VIDEO: A man was killed on the city's Northwest Side, and Chicago firefighters battled blazes due to the use of illegal fireworks on the Fourth of July. A 34-year-old man was injured while handling a firework at 10 p.m. Thursday in the 3000-block of North Kostner Avenue in Belmont Gardens, and died on the scene, Chicago police said. CFD said the mortar device was delayed in going off, causing massive trauma. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Earl Lory of Chicago. His family said he had two young children and a third on the way. "He went to light it up. He went down like this, straight to the firework. Then, when he light it up, he take too long to back off, the thing blow up right in his face," said neighbor Pedro Vega.  

PHOTOS: A fire that destroyed a mobile home on the south side of Salem is under investigation by the Illinois State Fire Marshal's office. Salem Assistant Fire Chief Bill Fulton says flames were shooting from the south side of the mobile home occupied by Doyle McLean at 700 South Washington Street when they arrived on the scene at 5:07 Saturday morning. Firefighters were initially hampered by the two nearest fire hydrants not having enough pressure to support the firefighting effort. They then began transporting water from a third hydrant. Two people were inside the home when the fire broke out. Both were out safely before the fire department arrived. Salem firefighters called Odin and Kell firefighters to the scene while the Centralia Fire Protection District stood by at the Salem Fire Station in the event of another fire.  

A fire early Friday morning along the 200 block of North 12th Avenue in Dillon destroyed a two-story storage building, and shed, burned two vehicles and killed a dog and pet snake, according to Dillon Fire Chief Keith Bailey. Bailey said firefighters rescued a man from the burning building. He added the man went to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation, but is expected to recover. Mackie Adams said he lives in the area of the fire and was astonished when he saw an orange glow from all the flames covering the skyline. Adams sent via social media, "Stepped outside at 1:45 a.m. to put my trash at the road for today's trash pickup and saw an orange glow through the trees over on the 12th avenue side of the block. Called 911 and walked down the street and came upon this unbelievable scene. Huge, raging fire. City of Dillon Fire Department fought this fire for hours overnight."  

PHOTOS: The train derailment spewing toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, wasn't just a game changer for the railroad industry – it's one for first responders as well. "This is something we have more discussions about now,'' Sharon fire Chief Bob Fiscus said about hazardous chemical spills. When a Norfolk Southern train derailed and caught in East Palestine on Feb. 3, 2023, firefighters said it took them 45 minutes to learn what chemicals were burning. That sparked a federal regulation change requiring railroads to immediately detail the hazardous chemicals it has aboard a derailed train to first responders. First responders now have access to an app that lists almost instantaneously what each train is carrying. Fiscus, who also serves as Sharon's city manager, has used the app just to keep apprised of local train cargo.  

VIDEO: A new law just signed by Governor Roy Cooper is aimed at protecting those who protect us. It all comes after families of firefighters diagnosed with cancer fought for years for more support and funding. It would impact families like Christy Burgess. Her husband Nathan was a Raleigh firefighter and burn instructor who served for decades. "He truly enjoyed what he did and being able to serve his community, there was a lot of pride in that," she says. Things changed during the pandemic. A sore throat after getting COVID turned out to be cancer. Multiple rounds of chemo and radiation didn't help, and Nathan passed away. Christy says even with insurance, out of pocket medical expenses added up. "Nathan's teeth got so destroyed that his dental care afterwards was over 20,000 dollars, just the cost of going through cancer, we probably hit close to 2 million dollars total," she says.