Two firefighters were injured while responding to a fire in Ravenswood Wednesday morning. According to the Chicago Fire Department, the fire broke out on the first floor of a two-story building that was under construction, in the 2100 block of North Wilson Avenue. The firefighters were taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, one with a shoulder injury and the other with a cut on their hand. CFD said both firefighters are doing well. No one else was in the building at the time of the fire.  

The death from Monday's pileups in rural Illinois rose to seven, Illinois State Police said in a statement. "The severity of the crash masked the remains and what was previously believed to be the remains of one individual was two," the agency said. Officials said vehicles were so mangled, with some in flames immediately after the pileups, that criminal investigative techniques have been deployed to identify some of the victims. "Due to the severity of the crash and the fire, we have activated our crime scene services and traffic crash reconstruction units," state police said by email Tuesday. Thirty-seven other people, ages 2 to 80, were hospitalized with injuries from minor to life-threatening, Illinois State Police said earlier. The collisions, reported just before 11 a.m. Monday, involved 72 vehicles in multiple pileups along a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 north of Farmersville, state police said.  

Emergency workers responded to a crash on a bridge connecting Brookport, Illinois to Paducah, Kentucky Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters with the Brookport Fire Department got a call to a crash that occurred at 1:20 p.m. This happened on what is known as the Brookport bridge, spanning over the Ohio River into Paducah. Crews responded to the scene to find two vehicles with damage to the front of the vehicles and to the driver's side. An ambulance also responded to the scene, however, it is unknown if there were any reported injuries. The scene was cleared later Tuesday afternoon. Also assisting on scene was the Massac County Sheriff's Office, the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, Paducah Fire Department, Massac County EMS and Mercy Regional EMS.  

A man was badly burned and a DTE Energy worker was injured when a house exploded Tuesday in Inkster. The explosion happened around 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 2, at a house in the 26000 block of Penn Street in Inkster, near the border of Dearborn Heights. "I was in my living room watching TV and I heard some ‘boom,' and I thought someone was in my house," neighbor Alina Boudi said. Inkster fire Chief Chuck Hubbard said the house was already fully engulfed in flames when his firefighters arrived. "All of a sudden, our whole house shook," neighbor Cynthia Dowell said. "It was a very loud explosion. It was just a lot of smoke, a lot of sirens real fast." A man was in the home at the time of the explosion, but he was already outside when authorities got to the scene. Officials believe he was helped out of the house.  

A new program to treat traumatic brain injuries in veterans and first responders is coming to Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin following a $12.5 million donation from a national nonprofit. Advocates for the program, known as Building Resilience through Action in Veterans and First Responders and shortened to BRAVE, say it's the first of its kind in the Midwest. "This new program ... will accelerate our capacity to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conditions that we see far too often among our military veterans, their spouses and the families of emergency first responders," Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO John Raymond said during a press conference Thursday.  

Fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are presenting an unprecedented challenge for New York City firefighters who are battling an increasing number of these blazes that quickly get out of control and are stubbornly hard to extinguish. In large part, the technology that is used to manufacture the type of rechargeable battery commonly used in electric bikes and electric scooters makes the batteries dangerous to handle when they catch on fire. "We are in a crisis mode right now when it comes to the batteries," City Councilman Keith Powers said at a Committee on Fire and Emergency Management hearing last month. Lithium-ion batteries caused 220 fires in the five boroughs last year, up from 44 in 2020, according to the FDNY. These fires resulted in 147 injuries and six deaths in 2022, 32 injuries and two deaths more than the previous three years combined.  

PHOTOS: The Denton Fire Department unveiled a new fire engine, but instead of sporting the traditional fire engine red, it was painted to better suit the colors of one of the city's universities, the University of North Texas. Engine 3 was decked out in green after the "Mean Green" of UNT, with the university's flag, a green-tinted Texas flag, on display in the truck's front grille. "Mean Green" is also carved into the front and back bumpers in light-up letters, with the school's logo and trademark eagle symbol painted on the sides. The engine was unveiled at Eastside Denton as part of Downtown Victory Fest, a celebration of the school's basketball team's record-breaking season and their winning of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament. The men's basketball team arrived on the engine, which was donated to the city by the school. It also has the unique ability of playing the school's fight song through its horn system.  

PHOTOS: Dozens of fire rescue squads across Florida are putting their skills to the test competing against an international group of emergency responders for the Palm Beach State Invitational. David Hamel, director of Palm Beach State College's fire academy, said the friendly competition gives emergency responders a chance to hone their skills and learn from each other. "It lets us practice our skills in a competitive environment, not in life or death one," Hamel said. Noting that firefighters can turn anything into a competition, Hamel said the events are typically held at venues across the country, but the college has taken all of the circuits and made a supersized competition where some departments from Canada compete. Tuesday simulated events took place to showcase each squad's skills, most addressing rescues from vehicles.