All posts by viking210

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Las Vegas, NV – Restaurant kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system

An automatic fire sprinkler system doused a stove fire in a Centennial Hills restaurant Sunday morning. Las Vegas Fire and Rescue said damage was kept to a minimum and there were no reported injuries.

Fire dispatchers received several 911 calls at 10:35 a.m. Sunday that flames and smoke were showing from the roof of the Fire Rock restaurant at 5990 Centennial Center Blvd., near U.S. 95. On arrival, only a haze was showing on the inside of the one-story building. Firefighters discovered there was a fire on the stove, flames and smoke extended up the exhaust pipe from the vent hood over the stove to the roof.

The fire on the stove was extinguished by automatic fire sprinklers. The flames went up the vent pipe to the roof and damaged an air conditioner and some of the roof decking. The restaurant is closed and will remain closed until repairs are made and an inspection is completed by the health department.

A damage estimate was not immediately available.

Apartment Building, Residential

Moline, IL – Fire at apartment complex controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

Around 2:30 p.m., firefighters called to 4709 61st St. found nothing showing at a two-story multi-residential apartment complex. They made entry into the apartment to find smoke all the way to the floor and an activated building sprinkler, but no fire. Ventilation was performed and firefighters found a plastic ice cooler on an electric stove.  It was determined the cooler had melted and subsequently caught on fire.

The residents of the apartment were home at the time of the fire and called 911 before evacuating the apartment. Damage to the apartment included the cabinets above the stove with fire, smoke damage throughout and water damage to the kitchen and living room area from the sprinkler system.

No injuries to residents or firefighting personnel were reported. The Moline Fire Department was assisted by Moline Police, the apartment complex maintenance staff and the Red Cross.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Randolph, NJ – Laundry fire at assisted living home extinguished by sprinkler system

A small dryer fire at an assisted living home forced residents out of the building for about an hour Thursday evening, according to officials.

At about 7 p.m. Thursday, firefighters responded to Bright View Randolph, an independent and assisted living home located between Quaker Church Road and Route 10, for a report of a fire, Fire Official Richard Briant said.

The fire originated in a basement dryer located in one of the senior living facility’s buildings and was extinguished by a sprinkler before officials arrived on scene, Briant said.

The fire was contained to the dryer itself, with no additional smoke or fire damage caused to the surrounding area, Briant said.

Residents and employees evacuated the building as a precaution, but were able to re-enter by 8 p.m. No injuries were reported and a specific cause of the fire was not determined.

An employee at Bright View said everything was operating normally Friday morning.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Graves County, KY – Sprinklers help put out fire at middle school caused by malfunctioning soda machine

The need for caffeine at Graves County Middle School caused quite a commotion overnight.

According to the school district, a soda machine the food lab malfunctioned and created a small fire.

That fire set off sprinklers and alarms in the school.

Superintendent Kim Dublin said, “Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire. Quite a bit of water went into a couple of classrooms; but the damage was mostly contained to the food lab.”

Crews spent Tuesday morning cleaning up the mess left behind.

According to Dublin, seventh grade orientation will still take place at the school tonight.

Opening day activities for faculty and staff will still go on as planned on Wednesday.

Classes begin on Thursday.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Lakeville, MN – Overnight fire at middle school contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters are trying to figure out exactly where and how an early morning fire started at a Lakeville school.

A captain with the Lakeville Fire Department says the alarms at Kenwood Trail Middle School went off about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Fire officials say it appears the fire started on the roof.

The sprinkler system put most of the fire out by the time firefighters arrived.

The sprinklers caused water damage on the first and second floors of the school.

In a letter to parents, the school district says the school custodial crew is working to repair the water damage in a couple of classrooms, the media center, AV room and a stairwell.

School officials say it won’t affect the start of classes for the upcoming school year.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Steinbach, MB, Canada – Sprinklers extinguish fire in dust collection system at manufacturing facility

A fire started in the dust collection system at Loewen in Steinbach. The fire department was dispatched to the scene at 8:26 p.m. Monday evening.

Steinbach Fire Captain Russ Reimer says when they arrived on scene alarms were sounding and crews were sent into the building to investigate.

“[They found that ] there had indeed been a fire in one of the collection systems, but these systems are also sprinkled so the sprinklers had gone off and done their job.”

Reimer says crews then used a thermal imager to ensure the fire was out and no embers had travelled further. He notes they also sent a crew to the north side of the building to ensure the silos were not in danger. Reimer says the sprinkler alarms continued to sound.

“The sprinkler alarms will go off when there’s any water flow in the system, and the system was sensing water flow. They may also have a faulty spot in their system right now causing the alarms to want to stay in alarm.”

He notes there were employees in the building at the time of the fire but no one was injured and they evacuated when alarms sounded.

“I wouldn’t say this is a common occurrence, but when it comes to manufacturing, this is not an unusual thing to have happen, which is why the systems are in place.”

The cause of the fire is unknown and Reimer adds, if there is any damage, it’s minimal and most likely appear as water damage from the sprinklers.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system halts apartment fire caused by unattended candle

Authorities in Madison say an automatic sprinkler system helped put out an apartment fire after a candle was left burning in a bedroom on the city’s south side over the weekend.

According to the Madison Fire Department, people who live in an apartment on the 4700 block of Jenewein Rd. left the candle burning just after 11:30 a.m. Sunday while they went out to eat. Authorities say the flame from the candle set nearby clothes on fire before spreading to the window coverings.

The fire sprinkler system inside the apartment building was activated soon after the fire began to spread. According to the MFD, the fire had already been put out when firefighters got to the apartment.

Authorities say everyone was able to get out safely, but people were not able to spend the night inside of the apartment because of the damage done to the bedroom. Officials with the American Red Cross helped the residents find other places to stay.

Despite that, the MFD says minimal damage was done to the apartment because the fire was put out so quickly.  

Apartment Building, Residential

Temecula, CA – Arson fire at apartment building doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A Temecula man was arrested Friday, July 29 for allegedly breaking into his ex-lover’s apartment and starting a fire. Jack Wayne Hill, 45, was arrested on suspicion of arson, burglary, making criminal threats, vandalism and stalking and booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta. Bail information was not immediately available.

According to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Jon Wade, deputies had been called to the apartment in the 28800 block of Pujol Street, just west of Interstate 15, over the past week to contend with complaints that Hill was allegedly harassing the victim and had caused damage to her vehicle.

The woman, whose identity was not released, obtained a criminal protective order Wednesday, barring the construction worker from coming close to her or her residence, Wade said.

About 8 a.m. this morning, Hill allegedly went to the property, forced his way inside and ignited a fire. County fire personnel were the first to respond but discovered that the sprinkler system in the building had doused the flames. 

Deputies located the suspect at his job site, where he was taken into custody without incident.  Court records show no documented felony or misdemeanor convictions for Hill in Riverside County.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Unalaska, AK – Laundry fire at Grand Aleutian Hotel extinguished with help from sprinkler system

The Unalaska Department of Public Safety responded to a fire in the laundry room of the Grand Aleutian Hotel yesterday evening. The 911 call was received shortly before 5 o’clock, and a fire truck was on the scene within 6 minutes.

Deputy Chief Jennifer Shockley said responders found an active fire and black smoke. The building’s sprinkler system had been activated.  “They were able to get in there, determine that the source of the fire was a large commercial dryer, and get the fire put out,” she said. “I want to say the fire was extinguished in less than 10 minutes after they arrived.”

The fire was contained to the laundry room and did not spread anywhere else in the building. Shockley says that water and smoke damage appear to be limited to the laundry room and the surrounding area.

A staff member trained in arson investigation has inspected the scene, and Shockley says there is no reason to believe the fire was anything but an accident.

Hotel guests and staff were already being evacuated when responders arrived, and the emergency response was quick and effective. “It was a rapid response on our part,” Shockley said. “The fire got extinguished rapidly. The hotel had done the things that they needed to do in terms of getting the evacuation started. That’s great, it says really good things about the Grand Aleutian staff and dealing with a fire alarm.”

Of the eight fire and EMS responders at the scene, Shockley especially thanked the six who were volunteers from the community.