No one was injured during a fire at The Original Wonderdog in East Peoria Thursday. East Peoria Fire Chief Bobby Zimmerman says firefighters kept the fire to the business, but surrounding businesses did sustain some smoke damage. He says there was "significant" damage to the kitchen. The cause is under investigation. There is no damage estimate at this time. The restaurant posted on Facebook that they would be closed until further notice. A fire engine also suffered an unspecified mechanical failure, necessitating public works to also be on scene. Zimmerman says it didn't happen until the fire was out and was not caused by the fire.  

Arlington Heights Fire Chief Lance Harris is proud to announce that the Arlington Heights Fire Department was again approved as an ISO CLASS 1 organization, following a thorough evaluation by the Public Protection Classification Insurance Services Office. Additionally, the Arlington Heights Fire Department received one of the highest scores recorded at 97.21. This is the fire departments second consecutive evaluation receiving this high honor. ISO ratings are designed to score a fire department's ability to protect their community, with ISO CLASS 1 ranked as the highest possible class. Currently, out of approximately 40,000 fire departments nationwide, there are just over 400 departments to hold an ISO CLASS 1 rating, with only 29 in Illinois.  

An arson investigation is now underway after a home caught fire two times in two weeks. Around 10:15 p.m. Thursday, the Peoria Fire Department responded to the area of W. Garden St. and S. Madison Park Terrace for smoke coming from the back of a home. Crews arrived to find heavy black smoke coming out of the front door, a window, the eaves, and the back of the home. Firefighters worked to put out the flames, while also working to protect a nearby home, that did suffer exterior damages. The home the fire originated from was vacant and all utilities were already turned off. This is the second time the fire department has responded to a fire at this residence, with the first happening on July 24, 2022. A fire investigator was called to the scene, and the cause was determined to be arson.  

Three cities in central Illinois are scrambling to find a new ambulance service following the announcement their current service is shutting down. Decatur, Shelbyville and Pana were serviced by Decatur Ambulance, but that company is shutting down Sept. 1. They've figured out a short-term solution, but it's not going to last in the long term. City leaders and companies have been discussing new options to move forward. "In the past, Shelby County and the City of Shelbyville have been very fortunate with the fact that they haven't had to deal with this because someone's always just stepped in and took over," said Troy Agney with Shelby County Emergency Management. That isn't the case this time. Agney said his agency was notified in late June that Decatur Ambulance service was closing. The City of Decatur was also notified.  

A rural fire protection district in central Illinois was recently given specialized training and equipment to aid in grain bin rescues. The Illiopolis Fire Protection District was awarded a grain rescue tube and specialized training on July 13. These resources come from Nationwide Insurance and AGU SureTrack as part of Nationwide's Grain Bin Safety advocacy campaign. Every year, thousands of farmers and commercial grain handlers enter grain bins to remove clumped or clotted grain, risking their lives in the process. "It only takes seconds, or a simple mistake, for an adult to sink in the quicksand-like flow of grain and become fully entrapped or engulfed. Adding to the risk is a lack of rescue equipment available to local fire departments and emergency responders who are called for help when a worker becomes trapped," said Brad Liggett, Nationwide's president of Agribusiness.  

A fire broke out at a Cabarrus County home after an intense lightning storm Thursday night, authorities said. Paul Lof shared video with Channel 9 of the flames shooting through the roof of the house on Fairmeade Drive. Cabarrus County emergency communications said the call for the fire came in just after 8 p.m. They said nine fire departments controlled the blaze in about an hour. No one was hurt, they said. Channel 9 Meteorologist Keith Monday confirmed there was a significant amount of lightning in that part of the county at around 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The fire's cause is still under investigation, communications said.  

VIDEO: On the 10th anniversary of the Sikh Temple shooting, a top Fitchburg firefighter remembers the role he played on that harrowing day. "We were fortunate enough to the point that we had a police department and a fire department of paramedics that worked very well together," current Fitchburg Fire Chief and former Oak Creek Battalion Chief Joe Pulvermacher said after witnessing the aftermath of that unthinkable situation. But he knew from the response that the team needed additional support. So, Pulvermacher decided to find an ‘out of the box' solution. He worked with Green Bay's Graham Medical to conceptualize the ‘Mega Mover.' In place of a stretcher, the Mover's bed frame-like structure allows first responders to pull a person, weighing up to 200 pounds, in an active shooter situation. "So with this, we're able to get the stretcher under the patient and drag them to what amounts to a safer area and use less rescuers," Pulvermacher said.  

VIDEO: A former firefighter has found a creative way to show his appreciation for first responders, and he does all the work from his bed. "I got into it because I was told I physically couldn't do it. And can't is not in my vocabulary." Meet Michael Olson, a former fighter, who suffered a severe back injury. It left him disabled and mostly bedridden. So, he began creating custom knives by hand from his bed. "Rather than sit in bed and vegetate I found something that I could do," Olson said. "It took me a lot of work to get this good. Most people need a vice and a file guide to do what I do freehand and laying in bed." His hobby earned him the name "Mike the Knife." Olson decided to raffle one of his knives for charity 18 months ago and it's grown from there, raising a lot of money for non-profits.  

VIDEO: An eight-passenger private plane took off from Lafayette Regional Airport on the morning of Dec. 28, 2019, at around 9:20 a.m. with six people on board. By 9:21 a.m., the plane had crashed near the U.S. Post Office on Feu Follet Road, killing five of the plane's passengers and sending a total of four people — including the plane crash's sole survivor — to local hospitals. This is the entire story of the crash and the investigation that followed. Six people boarded a twin-engine turboprop Piper Cheyenne on a foggy, December morning. Robert Vaughn Crisp II and Wade Berzas, VPs for Global Data Systems, situated themselves on the left side of the plane, facing each other. Gretchen Vincent, the wife of Global Data Systems owner Charles Vincent, sat on the right side, across from Carley McCord, a reporter with WDSU in New Orleans.  

VIDEO: Emergency crews are rushing to distribute bottled water to flood-ravaged eastern Kentucky. The deadly flooding damaged water systems and the availability of clean drinking water is scarce. To make matters worse, forecasters warn that more rain is coming to the region. Here at home, a Bucks County fire department is doing its part to help first responders in Kentucky. The effort started Sunday afternoon from a Facebook post showing several Kentucky firehouses impacted by the floods. "It's what we do, we gotta answer the call," said Cole Wendling with the Staledale Fire Department. Inside the Ottsville firehouse, dozens of local firefighters and volunteers are packing up their equipment. "Fire gear, self-contained breathing apparatus, hand tools, hoze, a whole pallet of boots," Palisades Regional Fire Rescue Chief William Shick said. But this time, those in need are some of their own.