After devoting 26 years of service to the East Peoria Fire Department Assistant Chief Dan Decker is retiring. His last day is Saturday and Decker said he will miss many things about being a firefighter. "I'm very close to the people; that's what I'll miss the most," he says. "Fortunately still being on the city council I'll get to see them quite a bit and I've told many people that if it wasn't for that, I'm not so sure how easy it'd be to leave." According to Decker, as a little boy accompanying his father — also an East Peoria fireman — to the firehouse is something he always remembered and cherished. That inspired him to take on this line of work and the assistant chief said he can't think of anything else that would have made him happier all these years than being a firefighter. "I love going on calls," Decker said. "I don't want bad things to happen to people, but if they do I want to be there."  

Think of the Chicago Fire Department and two things most likely come to mind: Fighting fires and responding to medical emergencies. But increasingly, it's another type of call that's dominating the department's day. Take the Smith family on the city's South Side. Three days a week, the family calls 911. Thankfully, not for a medical emergency but so Chicago firefighters can carry Renee Smith out of her house for a dialysis appointment. She has battled health problems for years and after a battle with COVID-19 is no longer able to walk. "Glad to have the fire department," Renee's sister tells WGN Investigates. "I'm just a little woman so I can't get her down [the stairs] by myself."  

Rochelle city council approved a plan to bring more firefighters to their force Thursday night. City council member Rosie Arteaga, says she witnessed firsthand the need for more staffing. "I feel you do need more people. I was outside last night for a few minutes and I heard two different calls go out... it was within minutes, and I was like okay that's what they mean," councilmember Rosie Arteaga explains. Currently the Rochelle Fire Department has four full time staff during a 24 hour period. When they get more than one call, the department has to call in off duty staff delaying their response time. Last year the department responded to more than 500 overlapping calls. "To increase staffing, we'll be able to get simultaneous calls out the door much faster," says Chief David Sawlsville, Rochelle Fire Department.  

A piece of Woodward's history burned to the ground Thursday morning. The old States Hotel/Collins Clinic on 10th and Main was destroyed by the fire that broke out at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday, according to people working in the area at the time and called 9-1-1. There was a fire on the second floor of the same building late Wednesday night that firefighters put out and were on the scene for a while afterwards. For some reason, the fire reignited Thursday. The cause of the fire was not immediately available. Fire Chief Michael Wickware said the cause of both fires is under investigation. When fire units got on scene Thursday, the building was fully engulfed and as the morning went on, the fire continued to spread. Firefighters were able to keep the fire contained primarily to the one building, said City Manger Shaun Barnett, who was on the scene along with some other officials.  

PHOTOS: A 9/11 firefighter who suffered from a mysterious medical problem for years is now getting relief, and he's helping doctors learn more about a rare condition called Scar Dancing Syndrome. Sydney Martin is retired from the New York City Fire Department, but on September 11th, 2001, he rushed to Ground Zero in lower Manhattan as part of the department's hazardous materials unit. "You had 300, 600 guys running in, and thousands of people running down the stairs," Martin recalled. He was badly injured in the pile of rubble on 9/11 and eventually needed major surgery on his back. The incision for the surgery was over a foot long. The wound healed, but Martin began to experience something very strange with the muscles around his scar. They constantly twitched and rippled, causing him real pain. Doctors he contacted could offer no explanation.  

VIDEO: Hospital signage and safety legislation pitched as a response to the tragic 2016 death of Laura Levis is now law, and changes must be made by the end of the year. In 2016, the 34-year-old Levis went to a Somerville hospital while suffering from an asthma attack, but could not find the emergency room entrance in her state of distress. Heart-wrenching surveillance video showed her struggle to get inside, and by the time paramedics found her, it was too late. She collapsed and died just feet away from care. Her husband, Peter DeMarco, pushed for lawmakers to take responsive action since then. "There wasn't a sign for Laura to have followed," DeMarco said. "The most simplest, the most basic of elements wasn't there."  

Federal regulators are warning railroads that the long trains they favor can cause all kinds of problems and contribute to derailments, so they want the railroads to ensure their training and operating procedures account for that. The Federal Railroad Administration stopped short of recommending in its latest safety advisory issued Thursday that railroads limit the size of their trains, which can routinely stretch more than 2 miles long. However, they did suggest a number of precautions including making sure engineers know how to handle them and that locomotives don't lose communication with devices at the end of trains that can help trigger the brakes in an emergency. Currently, there aren't any restrictions on train length, but members of Congress and state lawmakers in at least six states have proposed establishing limits, particularly in the wake of the fiery Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio.