All posts by viking210

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Storage / Warehouse

Canton, OH – Fire at industrial distribution business contained to area of origin by sprinkler system

Stacked cardboard boxes placed too close to radiant ceiling heaters caused a fire that did about $180,000 in damage to engine compartments in the warehouse area at Detroit Diesel on Monday, firefighters said. The smoke also impacted thousands of items stored there by Goodwill of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, rendering those items “too damaged to be sold in any of the stores,” said Robyn Steinmetz, vice president of marketing at Goodwill.

The damage left Goodwill pleading Tuesday for more donations from the public. No one was injured in the 12:09 p.m. blaze at 818 Mulberry Road SE, although firefighters were initially told that someone may have been trapped inside. Battalion Chief Jeff Magee said in a news release that everyone had made it safely out of the burning building.

“On arrival, units found a working structure fire at a large commercial building housing Detroit Diesel industrial supplies,” Magee said, noting that the large warehouse contains diesel engine components.

“The components were contained in cardboard boxes that had been stacked vertically and were too close to radiant ceiling heaters,” Magee said. “When the heaters activated due to the cold weather, they ignited the cardboard boxes. Two sprinkler heads activated and confined the fire to area of origin. Firefighters pulled a hoseline to extinguish the fire that could not be reached by the sprinklers.”

The structure wasn’t damaged, but about $180,000 in damage was done to the engine compartments, Magee said. The impact also hit Goodwill.

“Goodwill’s business model relies on donations from the community, which are sold in Goodwill stores, with the revenue helping to support local programs and services that help residents train for, find and keep good jobs,” Steinmetz said in a news release Tuesday.

The donated items that had been inside the warehouse would have been rotated throughout the stores in Stark, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Jefferson and Harrison counties in Ohio and Brooke and Hancock counties in West Virginia, she said.

“Stark County has always been supportive of Goodwill, and we are asking everyone to continue that tradition right now by making it a priority to drop off those donations you’ve been meaning to drop off, or using this time to clean out some closets, basements, or attics in time for the holidays,” said Doug Widrig, Goodwill’s vice president of retail operations. “It will feel good for you, and it will help Goodwill recover from this unfortunate event.”

Steinmetz pointed out that Goodwill stores and donation locations can be found online at http://www.goodwillgoodskills.org/.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory

Greencastle, IN – Early morning fire at DePauw University residence hall extinguish by sprinkler system; No injuries

No students were injured in a small early-morning Tuesday fire at a DePauw University residence hall.  At 3:12 a.m., the Greencastle Fire Department was dispatched to Mason Hall at 402 E. Anderson St. on the report of a fire alarm.

Fire crews arrived two minutes later and began a search of the building. They discovered light smoke in Room 310, with the sprinkler system having already extinguished a small fire.

Greencastle Fire Chief John Burgess reported the fire appears to have originated from a piece of electrical equipment, but the case remains under investigation. The fire and sprinkler activation were contained to a single room, with an estimated $20,000 in damage occurring due to water.

Burgess reported no structural damage, noting that the sprinkler system performed its function of containing and extinguishing the fire. “Everything worked like it should,” he said.

The alarm led to the evacuation of the building. In an early morning email to faculty and staff, university president Mark McCoy reported that many students went to the Memorial Student Union Building or other campus structures.

McCoy further stated that a total of 140 students are housed in Mason but many had already left campus for Thanksgiving.

“As a campus, let’s give thanks for the fact that everyone is safe,” McCoy wrote to the staff, “and that is in large part to the great work of the Greencastle Fire Department, campus police and our caring and capable student life staff.”

Firefighters remained on the scene until 6:14 a.m. The building was reopened to students later Tuesday morning.

Mason Hall is a four-story structure situated on the Ubben Quad of the DePauw campus.

While false alarms are common in DePauw structures, longtime members of the campus community know they are not something to be taken lightly.

In April 2002 Rector Hall, which had been adjacent to Mason Hall, was destroyed by fire.

Although all students escaped safely, a pair of firefighters were injured in the large blaze that required 12 departments to combat.

The Rector Hall fire was caused by an electrical problem.

Office Building, Other Business

North Charleston, SC – Overnight fire at office park held in check by sprinkler system

Emergency crews have extinguished a fire at a business in Park Circle Tuesday night.  Crews with the North Charleston Fire Department responded to the fire at the ALSCO building on 4921 Chateau Ave.  NCFD officials reported at 10:47 p.m. that the fire was under control.  Authorities said the fire was kept in check by the sprinkler system until crews made entry to extinguish the fire fully.

There were no reported injuries.  Residents in the area reported multiple fire trucks responding to the incident.  A motorist said authorities had shut down a portion of the road as crews worked the fire.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Elkin, NC – Hospital fire caused by portable fan contained by fire suppression system

Many times when firefighters respond to fire alarm calls, they turn out to be false alarms, but that wasn’t the case Monday night as Elkin fire officials arrived on the scene of such a call at Hugh
Chatham Memorial Hospital. One needs no further evidence in recognizing the effectiveness of fire protection systems than what
Elkin firefighters found upon responding to the fire alarm activation at the hospital Monday.  Responders and hospital employees learned that the fixed extinguishing system in the hospital’s server room had extinguished a fire caused by the failure of a portable electric fan.

The Elkin Fire Department was dispatched to the hospital at about 6:02 p.m., with the first fire engine arriving seven minutes thereafter. Firefighters and hospital staff quickly realized the fire alarm was not a false report, and upon investigating found the remnants of the now-melted fan in the otherwise
unaffected facility.

“The hospital can be thankful that their fire alarm and suppression systems worked exactly as intended, prohibiting further damage and ensuring the safety of both staff and occupants,” noted Elkin
Fire Chief Mike Morton. Fire and building codes require that these systems are designed to meet the specific needs of the building and its contents, and periodic maintenance and inspection of these important safety systems also is required to keep them ready in case the worst should occur, according to fire officials.

Morton also pointed out the dangers of specialized fire extinguishing systems are often significant as well. “Rooms like the one where this fire occurred are protected not with typical sprinkler systems that utilize water, but rather with extinguishing agents that displace the oxygen inside the room, smothering the fire,” the fire chief explained. It was thus important for firefighters and hospital staff to work together in returning a sufficient supply of oxygen to the affected area so it would be safe to occupy once more. Firefighters from Arlington Fire and Rescue also assisted in response to the incident as part of the mutual aid agreement between the two organizations.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Fire in shopping mall food court extinguished by sprinkler system

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is investigating the cause of a fire in the food court at City Place early Tuesday morning. Firefighters were called to the City Place mall at 234 Donald Street just before 1:45 a.m.  An official with the fire department said the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire before crews arrived, but there was a lot of smoke that had to be removed from the area.

The food court is open.  Manchu Wok, where the fire appears to have occurred, has cracked glass and smoke damage.  There were no injuries.  There is no damage estimate at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Oak Creek, WI – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in apartment kitchen fire

Oak Creek police and fire responded to the Oak Shores apartment on Nov. 10 on a report of a fire.  According to the police report, an apartment resident was cooking diner with oil on the stove when the stove caught fire.  Oak Creek fire advised there was no fire damage to anything, however the fire caused the sprinkler system to go off, causing water damage to multiple units.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Lee’s Summit, MO – Early morning fire in semi-conductor manufacturing facility held in check by sprinkler system

The fire originated in the piece of manufacturing equipment. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Residential, Residential High Rise

Chicago, IL – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in low income residential high-rise

Last Friday, fire sprinklers controlled and extinguished a fire in a trash compactor room at the Lawson House YMCA at 30 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. The 24-story residential high-rise, which was built in 1934, is the largest single-room occupancy supportive housing facility in the Midwest with nearly 600 apartment units.

“Some of the residents in the low-income building are formerly homeless, so a fire that could potentially displace them again would be devastating. Fire sprinklers saved the day for the hundreds of people that live there,” says Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

Lia also notes that the fire sprinkler save is a good reminder to Chicago high-rise building owners that the city’s deadline to retrofit high-rises with fire sprinklers by January 1, 2017, is fast approaching.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Williamsburg, VA – Suspicious overnight fire at Ramada Inn controlled by sprinkler system

Officials in York County say a fire at a Williamsburg hotel is being considered suspicious. The York County Fire Department was dispatched to the Ramada Inn- Williamsburg located at 500 Merrimac Trail at 4:24 a.m.  When crews arrived they found fire in a conference room and two other rooms. The hotel’s sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading, fire officials said.

The fire was put out quickly and damage was limited to the three rooms. Smoke was found in nearby areas of the hotel. Officials are working to determine the exact cause of the fire, however, at this time the incident is being considered suspicious.  The Williamsburg and James City County fire departments assisted in putting out the flames.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Wheaton, IL – Sprinkler system contains fire at public works garage; No injuries reported

No injuries were reported in a small fire Monday night at the Wheaton public works facility that apparently started in the bed of a pickup truck inside the fleet maintenance garage. Firefighters responded at 7 p.m. to the facility at 821 W. Liberty St. and found the fire had been brought under control within minutes by the building’s sprinkler system.

Firefighters spent about 30 minutes at the scene clearing smoke and extinguishing some minor smoldering material. The cause of the fire is undetermined but does not appear to be suspicious. Damage estimates were not immediately available.  The building was turned back over to public works officials after the fire and the building was open for business on Tuesday.