VIDEO/PHOTOS: Crews have put out a large fire at a home in Alexander County, Illinois. The fire happened sometime before 5 p.m. on October 9, at a house on Ditch Road off Bader Lane in McClure. This is between the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and Rte. 3. Heartland News spoke with McClure Fire Chief Joe Taylor. He said it is believed to have been an electrical fire, but they are still investigating. Fortunately, no one was injured and Chief Taylor said they were able to rescue two cats. However, the house is considered a complete loss. There was damage throughout the entire home, reaching through the roof and rafters. The McClure-East Cape Fire Protection District headed the incident, with help from the Tamms Fire Department, Horseshoe Lake Volunteer Fire Dept. and Wolf Lake-Ware Fire Protection Dist.  

On Wednesday, the Moline Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 2424 41st St. The call came in at 2:02 p.m., and the first fire company arrived on the scene within five minutes. Upon arrival, firefighters found a detached, covered parking structure fully engulfed in flames, with several vehicles inside the structure also on fire, a news release says. Firefighters were met with heavy fire conditions pushing from the garage. The intense heat from the blaze caused damage to nearby structures, resulting in heat, smoke, and water damage to two adjacent apartment units. One resident has been displaced due to the incident. Fortunately, no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. The fire is under investigation by the Moline Fire Department Bureau of Investigations.  

PHOTOS: More than 60 firefighters responded to a 3-alarm fire at a vacant church in downtown Louisville. The Louisville Fire Department said the fire was in the 200 block of East Pin Alley. That's off East Broadway, not far from South Hancock Street. Capt. Donovan Sims said reports came in around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night of a "vacant structure with possible people hanging out of the window with smoke on the roof." Sims said crews were on scene within two minutes to find heavy fire in the rear of the vacant St. Paul's German Evangelical Church on East Broadway, near South Brook Street. Within three to four minutes, the fire was updated to 2-alarm. Sims confirmed to WDRB just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday that the fire had been updated to a 3-alarm fire.  

The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) is expanding its Buprenorphine Pilot Program and Seattle will be the first city in the nation with a program for firefighters/emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to administer the medicine in the field. SFD paramedics began administering the drug earlier this year, and now an initial group of firefighter/EMTs will be trained as well. This will expand the City's capacity to provide this potentially life-saving medicine to patients who are actively experiencing severe opioid withdrawal. "Providing treatment for people suffering from substance use disorder and addiction is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. People treated with this highly effective and evidence-backed medication are likelier to agree to follow-up care and conversations, an essential step to breaking the cycle and getting them the help they need," said Mayor Bruce Harrell.  

VIDEO: Firefighters want to emphasize fire safety at a young age. The Independence Fire Department is introducing a new fire prevention video designed to inform the youngest students about safety in the home. The animated product is brand new, and will be shared with area schools soon. Firefighters in Independence have seen a challenging year, battling four deadly fires this year. Two of those fires happened on one weekend. Two of the incidents involved the death of children. The animated video is aimed at audiences as young as preschoolers. It's designed to teach the basics of fire prevention, including escape plans to avoid smoke and fire and the importance of working smoke detectors. "This knowledge will empower a child to not be afraid if a smoke detector goes off in the house that's full of smoke. They will have seen this video, hopefully, and instead of trying to hide from it, they will try to escape from it," Independence Battalion Chief Eric Michel said.  

VIDEO: After making landfall Wednesday night near Siesta Key, Hurricane Milton is moving off the east coast of Florida while continuing to produce damaging winds and life-threatening floods Thursday morning. Even before Milton made landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm, outer bands from the system washed over the state Wednesday morning, sparking up tornadoes and giving residents an idea of the wrath Milton packed. Milton lashed west Florida and surrounding areas Wednesday night, bringing torrential downpours and winds of 120 mph — strong enough to rip the roof off Tropicana Field, a stadium in St. Petersburg housing thousands of first responders. The system is forecast to keep its hurricane status until exiting the east coast of Florida on Thursday morning.