Just under 100 fire personnel were brought in to battle the blaze. The scene is steps from the campus of Rush University Medical Center. A Citizen app report indicated that staff could smell the smoke from a hospital building.  

Peoria firefighters are still working to determine the case of a blaze Tuesday morning in South Peoria. Crews went to West Ann Street, inbetween Griswold and Westmoreland, around 6:15 a.m. and had the fire under control in a little more than a half hour. Firefighters say they could see heavy fire on the first floor and had determined it got into the second floor and attic when they arrived. No one was inside the home at the time, but three dogs lost their lives. Firefighters say no one else was hurt, and one person who lived in the home is being given Red Cross assistance. The home is being demolished after suffering $60,000 in damage.  

One home is destroyed, and two others are damaged after an intense two-alarm fire overnight in Cahokia Heights. According to reports, the fire started between three homes at around 4:00 a.m. after a gas main was ruptured. Flames are still burning on Doris Avenue, very close to Cahokia High School. The Cahokia Heights Fire Department initially responded to the fire and helped occupants in the neighboring homes escape. No injuries have been reported. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.  

A possible structure fire happened on Tuesday night in Mattoon. The Mattoon Fire Department responded to the scene at the 2500 block of Pine at 5:41p.m. where they found a two-story residential structure with heavy smoke and fire showing from the first floor. Fire crews advanced a hose line through the front door to begin an attack on the fire, while another crew searched the structure for any occupants. A secure water supply was established by another crew, who then went inside to assist in searching the structure. The fire was brought under control quickly and kept to the room of origin. The search found no occupants inside the structure. Fire Chief Jeff Hilligoss states in a press release that neighbors said, "they did not believe anyone was residing in the structure; however, they thought that this residence was being used by squatters."  

St. Louis firefighters were at the scene of a large fire at an abandoned warehouse near the Mississippi River just north of the Gateway Arch. The St. Louis Fire Department said the fire is at a warehouse near the intersection of North 1st Street and O'Fallon Street. The first call for the fire came out at around 7 p.m. As of 8:30, the fire department said 100 firefighters responded to the scene and were fighting the fire. They said that embers from the fire were "threatening the Laclede Power Generation facility," a former power plant. The warehouse was the former Beck & Corbitt Iron Company building, which was more than 100 years old. Firefighters said one person, who may have been staying inside the building, was injured. The person's injuries were not life-threatening.  

Worcester firefighter Ryan Kelley had a scab on his temple for two years that never really healed. He hadn't done anything about it, when his whole truck decided to attend a free cancer screening held by DetecTogether and UMass Memorial Health at Polar Park last year. When doctors from UMass saw the scab, they told Kelley it looked like basal cell skin cancer. He worked with them to schedule a biopsy for the next morning. The biopsy revealed it was a tumor and it was skin cancer. They scheduled the surgery to remove the tumor a month later and now Kelly is cancer-free and goes for cancer screenings every six months. Had they not had the free screening, Kelley said, he would probably still have a tumor.  

The 7th Annual JBJ Soul Kitchen Chili Cook-Off highlighted eleven local first responder units including Fire, Police and EMT, and their chili, but the event was so much more – a celebration of community. The attendees donated more than 580 pounds of food for Fulfill's People's Pantry, totaling 386 meals, and Jon Bon Jovi was on hand to taste each entry and thank the first responders for their service. The event was held at The B.E.A.T. (Bring Everyone All Together) Center in Toms River, which has been celebrating re-inviting the community back into the Center, after being forced to close to the public during the pandemic. The B.E.A.T. Center represents a joint venture between JBJ Soul Kitchen, Fulfill and Fulfill's People's Pantry. Fulfill conducts a culinary training program and has a satellite warehouse at the Center.  

PHOTO: Emergency crews on the upper Bay will soon be able to respond to those tricky shallow-water rescues more easily and safely. The all-volunteer Susquehanna Hose Company (SHCo) in Havre de Grace just announced they're getting a state-of-the-art airboat. It will be the department's first vessel of this kind and the only airboat in service in the area. SHCo, whose rescue boat covers the water from Turkey Point up the Susquehanna River, frequently responds to 911 calls in the Susquehanna Flats. These rescues are difficult at best and sometimes downright dangerous for emergency responders. SHCo Division 3 1st Lt. Charlie Jones recalls multiple incidents when duck hunters, stranded kayakers, or bass boaters find themselves stuck in the mud or unable to combat high winds. The fire department's existing rescue boat is 35' and has become stuck on sandbars itself when attempting to rescue other boaters.