House fire disrupts Rock Falls Fire Department training

VIDEO: The Rock Falls Fire Department started its day Wednesday preparing for search and rescue training exercises. The Whiteside County Health Department donated a house next door to its expanding clinic. The house will be torn down later this month and become extra parking spaces, but in the meantime, the old house is the fire department's training facility. Most of the time, Rock Falls firefighters simulate training scenarios at the fire station. "We don't get these very often, maybe a couple a year and they're in varying stages of disrepair," Deputy Chief Kyle Sommers said. "Some structures we're very limited on what we're able to do based on the condition of the home. This home is actually one of the better scenarios where we can have a lot of options on what we can do."
WQAD-TV ABC/MyNetworkTV 8 Moline

Fire rages in shuttered hotel in Waukegan

PHOTOS: A fire broke out in a shuttered hotel in Waukegan early Wednesday evening. Firefighters battled the stubborn blaze near the rear of the former Ramada Inn at 200 N. Green Bay Rd. Firefighters worked from the parking lot, so no streets were blocked. No injuries were reported. The cause and origin of the fire were unknown Wednesday night. The hotel has been closed since 2018. In October, two people were found shot and killed inside the abandoned hotel.
WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

Fire Department Coffee, a Rockford coffee company, brews success

For Luke Schneider, military veteran, former firefighter and founder of Fire Department Coffee, the mission of his coffee company goes deeper than just a great cup of joe. “Our vision, our goal, our mission is to make great coffee, but to do more than just make great coffee. It’s how can we have an impact in the communities that we are connected to,” he said. The mission and the communities have grown far beyond what Schneider envisioned when he started roasting coffee in a strip mall storefront roastery for friends and family. The story of Fire Department Coffee starts with a love story. “I met my wife at a business class I was taking. She was a barista, so I would go in and visit her at her work,” Schneider said. Both loved coffee. Schneider started his coffee habit while serving in the U.S. Navy and then as a full-time firefighter with the Rockford Fire Department in northern Illinois.
Agri News Publications

Normal Fire Department responds to Rivian semi-trailer fire near docks

No injuries were reported after a semi-trailer at a southern loading dock at Rivian caught fire on Monday. According to a Normal Fire Department news release, firefighters were on the scene a little before 1 p.m. and witnessed a semi-trailer on fire backed up to an open loading dock. The trailer wasn’t rigged to a truck, preventing attempts to move it away from the building. Prior to this, heat radiating from the fire activated automatic fire sprinklers preventing the flames from spreading into the building. The fire alarm rang out and a portion of the plant was evacuated. The fire was put out within 30 minutes but firefighters remained on scene for another hour to check for hotspots and to ensure the fire hadn’t spread further. In total, one semi-trailer was destroyed, an adjacent one took heat damage.
WMBD-TV CBS 31 Peoria

Firefighter injured in Chicago fire

VIDEO: A Chicago firefighter was injured while putting out a blaze at a building in South Shore Tuesday morning. The Chicago Fire Department responded to a vacant building located at 82nd Street and Brandon Avenue sometime before 6 a.m. Fire officials said one first responder was injured on the scene. They were transported in good condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center with an upper-body injury. The fire was put out by 6:30 a.m. Crews were on the scene overhauling the building. No details were released about the cause of the fire.
WFLD-TV FOX 32 Chicago