VIDEO: Chopper 7 was over the scene as Chicago firefighters battled a house fire Thursday on the West Side. The fire appeared to be in the 1500 block of South Christiana Avenue in Lawndale. Heavy smoke could be seen coming from a home at the location. Parts of the exterior wall were burned. The Chicago Fire Department said the fire began on the back porches of the building, where heavy damage could be seen. No injuries were reported. It was not known how exactly the fire started. No further information was immediately available.  

PHOTO: Last week, Charleston firefighters came face-to-face with their first electric vehicle fire. At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the Lincoln Fire Protection District received a report of an EV that had smoke pouring from its vents. Upon arrival, crews found the vehicle with all its windows rolled up and filled with smoke, causing the windshield to be pressed outward. A volunteer firefighter contacted a mechanic that was a specialist on the particular EV model. Thanks to the mechanic's assistance, the fire crew was able to access and disconnect the main lithium battery in the vehicle. No one was hurt in the incident. In response, officials with the Moweaqua Fire Department shared a few words of wisdom. "If you own an electric car, make sure you know where the emergency disconnect is in the event you need us," they advised.  

PHOTOS: Murphysboro firefighters had dirty work on March 21 putting out a fire in a roll-off dumpster adjacent to a large commercial building. The fire department says the contents were lit by embers from another small fire nearby. The adjacent building was not damaged. Fire Chief Steve McBride says, "If you're wondering how many firefighters can safely fit in a dumpster, the answer is five." Murphysboro Fire Department says they are all cleaned up and ready for the next challenge!  

PHOTOS: Crews were on the scene of a fire that broke out at an apartment building in Hagerstown Thursday night. The Hagerstown Fire Department said the fire at 673 Oak Hill Ave. started around 6:30 p.m. "The firefighters went up to the top and then the flames started shooting out so they came down as quick as they could," neighbor Edye Brockett, said. Flames poured through the roof of the apartment building. Neighbor Julianna, who did not want to give her last name, was watching crews try to put out the fire. "The two windows that are getting sprayed right now just got completely overflown by fire and two firemen hopped on top to try to get it down," she said. "But when they did that … it just blew up in flames." As of just after 2 a.m. on Friday, officials said crews had cleared the scene.  

VIDEO: Every day, first responders put their lives on the line serving their communities, which can take a toll on their minds and also their bodies. That's why the town of Gilbert is trying a new way to help its firefighters and police officers by installing Recharge Rooms. "Recharge is a simple 33-minute circuit that we use the synergy of togetherness or multi-modally," said Rich Ganley, the executive of Positive Impact Alliance. Installed at the Gilbert Training Facility, the room provides a circuit of proactive and preventative therapies starting out with a red light panel. "Station one is 10 minutes between the light, and at the same time, we use these headsets that play guided meditation while stimulating the vagus nerve," Ganley said. Once that's done, firefighters and police officers step into an infrared sauna for about 20 minutes.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: For the first time, photographs of the harrowing devastation caused by the landslide in Snohomish County have been unveiled. Ed Hrivnak, the co-pilot of Snohawk-10, the rescue helicopter that first arrived on the scene, shared his account of the traumatizing events of that day. "It's overwhelming," said Hrivnak. "Steve Klat, who I was flying with, knows the area quite well, and so do I. But when we arrived, everything looked wrong. Steve even questioned where Oso was." The destruction was almost incomprehensible. Houses had been blown apart, cars were compressed to almost nothing except their tires. Assessing the disaster's magnitude was challenging. The trouble didn't end there. As they attempted their rescue mission, the terrain's instability made holding a steady hovering position a challenge.  

President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the White House has approved the cancellation of nearly $6 billion in federal student debt for thousands of public service workers. The 78,000 eligible public service workers include teachers, nurses and firefighters, according to the White House. "These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but because of past administrative failures, never got the relief they were entitled to under the law," Biden said in a statement touting the move. "From day one of my Administration, I promised to fix broken student loan programs and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity," Biden continued.