All posts by viking210

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Gurnee, IL – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Sprinkler puts out trash can fire in hotel room; Small dog found during search

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED *** On September 25, 2016 at 9:57 a.m., Gurnee Fire Department responded to the Extended Stay Hotel for a True Alarm. Upon arrival, firefighters found that the building was evacuated.

The first engine went to the panel and noted a water-flow on the 3rd floor. Engine 1311 investigated and found water coming from room #302. Engine 1311 made entry and found a trash can fire that had been put out by the sprinkler in the room. A primary search revealed a small dog in the room.

Truck 1331 ventilated the room and Engine 1312 checked for extension and water damage. Rescue 1344 took the panel and had lobby control. Power was shut off to room #302. The sprinkler system was shut down and the hotel posted a fire watch. Hotel management will take care of clean-up and will contact alarm company.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Richmond Hill, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system controls overnight fire at medical sleep clinic

A dozen patients at a Richmond Hill sleep clinic got a rude awakening early Tuesday morning when a small fire roused them from their beds.

Richmond Hill Fire and Emergency Services responded to the fire in the Oak Ridges Medical Centre at 13291 Yonge St. at 2:43 a.m. Tuesday.

On arrival crews encountered smoke coming from the restaurant in the rear of the building.

Firefighters helped remove 12 people from the stairwell and sleep clinic area, according to Richmond Hill’s fire chief Steve Kraft.

The flames were partially extinguished by the sprinkler system and fire crews extinguished the remaining fire.

“There were no injuries. It was a small fire that was kept in control with the sprinkler system of the building. Our crews arrived and they assisted getting some people out that were at the sleep clinic,” Richmond Hill deputy chief Bryan Burbidge said.

“We got the people out first and then went back in to finish extinguishing the fire and then remove the smoke.”

The patients were fine during the ordeal, despite the early wake-up call, Burbidge said.

“They were fine, other than lack of sleep,” he said.

While the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, it is not considered suspicious, Burbidge said.

Twenty firefighters, the chief officer and York Regional Police and paramedics worked to resolve the incident.

The medical building was expected to be fully operational this morning with the exception of the cafeteria.

Oak Ridges is in northern Richmond Hill, just south of Aurora.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Yarmouth, MA – Nursing home fire contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire broke out at the Mayflower Place nursing facility on Buck Island Road around 11 a.m. Smoke as reportedly pouring from one of the units when firefighters arrived. A sprinkler system contained the fire and crews quickly put it out. The occupant escaped and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A Hyannis engine assisted at the scene.

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

Santa Barbara, CA – Residence hall fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

Around 200 Westmont students were displaced Monday when a fire broke out inside a storage closet at one of the college’s dorms, leaving a student with burns to his feet, according to school officials.

Firefighters responded to Page Hall at 955 La Paz in Montecito early Monday evening to reports of the fire and found heavy smoke coming from the second floor of the three-story building.

The Montecito Fire Department says a second-alarm response was then requested due to the number of people in the building that could be in harms way.

The students were evacuated and the fire controlled, with the help of a fire sprinkler system, by 6:15 p.m. The injured student was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

School officials say power was out at the dorm and students were being set up with alternative housing for the night. Some reportedly stayed on cots in Murchison Gym and others stayed at the homes of faculty and staff.

No student rooms were damaged by the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  Westmont’s fall semester began August 29.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Madison Heights, MI – Fire at snack food manufacturer contained by quick response of sprinkler system and firefighters

The Kar’s Nuts factory in Madison Heights had to close Sept. 15 when a fire broke out in the middle of the plant, but the fire was contained thanks to working sprinklers and a quick response by area fire departments.

Around 60 workers had to evacuate the facilities on 14 Mile Road, between John R and Dequindre roads. There were no injuries. The fire started around 7 p.m. in the roughly 300-square-foot room where the stainless steel containers are washed for product distribution. Kar’s Nuts ships a variety of snack mixes and nuts to distributors across the nation.

Four fire departments arrived at the scene, including the Madison Heights Fire Department. Firefighters from a fifth fire department, Birmingham, filled in for Madison firefighters at Station No. 1, ready to take calls for any extra emergencies.

At press time, the investigation was ongoing, but Madison Fire Chief Greg Lelito said he suspects it was an issue with the insulation around the piping that exhausts heat in the washing room.

“It then extended to the ceiling,” Lelito said. “The sprinkler system activated, which contained the fire. We then went in and put out the remainder of the fire with our fire hoses. But it was the sprinklers that kept it in the room of origin.”

While the fire didn’t spread far, the entire building was filled with heavy smoke, which made for limited visibility. The firefighters had to open every window and door, set up fans to circulate the air, and even break out the skylights on the roof in order to vent the smoke. The whole process took several hours. The entire building sustained significant damage from smoke and water. A mitigation company came in immediately afterward to begin work on restoring the facilities.

The plant employs about 200 workers. There were no injuries reported. The company has reported that all of its equipment is in working order, and at press time, production was expected to resume the following week. In the meantime, authorities continued to investigate the cause of the fire. Lelito said it’s fortunate that the sprinklers worked as they should.

“It was manageable, it was smooth, but it just shows you what sprinklers can do,” Lelito said. “City code typically requires that a building over 12,000 square feet is sprinklered. If that building didn’t have working sprinklers, that fire would’ve definitely spread past the room of origin.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Manchester, NH – Sprinkler system helps limit damage in apartment fire; No injuries

Thirty apartments were evacuated Sunday morning after a small fire broke out in a third-floor unit at 195 Eastern Avenue. Manchester firefighters received an automatic fire alarm at 10:58 a.m. Sunday at Hillview Apartments at 195 Eastern Ave. District Fire Chief Mike Gamache said upon arrival crews discovered water and smoke in a third floor apartment. Firefighters located a small fire, partially extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. 

Gamache said firefighters extinguished the remainder of the fire, then assisted residents in apartments on the first and second floors, where water from the sprinkler system drained onto their possessions. Gamache said extensive salvage operations were performed to save the residents’ belongings. 

No injuries were reported. Gamache said fire and water from the sprinkler system caused an estimated $10,000 in damages.  The property, which consists of four buildings, is owned by Eastern Avenue Associates LLC, with an assessed value of $8,643,200, according to the city’s website.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Scottsdale, AZ – Townhouse fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

Scottsdale Fire Department said a townhouse near 92nd and Cholla streets caught fire Friday morning and a resident was rescued and treated for smoke inhalation. Scottsdale fire crews arrived around 6:30 a.m. and discovered a bedroom fire had activated the unit’s sprinkler system. Firefighters assisted a woman out of the townhouse and paramedics treated her for smoke inhalation. After she was treated at the scene, she was taken to the hospital. Fire department officials did not have an update on her condition. The fire is under investigation. Officials said the townhouse had a smoke detector and one sprinkler was activated above the fire. No firefighters were injured.

Office Building, Other Business

Boston, MA – Sprinkler system activates in spontaneous combustion fire at downtown office building

Firefighters believe a spontaneous combustion caused a small fire at a downtown Boston office building Thursday night, the fire department said. The fire started in a work room on the first floor of 50 Milk St. at about 8:55 p.m., said Steve MacDonald, a Boston fire spokesman.

“It generated a lot of smoke,” he said, but the building was otherwise not damaged, and the Friday workday should not be affected. The department believes some rags in the work room had spontaneously combusted. MacDonald said the rags had some solvents on them and were in a room that was poorly ventilated.

The room did have a sprinkler system, however, which activated when the fire began, MacDonald said.  Fire companies left the scene by about 10:15 p.m. There were very few people in the building at the time of the fire, MacDonald said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Houston, TX – Single sprinkler contains early morning apartment fire; No injuries reported

Fire marshals are crediting a sprinkler system with limiting damage during an early-morning fire at a northwest Harris County apartment complex. A blaze broke out at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday on the third floor of an apartment in the 15000 block of Tuckerton.

The fire triggered a single sprinkler system on the balcony. It contained the flames until firefighters arrived at the scene. There were no reports of injuries, officials said.

“The fire sprinkler did exactly what it was designed to do. Lives and property were saved because one sprinkler head activated and minimized the fire damage,” said Harris County Fire Marshal Mike Montgomery. The cause of the fire was later identified as “discarded smoking materials,” officials said.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Unalaska, AK – Sprinkler system puts out fire caused by explosion at seafood processing plant

A Dutch Harbor seafood processing plant was severely damaged by an explosion Monday evening a public safety official said was likely caused by the ignition of fine fish-meal dust, though the incident remained under investigation Wednesday.

Mike Holman, director of Unalaska’s Department of Public Safety, said the blast — first reported by public radio station KUCB — occurred inside the Westward Seafoods plant on Captains Bay Road at about 6:45 p.m. Monday. Thirteen members of the department responded.

There were employees inside the building at the time of the explosion, but no injuries were reported. Westward Seafoods President Mark Johanson confirmed employees were in the facility, which he described as mostly “one large open space,” but were thankfully uninjured.

The blast likely occurred when an undetermined ignition source detonated dust from the production of fish meal, often used as feed for other fish, Holman said.

Johanson said the exact cause of the blast was still undetermined, though fish-meal dust was among the possible culprits. He declined to mention other possible causes.

“I don’t want to speculate at this point,” Johanson said. “We’ll do our investigation and obviously we’ll learn from it.”

Johanson said the fish-meal plant was closed for the time being, due to the extent of the damage.

“There’s quite a bit of damage inside the building — some of the pipes erupted, and one of the doors was blown off its hinges into a container,” Holman said.

Holman said no foul play is currently suspected in the blast, which is also being investigated by the state fire marshal. The plant’s sprinkler system extinguished the resulting fire before crews arrived but contributed to damage estimates well beyond the $100,000 first reported after the fire.

“It sounds like the sprinklers, when they went off, they dumped a lot of water on all the electrical equipment,” Holman said.

Johanson said one pollock season was wrapping up and the fish-meal plant isn’t needed in any current fishery openings. The company was optimistic the plant will be fully operational in time for another pollock season in January, he said.

Holman said he has seen two fish-meal dust explosions at Dutch Harbor plants during his 21 years with the department, but those blasts hadn’t been as costly as the one Monday.

“I don’t think it has caused as much damage as this one,” Holman said. “This was a little bit bigger.”