The North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps ambulance was not transporting patients at the time.

The second vehicle was a black sedan, which sustained front-end damage. There were two people in the ambulance, which was not responding to a call at the time, and one person in the sedan, its driver.

City officials announced plans to rebuild Fire Station 11 at the fire site following the 10th anniversary of the Sofa Super Store fire in June 2017. Jack O'Toole, spokesman for the city, said Monday groundbreaking on the construction project will take place in the next 3-4 weeks. 

The new fire station is expected to be completed in 18-24 months, O'Toole says.

The city brought in a mold abatement crew Friday to help seal off the affected areas. In total, four separate rooms were sealed.

Fire department leaders promised to continue removing mold moving forward.

“Over the course of the next week, mold removal personnel will be here removing the affected Sheetrock and cleansing and sterilizing the studs behind it,” said Battalion Chief Mark Cullison.

Fire department administrators said there have not been any reports of firefighters getting sick as a result of the mold.

The city reports that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) from FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency provided the fire department with approximately $200,000 in grant funding to install exhaust capture systems in five of the city’s six fire stations. Station No. 6 was ineligible for the grant due to being a newer station, according to a post on the city's Facebook page.

The devices are designed to remove nearly 100 percent of the cancer-causing products in diesel exhaust. The new systems will provide clean air for firefighters and visitors to the fire stations.

The grant will be used to buy headsets for the hazmat team.

The team responds to any hazardous materials leak, spill or condition that threatens the public or environment of the city. It was created in response to the ever-increasing quantity of hazardous materials located, manufactured or transported through Joliet, according to the department’s website.