An investigation is underway after a woman was found dead with gunshot wounds inside a house that was on fire on the South Side Friday. Police said around 12:45 a.m., officers on patrol noticed a small fire on the side of a house in the 6400 block of South Damen Avenue. Firefighters found an unresponsive woman near the back of the house. The 32-year-old woman had a gunshot wound to the back of her head. She was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Police are investigating.  

Nearly 40 firefighters and paramedics were honored Tuesday by the governor and given Medals of Valor and Firefighter Excellence awards for their response to the Highland Park shooting. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and State Fire Marshal James Rivera honored and recognized numerous firefighters for going "above and beyond" their duties at the 30th Annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial and Medal of Honor Ceremony in Springfield. State Senator Julie Morrison and State Representative Bob Morgan were also in attendance at the ceremony. "From the July 4th Highland Park massacre, to intractable lithium-ion battery fires, to last month's devastating tornadoes, our firefighters respond to our most daunting emergencies with resolve and selflessness—mitigating disaster, reuniting families, and saving countless lives, while putting themselves in harm's way," Governor JB Pritzker said.  

An armed man barricaded himself inside of a Fort Lauderdale house then set it on fire before coming outside and killing himself in an apparent murder-suicide Thursday night. Fort Lauderdale Police officials said officers responded to a shooting call around 8:24 p.m. near the intersection of Northwest 27th Terrace and Northwest 17th Street. When officers arrived, they found the armed suspect had barricaded himself inside a nearby home. SWAT and negotiators responded to try to resolve the situation. Investigators said the already tense situation took a disturbing turn when the house went up in flames and smoke, a fire they believe was set by the suspect. Police later said the man came outside the home and shot himself to death. The body of another person was later found inside the home.  

Thursday, International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) President and Board Chair, Chief Donna Black, testified before the Research & Technology Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to support the reauthorization of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). In her testimony, Black highlighted the importance of these programs in providing essential resources to fire departments and emergency responders across the country. She specifically requested that the AFG and SAFER programs be authorized through Fiscal Year (FY) 2030 and that the USFA be authorized through FY 2030 with an increased authorization of $95 million per year.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Flames poured out of the second and third windows of an abandoned rowhome, lighting the early morning sky. Crews from multiple fire engines rushed inside, but within minutes the interior of the building collapsed, killing three firefighters and badly wounding a fourth. It was the Baltimore City Fire Department's worst on-duty loss of life since the mid 1950s. "It was really heartbreaking for everybody there," Councilwoman Odette Ramos told Fox News. "We just have to do more. We just can't let something like that happen again." The house on Stricker Street had been vacant for more than 10 years and experienced two previous fires, according to BCFD. The first fire, in 2015, resulted in a partial collapse that injured three firefighters and left the building compromised.  

VIDEO: Police agencies across central Ohio are looking for thieves who have been busting into cars owned by firefighters while they are on duty keeping communities safe. Two suspects were captured on security camera outside Concord Township Fire Station No. 341 on Dublin Road shortly before midnight on Wednesday. Fire officials say the two suspects can be seen trying to break-into cars parked behind the station before eventually busting the window of a pick-up truck owned by a firefighter. Those suspects took the owner of the truck's personal computer that was inside a backpack. Three hours later, Worthington City Officials say four cars parked outside the city's fire department and in a nearby municipal building lot were broken into.  

VIDEO: With the variety of accident-avoidance technology now available on passenger cars, there is growing interest in making it mandatory on the big rig trucks that travel the highways each day. It's the kind of thing that could have made a difference in a tragic accident more than 40 years ago that changed California's rules of the road. Most of us drive to work every day, never really knowing what kind of danger may be rolling alongside us. Federal highway safety officials are looking for ways to cut down on the number of truck accidents, especially those that involve hazardous materials. "There's over two million shipments of hazmat every day in the United States of America," said former U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Administrator Bob Richard.