Pork and beans

New Castle, Pennsylvania, Monday, February 13, 2012, 11:30AM
Firefighters responded to 817 E. Lutton St., dispatching 3 trucks and an ambulance to a reported fire. They were summoned by retired butcher Cash Koszela, who had seen flames when he opened the door of his backyard smokehouse to lower the 300° temperature. Koszela, who has been smoking sausage for 30 to 35 years in the 20 sq. ft. tin-lined structure, was using applewood to smoke about 200 lbs. of kielbasa when the operation overheated. Firefighters dismantled the shed in the course of controlling the blaze, which they determined to be a grease fire, and successfully removed the meat (photo here). “It’s done, and it doesn’t appear to be burned,” said Koszela, who plans to rebuild. Remarked assistant fire chief David Joseph, “This is definitely the best-smelling fire we’ve seen in a long time.”

Chicago, Illinois, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 8:20AM
Police and firefighters responded to McFetridge Drive between Museum Campus Drive and Lake Shore Drive after receiving reports of a suspicious package, according to Police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez (photo here). The area around the Field Museum was closed off while emergency responders used a robot to inspect the suspicious container located near the Soldier Field parking garage (video here). The scene was cleared and the area was reopened in about 2 hours after authorities removed what they determined to be a container of beans.