The Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 is making a renewed push to increase retirement benefits for 2,200 of its members at a heavy cost to taxpayers: $18 million the first year and $30 million every year after that. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, a political nemesis of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, before Martwick was appointed to the Illinois Senate to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of state Sen. John Mulroe. It would remove the "birth date restriction" that has prohibited roughly 2,200 active and retired firefighters born after Jan. 1, 1966 from receiving a simple, 3% annual cost of living increase. Instead, they get half that amount — an annual increase of 1.5% that is not compounded. On the eve of a committee hearing on the bill, Martwick noted that the "birth date restriction" has already been moved five times as a way of masking the true cost to a firefighters pension fund with roughly 25% of assets to meet its future liabilities.  

Rantoul Fire Capt. Chad Smith said the fire department has been looking at the need for a larger ladder truck to replace its 75-foot one since 1993 — the year Chanute Air Force Base closed. That day has finally come. The village board last week voted to buy a 100-foot Pierce Ascendent platform ladder truck for $1.287 million from MacQueen Equipment, St. Paul, Minn. The board, meeting in special session, approved the purchase by 4-1 vote with Trustee Sherry Johnson voting "no" and Trustee Gary Wilson voting "present" because he is a member of the fire department. Trustee Terry Workman was absent. Because of the margin of the vote, Mayor Chuck Smith also voted with the majority. Chuck Smith said it was necessary to hold a special meeting to approve the purchase because at least four other departments were interested in buying the used truck.  

A Chicago mother of three is murdered by a masked gunman and her killing could be linked to another shooting earlier this month. Chicago police said it was a targeted attack. CBS 2's Steven Graves has more from Ravenswood Manor. It was another unusual story about how a firefighter on a call was shot and injured not far from Monday night's incident, apparently caught in the middle of gang crossfire. Now police pledge to beef up patrols. Family members told CBS 2 that 27-year-old Stephanie Brooks was just visiting a friend when tragedy struck. The mother of three often came to the apartment in the 4400 block of North Francisco. But Monday night around 9:30, a masked gunman got into the building and knocked on the unit door. Her friend opened it, then tried to shut it as the suspect attempted to force his way in. Brooks then jumped in to help and neighbors heard the struggle. "And then I heard a pop. I knew it was a gunshot," said neighbor Marvin Nurse.  

Michelle Aprati was working her shift with the Niles Fire Department when the call from her doctor came. Her test results were in, and they were what she had suspected they might be: She had breast cancer. "I had a hard cry, but it was a good cry," Aprati recalled. A mother of four and a Niles firefighter and paramedic for the last 16 years, Aprati said the hardest part of her diagnosis was telling her family — both at home and at the firehouse. "When you work that close together, they become your family," Aprati said of her fellow firefighters. And like family, the men of the Niles Fire Department stepped forward to offer their support.  

San Francisco's women firefighters are exposed to higher levels of certain toxic PFAS chemicals than women working in downtown San Francisco offices, shows a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, San Francisco, and Silent Spring Institute. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in grease- and water-resistant coatings and can be found in fabrics, furniture and food packaging, but also notably in firefighting foam and turnout gear. These "forever chemicals," which don't easily break down in the environment, have been linked to a variety of cancers and are known to interfere with immune function, endocrine function and breast development. The study, which appears online today (Wednesday, Feb. 26) in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, is one of the first published results from the Women Firefighter Biomonitoring Collaborative, a long-term investigation into the chemical exposures faced by women firefighters.  

The Georgia Senate passed legislation Tuesday aimed at loosening training requirements for volunteer fire departments in the state. Senate Bill 342 would create a council tasked with establishing training and certification rules for volunteer fire departments in Georgia that are separate from those required for full-time professional fire departments. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and heads to the Georgia House for consideration. Its sponsor, Sen. Burt Jones, said the measure's intent is to loosen training requirements for volunteer firefighters. Currently, volunteers receive the same kind of stringent training that professional firefighters are required to take. Jones, R-Jackson, said tougher training may scare off qualified people interested in volunteering particularly in rural areas where volunteer firehouses are often critical to a community's public safety readiness.  

Ambulances with flashing sirens trying to weave their way through congested city streets. Traffic poses challenges to EMTs rushing to treat patients. To improve response times, some EMTs in San Diego use scooters get around faster. City Councilman Joe Borelli wants the FDNY to test the scooter idea here in New York. "We know that minutes and seconds do matter and it's not always safe to wait for an ambulance who might be stuck in some traffic in gridlocked streets," Borelli said. Borelli says scooters would be especially useful in Manhattan where security bollards and barricades create additional obstacles for first responders. "Having these vehicles that can navigate those is just something that can make the FDNY response time to medical emergencies much quicker," Borelli noted.  

Not only is somebody going to respond, but they are going to respond quickly. That's how Deputy Chief of Quakertown Fire Company Brad Patkochis described the North Hunterdon Fire Alliance's Squad 51 program, through which the communities of Quakertown (Franklin Township) as well as High Bridge, Lebanon, Clinton and Annandale are each serviced by the fire companies of all five towns. Through the program, between four and six firefighters from one of the five departments volunteer from 6 p.m. on Saturday through to 6 a.m. on Sunday on a rotational basis. If there is an emergency that occurs within that timeframe in any one of the five municipalities, firefighters from that town are dispatched to the scene in addition to the Squad 51 volunteers housed at a department in one of the four other neighboring municipalities.  

VIDEO: It's easy to see and hear a firetruck when it's driving past but unless you are up close you might have missed a special marking. Small stickers line the doors of Davenport Fire Department trucks symbolizing an accomplishment achieved by the crew on board. "Those calls they go on, the saves they have or bringing a child into the world it's kinda a pride thing to recognize that they did something like that," Lt. Zach Soliz with Davenport Fire said. "It was very unique at the time and it's just a tradition that carried on since then." They have been handing out these stickers for over thirty years. A lightning bolt represents a crew saving someone using a defibrillator and a stork represents when a baby is delivered in the field.