VIDEO: An estimated 40 residents are displaced following Wednesday morning's fire at the Brickyard Apartments in southeast Bloomington, and it is still unclear when they can return to their homes A video shows Bloomington Police body camera footage of officers going into the burning building to help evacuate residents. "The middle part of the building was just in flames; you couldn't see it; there was a lot of smoke," said Austin Allan, who woke up to the smell of smoke and banging at his door with a demand to evacuate the building. "I wouldn't have woken up. I didn't know what was going on; I smelled a little smoke and quickly realized something was not right," said Allan. The American Red Cross is working with property management to arrange for temporary housing and meals for affected residents.  

PHOTOS: Emergency management is all about being prepared for the unknown. Elgin Fire Chief Robb Cagann says the city's new mobile emergency operations vehicle makes the city more prepared to deal with a crisis when it happens. It also provides flexibility most communities don't have. Elgin Command 1, a 43-foot-long mobile command center built on an International truck chassis, will serve as the city's Emergency Operation Center (EOC). Until now, officials had used one room in the basement of city hall that needed expensive upgrades. "We couldn't get radio communications out. We could hardly get cellphone service," Cagann said. "Money had been thrown into it a little at a time. But if we were really going to make that an EOC, we were going to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars."  

Investigators are working to determine the cause of two fires at the same Rockford house in the past three days. According to the Rockford Fire Department, firefighters were initially called to a home in the 1100 block of Irving Avenue on Sunday around noon for a fire on the exterior of the house, on the first floor/basement area. All occupants were out of the house when firefighters arrived, and the fire caused an estimated $1,000 in damages. At 6:29 a.m. on Tuesday, a passerby called 911 after seeing a fire at the same address. The fire department said the residents were out of the house when they arrived, and the fire was spreading up the exterior wall of the building to the gable and threatening to consume the attic. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire but said moderate damage occurred to the home's exterior, an estimated $35,000 loss.  

Two paramedics in Massachusetts avoided a catastrophe while transporting a patient in an ambulance on Interstate 95 during Tuesday's nor'easter. Cataldo Ambulance Service paramedic Tim Crosbie was driving the Atlantic Ambulance Service vehicle on I-95 south in Peabody shortly before 1 p.m. when a car that was traveling on the northbound side of the highway came across the median and rolled over across multiple lanes on the southbound side. "I just happened to glance over and I actually could see the car coming off the road into our lanes of traffic," said Cataldo Ambulance Service paramedic Timothy Wareham, who was treating the patient in the back of the ambulance.  

VIDEO: A North Texas fire department has partnered with a video game maker to create something that could help save lives and property. It's a first-of-its-kind simulator that helps firefighters do their jobs better. A battalion of Allen firefighters entered a burning home. They work as a team, communicating over radios to coordinate the best approach to put out intense flames. "Currently, I'm outside the fire," said John Harris, an Allen firefighter. "I just got air in my bottle." Harris is one of the very few firefighters anywhere training on a multi-player video simulator with a battalion chief in another room calling the shots. "We're the only ones that I know of who have developed a full virtual environment," said Harris. Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd developed this virtual training center called Aries with the help of a video game maker.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: The mass shooting that erupted at the end of the Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, appeared to stem from a dispute, according to police. The shooting, in which one person was killed and 22 were hurt, unfolded outside Union Station as Chiefs fans were leaving a parade and rally on Wednesday. More than 800 law enforcement officers were on duty in the area, as 1 million paradegoers were expected to attend the celebration, according to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. Three suspects -- including two juveniles -- have been detained, according to Kansas City police. Charges have not been filed yet, police said. Several guns were recovered, police said. The victims' ages range from 8 years old to 47 years old, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday.  

VIDEO: Zack Lessner loves being a Detroit firefighter, but on January 13, 2023, his world was upended after he was hit by a car on a fire scene. "I ended up having a traumatic brain injury. And I… had two bulged discs," He revealed. But after the physical wounds healed, he struggled with PTSD and depression. "It was like just being a zombie. That was the best way to put it. And, and you didn't see the sun. You didn't see flowers. It was just, it was horrible," Lessner said. Lessner says he began to experience suicidal ideation. "I had a plan," he said. "There was no question about it." Zack had been on leave for almost a year, taking Xanax every day to function. Then in December, he decided to try a new approach — psychedelic integration at the Drake Center for Transformative Healing in Franklin.  

VIDEO: An antique fire truck from 1943 that once served the community of Follansbee has found itself back in Follansbee once again. The vehicle was purchased by Follansbee Fire Chief Larry Rea for his own collection. The truck is a rare vehicle that was built during World War II when vehicle production was extremely limited. It was in use by the department until the late 1970s. The plan is to restore it for parades and a showcase for the community. "It is a 1943 Seagrave," Rea said. "It was ordered new for the Follansbee Fire Department. This truck was actually originally housed before our fire department, as it exists today, was built in 1957." The truck's connection to the community is why Rea wanted to purchase and preserve it so it can be appreciated now.