The Highland Pierron Fire Department was called around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday morning for a house fire. They noticed a lot of smoke coming from the eves and chimney when they arrived. The fire was located at on Capilano Street in a subdivision located just outside of the Highland City limits. Fire Chief Phil Decker described the home as "a very large single residence." Fire crews noticed a lot of smoke when they went inside. The structure appeared to be compromised and they were worried about a floor collapse. They switched to a defensive-only attack within 20 minutes. The two adults sleeping in the home heard smoke alarms go off and were able to get out safely. The homeowner tells firefighters that there may have been a lightning strike there during Saturday's storms. They noticed that half of their electrical outlets did not work on Sunday.  

After losing their only fire engine and all its equipment to a fire, local fire departments are lending a helping hand to the Pulaski Illinois Volunteer Fire Department. "It basically burnt it down to just the frame," said Pulaski Fire Chief Bryan Cravens. Pulaski Fire Chief Bryan Cravens is talking about the fire that destroyed this fire truck and equipment. "It's rather unnerving I mean we do have this tank her that's behind me that kind also pump, and it can fight a fire too," Cravens said. Cravens tells me they lost a lot of their equipment in the fire. "Right now, we need boots, gloves, I'm supposed to pick up helmets tonight from Herrin Fire Department and I have some that are coming from Hurst Fire Department," said Cravens. Surrounding fire departments including Olmstead rushed to lend a helping hand in a time of need.  

A garage fire that rapidly spread into a house in the 600 block of Belmont Street Monday afternoon required firefighters to perform an aggressive attack to extinguish it. No civilians or firefighters were injured during the fire, and all pets were accounted for, officials said. Ken-Com 911 Dispatch Center received a call reporting the garage fire that had extended to a nearby call just after 3:30 p.m. By the time Oswego fire crews arrived at the house, the flames had spread to the entire second floor and attic space, officials said. In order to extinguish the fire, firefighters used an aggressive attack approach and began operating five hose lines "within minutes of arrival." It took two hours to fully extinguish the fire, requiring extensive salvage and overhaul operations, according to Oswego Fire Protection District officials.  

A team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators will arrive in Missouri on Tuesday to probe the derailment of an Amtrak train that left at least three people dead and sent surviving passengers scrambling from the wreckage. The derailment occurred as the train, traveling eastbound to Chicago, collided with a dump truck at a crossing near the town of Mendon in north-central Missouri at about 12:42 p.m. Monday, according to Amtrak. Eight of the train's cars and two locomotives left the track, the company said. "We started feeling the train tilting over to the right. That's when it kind of went through my mind that this is life or death. This is very serious," Dax McDonald, who was on the train with his sister Samantha, told CNN's "New Day." Their train car had tipped over and was laying on its side.  

Amtrak's worst wreck in terms of deaths was the Sept. 22, 1993, derailment outside Mobile, Alabama, when the Sunset Limited plunged off a bridge and caught fire in the pre-dawn hours. Forty-seven passengers and crew were killed and 103 injured in what became known as the Big Bayou Canot rail accident. The bridge over that arm of the Mobile River had been damaged by a barge shortly before the passenger train started to cross it. The worst wreck as far as overall casualties was the 1990 collision of an Amtrak train with a Boston commuter train that left 453 injured, but there were no fatalities. There is no record of an Amtrak wreck in Missouri having 20 casualties or more, according to Wikipedia's list of serious accidents. Prior to Monday's wreck, in which at least 50 were reported injured along with multiple deaths, the Southwest Chief and its predecessor, the Southwest Limited, had been involved in three serious wrecks along its 2,265-mile route from Los Angeles to Chicago that met that 20-casualty threshold.  

VIDEO: From the porch of a vacant row house in Northeast D.C., a film director yelled, "We are rolling … and action!" On his cue, several D.C. firefighters jumped out of their fire truck, bounded up the steps, donned protective gear and lunged into thick fumes. It's all a simulation of sorts. For the next three days, those directors' commands will take the place of a real 911 call, as members of D.C. Fire and EMS have been selected to star in a national training video designed to teach firefighters across the country about the dangers of fighting a row house blaze. Firefighters said it's one of the most dangerous structure fires to battle. "We've had injuries and line-of-duty deaths that have been attributed to these types of buildings," said Deputy Fire Chief Anthony Kelleher.  

A celebration was held at Lido Beach Suday for fallen hero Casey Skudin, a New York City firefighter from Long Beach who was killed in a tragic accident while on vacation with his family in North Carolina. More than 200 people headed out into the Atlantic Ocean for a paddle-out memorial in honor of Skudin. The Long Beach father of two was killed last week when a 2,000-pound tree fell on the SUV he was in. He died two days shy of his 46th birthday and Father's Day. Casey and his family were driving up to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina as part of a family vacation. Casey was a long-time lifeguard in the Town of Hempstead and a beloved member of the surfer community in Long Beach. "He was just the bravest, kindest most epic human being and he's going to be really missed," said his widow, Angela Skudin. She and their two sons, Ben and CJ, led the surfers into the ocean off the same beach where Skudin spent many summers working as a lifeguard.  

VIDEO: As a paramedic, nothing would stop Sara Cathey from stepping up to save a life. As it turned out, the Beaufort EMS worker was able to help one of her own family members. "She brightens my day," Sara said of her niece, Natalyn. "Makes any bad day good." It was a devastating day when she found out that 2-year-old Natalyn had a genetic condition that nearly killed her. "She had a double nephrectomy, so both her kidneys got removed June of last year," remembered Sara. The whole family took tests to find out who might be a kidney match. "You never think it's going to be you," Sara said. "I am out here every day with strangers. I love these strangers. I really enjoy being a paramedic, helping people. I get emotionally invested with these complete strangers. So I can't really explain how much it really hits when it's her."