Two people were seriously hurt after flames ripped through a building in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Just before 1:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a multi-unit apartment complex in the 4700 block of South Wolcott Avenue. Heavy smoke poured from the front door and windows on the first floor. Flames reached the second floor of the complex. A 47-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy were taken to Stroger Hospital with burns. The woman is in critical condition and the teen remains in fair condition. A resident said he was able to escape in less than three minutes. "I was asleep, I woke up to commotion around 1 or 1:30, I wasn't sure what was going on," Juliano Rivera said. "Flames just kind of came out of the window, I got whatever I could and got out." The Red Cross will arrive later this morning to help displaced residents.  

A firefighter was injured and residents were displaced after heavy flames engulfed the rear of a house in Lake in the Hills Sunday evening, fire officials said. The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District and Lake in the Hills Police Department responded around 8:46 p.m. Sunday to the 600 block of Anderson Drive in Lake in the Hills for a report of a structure fire. Fire crews arrived on the scene to find a two-story home with heavy fire coming from the back of the residence. Fire officials said firefighters initiated an aggressive fire attack to extinguish the fire. Firefighters investigated and found the fire had extended into the kitchen area. The fire was brought under control in 20 minutes, fire officials said. Fire crews remained on the scene completing overhaul for approximately two hours to extinguish hidden fires.  

Country Financial representative Henry Niebrugge is supporting the Teutopolis Fire Protection District with a $750 donation. The funds will be used to support district needs for the all-volunteer unit. "Firefighters do so much for our community with their lifesaving work," said Niebrugge. "They're always there when duty calls. Additionally, considering the recent semitruck accident that happened here a few months ago involving an anhydrous ammonia leak, this donation seemed like the right thing to do given all that the department did to assist in the response." Country Financial has donated more than $5 million since 2020 to organizations and programs that support first responders, active-duty service members and veterans, supporting the company's vision to "enrich lives in the communities we serve."  

Two people were seriously hurt after flames ripped through a building in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Just before 1:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a multi-unit apartment complex in the 4700 block of South Wolcott Avenue. Heavy smoke poured from the front door and windows on the first floor. Flames reached the second floor of the complex. A 47-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy were taken to Stroger Hospital with burns. The woman is in critical condition and the teen remains in fair condition. A resident said he was able to escape in less than three minutes. "I was asleep, I woke up to commotion around 1 or 1:30, I wasn't sure what was going on," Juliano Rivera said. "Flames just kind of came out of the window, I got whatever I could and got out." The Red Cross will arrive later this morning to help displaced residents.  

PHOTOS: On a hot September day in Texas Hill Country, the fire picked up, its flames popping the Jeep's burning tires and airbags like plastic chip bags. Thirty or 40 feet away, a crew of firefighters, law enforcement, and forensic anthropologists watched the burning wreckage from the safety of a white canopy, while a firefighter in full protective gear waited, his hose at the ready. Inside, a figure sat motionless in the passenger seat. Until the fire began, the crew's choreography — setting up temperature-gauging thermocouples, readying cameras, unspooling the firehose — evoked a buzzing film set. Now all was still but the melting car. After several minutes, a thermocouple on the Jeep's ceiling read 1,100 degrees, triggering a timer. At that temperature, termed a flashover, heat becomes so intense that anything capable of catching on fire does.  

VIDEO: Two Grand Rapids firefighters are being credited for finding a case of human trafficking while attending a conference in Traverse City. Battalion Chief Ed Brayman and Equipment Operator Nate Bazen were at an EMS instructor conference in March when they saw a woman who needed their help. "It was much like today. Kind of cold, snowy out and she had a very light jacket, spring jacket on. Kind of in the corner of the front entrance of the hotel. Duct tape on her shoes," Bazen said. They did not immediately suspect human trafficking but quickly came to that conclusion after speaking with the woman, who was hesitant to talk. "We just let her know that we were Grand Rapids firefighters, that she didn't have anything to worry about, that if somebody needed help, we're there to help," Brayman said.  

A creative holiday-themed video by the Red Wing Fire Department has officially gone viral. As of Monday, December 18, the Facebook video has been seen more than 2.1 million times.