The Rochelle Police and Fire departments squared off in a Battle of the Badges charity volleyball game at Flight Deck Bar & Grill on Oct. 4, 2025. The event raised $1,100 that was donated to Focus House.

A home in Aurora was declared uninhabitable following a house fire that consumed the front porch before spreading into the first and second floors.

The 44th Kankakee County Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service honored the ultimate sacrifice made by the area's eight firefighters and their families on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.

The 44th Kankakee County Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service honored the ultimate sacrifice made by the area's eight firefighters and their families on Friday morning near the memorial wall on the Kankakee County Courthouse lawn.

Meet Scott Melton, who was sworn in Sept. 2, 2025, as Sterling's deputy fire chief.

The Illinois Farm Bureau said August was the driest for the corn belt since 2013, and the Illinois State Climatologist’s office noted that as of Sept. 11, over 30% of the state was experiencing “abnormal dryness” to moderate drought conditions,

The Lockport Township Fire Protection District is preparing to host its first ever 5K walk/run to raise funds for new equipment purchases.

The joint open house will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 11 at Oswego Fire Protection District’s Station 1, 3511 Woolley Road, Oswego, and the Oswego Police Department, 3355 Woolley Road, Oswego. Both buildings are located next to each other.

Wheaton firefighters and paramedics will welcome the community to the Wheaton Fire Department Open House from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 27.

An Aurora resident sustained a minor injury in a house fire that ignited in a three-season room on Sept. 18.

Oakley, an American Staffordshire Terrier was already a “rescue dog,” but after being pulled from a house fire by Aurora police recently, the term has a new meaning.

Just minutes apart, two fires broke out in Aurora on the afternoon of Sept. 15, including at a six-story apartment complex and a two-story home.

A male resident of North Aurora died from injuries sustained in a house fire in North Aurora early Monday morning.

Villa Park firefighters were able to rescue a family’s pet tarantula from an early morning house fire Thursday.

Students across Bishop McNamara Catholic Schools’ three sites helped area first responders, veterans and active-duty service members start the morning with a dose of gratitude during their 10th Gratitude Drive-Thru in recognition of 9/11.

Students across Bishop McNamara Catholic Schools’ three sites hosted the 10th Gratitude Drive-Thru for area first responders, veterans and active-duty service members on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.

Following the merger of the Amboy and Harmon fire districts in 2024, a duo of officials think the three-member board should be expanded by two members to allow for representation of Harmon residents.

There are several ways in which the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be marked in the Kane County area for this year’s 24th anniversary.

Bishop McNamara will be hosting a Gratitude Drive-Thru this Thursday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at all three school sites for first responders, veterans and active-duty service members in recognition of the 24th anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District hosted the first-ever McHenry County Sept. 11 Memorial Stair Climb Sunday morning at the McHenry County Fairgrounds in Woodstock. The event mirrored the number of steps firefighters responding to the terrorist attack climbed in the World Trade Center. A day earlier, a Ride to Remember was hosted by the Woodstock Harley-Davidson.

There are several ways in which the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be marked in the McHenry County area for this year’s 24th anniversary.

The Westmont Fire Department has scheduled its annual open house on Sept. 20 at the Johanik Fire Department Headquarters, 6015 S. Cass Ave.

Sept. 1 marked 50 years of the Rochelle Fire Department providing ambulance services.

Melton has dedicated 32 years to the Erie Fire Department as a volunteer, rising through the ranks to become fire chief.

After 35 years, Jerry Conner still remembers traveling with fellow firefighters from Beecher to Plainfield in response to the 1990 tornado that claimed 29 lives and injured hundreds of people. 

Emergency personnel from Peru, Wallace, Tonica, Utica and La Salle were dispatched scene of a structure fire in the 800 block of U.S. Route 6 on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 near Utica. The incident happened shortly after 3p.m.

The Monroe Township Fire Protection District has seen success with a new daytime fire and EMS staffing model since starting it in January, Deputy Chief Richard Wilson said Aug. 4.

The St. Charles Fire Department released its 2024 annual report, which showed increases in calls and work-related injuries over 2023.

The Kids Muster, hosted by the Downers Grove Fire Department, is a chance for school-aged children to learn about fire safety, while taking part in fun activities.

Around 7 p.m. Monday, fire crews responded to a reported structure fire in the 16300 block of West Caraway Court in Lockport during the severe thunderstorms.

Wheaton firefighters and paramedics will welcome the community into Fire Station 38 for the Wheaton Fire Department Open House from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 27.

A burning candle left unattended was the cause of a residential fire in Joliet on Wednesday, according to the Joliet Fire Department.

Duane Dickison is the fire chief of the town he grew up in, and it's a badge of honor he takes seriously and with great responsibility. He leads a department that not just fights fires, but tackles the growing issue of recruitment and managing a substation in a neighboring town.

A four-year contract between Kankakee firefighter and the Kankakee City Council has been approved.

National Night Out, an annual event started in 1984, is designed to heighten crime-prevention awareness and generate support for local anti-crime programs. It is held every year on the first Tuesday in August.

Several area organizations and first responder groups gathered Tuesday in the Hy-Vee parking lot in Sycamore for National Night Out.

Douglas Road between Route 34 and Wolf Road will be closed to thru traffic from approximately 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to a news release from the Oswego Police Department. Funeral procession and related vehicles will be allowed through the closure.

Kankakee Fire Department Lt. Brian Porter is now wearing two hats these days as he has been hired as the Bradley Fire Department's deputy chief.

Lightning is being attributed as the cause for three Joliet residences catching fire on Thursday afternoon.

Three years after an arson investigation was opened at the Kentucky Fried Chicken in La Salle, authorities have charged a former employee of the store.

No one was injured in a Saturday morning fire that left a house uninhabitable in Lombard, authorities said Monday.

A structural fire in the 1500 block of Poplar Street in Ottawa was extinguished without any injuries on Thursday evening

Mayor D'Arcy said Joliet needs more apartments if it wants a residency rule requiring newly hired workers to move into the city.

A Joliet resident suffered minor injuries in an overnight fire in the 300 block of Oneida Street Monday.

Many city workers already live outside Joliet since a residency rule was eliminated in 2009 before being reinstated in 2016 for union employees.

The Joliet Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 300 block of South May Wednesday morning.

Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy says city needs to loosen residency rules to attract employees.

A fire Thursday at a multi-unit residential building in Glen Ellyn remains under investigation, authorities said.

A fire broke out in the 3400 block of Karen Drive in Joliet earlier this week.

Two Joliet police officers also helped with the rescue of several people inside of an apartment building on Tuesday that was damaged by a cooking-related fire.