VIDEO: The Illinois State Fire Marshall is investigating a fatal fire in River Grove that killed three people and injured a fourth. The smoke and calls for help woke up neighbors around 7:30 Wednesday morning. "We were just getting the kids ready for school, and we smelled the smoke, saw the fire. You could feel the heat coming off the house," said Michael DeFrancesca. By the time River Grove firefighters arrived on North Grove Street, flames had jumped from the garage to the house and consumed it fast. "This was going hard and heavy before we even got here," said Chief Sean Flynn, River Grove Fire. That's when neighbors saw a man outside the burning home, frantically trying to figure out how to reach his loved ones trapped inside.  

MaShawn Plummer was proud to be a firefighter and had aspirations to climb the ranks to chief one day. Plummer was so dedicated to the job, in fact, he went to the Black Fire Brigade every Sunday to be tutored. Lt. Quention Curtis, one of Plummer's mentors and founder of the Black Fire Brigade, described the late rookie firefighter as "a great kid" and "motivated." He "wanted the job so badly and lived for the job," Curtis recalled. "And just wanted to learn a lot." Curtis was among the many who walked into Leak and Sons Funeral Home in Chatham on Wednesday evening with a heavy heart. "It's going to be hard… [He's] a kid that I've seen on his first day, I've seen him on this journey to becoming a firefighter.  

The city of Kewanee announced Tuesday that interim fire chief Stephen Welgat is officially the new chief. Welgat replaces Kevin Shook, who retired in September. The move comes following an internal search by city officials. "I was prepared to conduct an external search if an excellent candidate wasn't identified through an internal search," City Manager Gary Bradley stated, "but we're fortunate as a community that Chief Welgat has more than 22 years on the department and extensive training not just in firefighting but in the leadership of firefighters and paramedics in their typical and emergency situations, along with a good understanding of the direction the City is moving in as an organization, Stephen will be a great addition to our leadership team."  

Amid frigid temperatures, the Peoria Fire Department responded to a house fire early Thursday morning. Peoria firefighters and paramedics responded to the area of E. Behrends Ave. near N. Delaware St. for reports of a structure fire around 1:20 a.m. Battalion Chief Tom Sander said when crews arrived on the scene, flames were seen at the back of the house, reaching up to the second story. Firefighters searched inside the home and no occupants were found. A fire investigator determined the cause of the fire to be arson, and estimated damages to be $30,000. Sander said no firefighters were hurt during this incident.  

PHOTOS: Flames from a warehouse engulfed in fire in the North End district could be seen throughout the city early Thursday morning. Firefighters battled the fire in brutal conditions. As of 8:45 a.m., the temperature was 10 degrees below zero, with wind chill at 22 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service in Duluth. The Blatnik Bridge to and from Superior was closed due to the affect of smoke on motorists' visibility, but reopened shortly before 9 a.m., according to a news release from the Superior Police Department. The police department advised the public that road closures may change. The roof is gone and the walls began to collapse on the four-story brick building, located at 1507 N. First St. The warehouse is listed for sale on the Follmer Commercial Real Estate website for $795,000.  

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Georgetown County Fire/EMS recently teamed up to test the feasibility of conducting an MRI scan in the back of a moving ambulance. The goal, according to MUSC, was to "cut down the steps that need to happen between the time a stroke patient is wheeled through the ambulance bay until the treatment can begin." Doctors went into the project with the assumption that the sooner an MRI was performed, the better the patient outcome, especially for those experiencing oxygen deprivation. Dr. Christine Holmstedt, who serves as MUSC's Medical Director for Clinical Stroke Services, explained that "for every 15-minute reduction in ‘door-to-needle time,' there's a significant improvement in patient outcomes, including reduction in disabilities and reduction in mortality."  

The DeLand Fire Department has been awarded a sapling from the 9/11 Survivor Tree. The sapling has been planted on the southwest side of the new DeLand Fire Station 81 at 343 W. Howry Ave.. The 343 address number represents the 343 firefighters who were killed on 9/11. Each year, saplings from the 9/11 Survivor Tree are awarded to communities that have faced significant hardship. The DeLand Fire Department was awarded the sapling following the loss of Chief Daniel Hanes in 2018 and the F-2 tornado that struck the city in 2020. The sapling given to the DeLand Fire Department was picked up in New York by firefighters from the Saint Augustine Fire Department, which was also awarded a sapling. All of the saplings are direct descendants of the Callery pear tree that was recovered and rehabilitated from the rubble at Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks on 9/11.  

It's been an incredibly difficult day for Philadelphia and for firefighters who responded to a deadly duplex fire on Wednesday morning. "I'm not doing well at all. I mean personally, I have a job to do, this is what we do, but we are human beings just like everybody else," said Captain Derek Bowmer, the executive chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Fire officials said eight children are among at least 12 dead after a house fire erupted in the Fairmount section of the city on Wednesday morning, the deadliest fire in the city in more than a century. Bowmer and all of the first responders on scene know what they signed up for -- to make saves, he said, and to put the fire out. First responders are there to help and when they can't, the tragedy takes a toll on them.  

Atlanta firefighters will get new washers, dryers and furnishings thanks to an anonymous donor gifting $150,000 to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation's Fire Station Fund. This most recent contribution is the largest ever in the history of the Fire Station Fund and will give four Atlanta Fire Rescue Stations in the neighborhoods of Buckhead and Southwest Atlanta the resources to make improvements and upgrades to the interiors of the fire rescue stations. This includes new furnishings and state-of-the-art washing machines and dryers that help remove carcinogens and other hazardous materials from a firefighter's turnout gear to further protect their health and safety. "Our programs like the Fire Station Fund allow community partners to reinvest in their neighborhoods in the name of public safety," AFRF executive director Shirley Anne Smith said.