All posts by viking210

Springfield, VT – Overnight fire at senior housing building contained to one unit by sprinkler system

Two residents of a senior housing building were taken to Springfield Hospital early Friday morning after a fire broke out in a fourth-floor apartment.

The resident of the fourth floor apartment in the Huber Building who was injured is expected to be okay, according to Bill Morlock, the executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority, which owns the senior housing project.

He said that while the building’s sprinkler system contained the fire to the woman’s apartment, there was extensive water damage to the building and that 12 apartments on the north side of the building were affected.

Springfield Fire Chief Russell Thompson said that two other residents of the building needed medical attention as they were being evacuated, and one of those residents was transported to Springfield Hospital, where the apartment resident was also taken.

Neither the fire chief nor Morlock said they had direct information on the condition of the residents.

Thompson said that residents were evacuated and sheltered at the nearby Congregational Church, and that the Red Cross responded to help the residents.

Morlock said Friday morning that preliminary investigation by the Vermont state fire marshal’s office indicated that the resident fell asleep while smoking.

“It’s our understanding that she is OK,” said Morlock.

He said the residents in those apartments were currently staying with friends and family, and that a cleaning service had been brought in Friday morning to start cleaning up the water.

He said that electricity was turned off in the north side of the building, and that people would not be allowed back to their apartments until the building was inspected. Additionally, the elevator in the building was also turned out, pending an inspection.

Springfield firefighters responded to the alarm around midnight, and Morlock said that the fire department called him shorty before 1 a.m.

He said the fire department had evacuated all 60 apartments in the building until they were sure that the fire was contained, and he said the residents were out of their homes until about 3 a.m., while the air quality in the building was checked.

“The building suffered considerable water damage that resulted in securing floors one to four on the north side of the structure,” the fire chief said.

 

He said there was “heavy smoke” on fourth floor of the building.

 

He said many area fire departments and ambulances responded to the 12::20 a.m. fire alarm to assist Springfield.

Sparks, NV – Sprinkler system puts out fire at high school during school hours; No injuries

Students at Spanish Springs High School held their first fire drill of the year at around 9:45 a.m. Shortly after noon, they were rehashing what they’d learned for real. A small fire broke out in the 100 wing of the school just a few hours after the fire drill. The alarms rang immediately throughout the school while the sprinkler system activated in the area of the fire and put it out.

Washoe County School District spokeswoman Victoria Campbell said the students left the building without incident. Campbell said the Sparks Fire Department showed up and mopped some of the school since it was a little damp. Students were back in class around an hour after it happened, save for the classroom where the fire originated.

“There were no injuries, no problems,” she said. “The school was completely empty and everyone got outside.” A call went out to parents around 3 p.m. informing them of the incident. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire.

Valdosta, GA – Sprinkler system knocks down kitchen fire at restaurant

Fire crews responded to a kitchen fire at the Beijing Cafe restaurant just before 12:00 noon on August 17, 2015.  Fire crews say they arrived five minutes after the call came in at 11:39am, to find smoke and heavy fire in the kitchen area. They say some of the fire was knocked down by the activation of the sprinkler system.  According to the Valdosta Fire Department, the 18 firefighters who arrived were able to contain the fire to the kitchen in just 12 minutes.  No injuries were reported.  Firefighters believe the fire was an accident and was caused by cooking.

Torrington, CT – Fire at carpet factory held in check by sprinkler system

A fire Sunday at a carpet factory began when a forklift operator drove over flammable material used to make carpet padding, the fire marshal said. Fire Marshal Edward Bascetta ruled the fire as accidental.  Bascetta said a sprinkler system activated and kept the fire in check, for the most part, “or we would have had a much larger fire than we did. They had all their safeguards in place.”

The fire department called for three alarms Sunday evening after workers, an alarm system and nearby firefighters simultaneously discovered there was a fire within the 150,000-square-foot building owned by Calhoun, Ga. based Mohawk Industries. The massive industrial building stretches from Church Street to Pearl Street and has an entrance on Migeon Avenue.

“The workers were moving the stock pile of foam that they make into padding for carpets,” Bascetta said. “The forklift operator had gone in, picked up a pile and backed up against (material) and had some latex go under the forklift where the exhaust is.”

Bascetta said the heat of the exhaust sparked the fire in the latex, which is extremely flammable. “Once it gets in the latex piles, it keeps burning and you had to pull it apart to get it out.”

Brunoli said a firefighter, who was also trained as a forklift operator, used the machine to carry the smoldering bales of latex outside, where it was extinguished. Brunoli said the firefighter drove the forklift while wearing his protective equipment, including his air pack.

Bascetta said only stock was damaged. “The manufacturing side of the facility is close to being up and running today,” he said Monday afternoon. “They were getting stock in at 10 this morning.”

Representatives of the company did not return requests for comment. A woman at the factory said they could not comment, but work was continuing.

“They had plenty of workers there late last night working around-the-clock to clean up the area,” Bascetta said.

Fire Chief Gary Brunoli said the crew on Truck 4, returning to the fire station from another incident smelled smoke. He said they spun the fire truck around and by the time the department got the call about the fire, they were already there.

Brunoli and Bascetta said the quick response and fire suppression systems in place in the building helped control the fire before it got out of control. There were no injuries, and Bascetta said there was no major damage to the building.

Bascetta said the company has been proactive about fire safety. “They came to the fire department and said we manufacture foam padding for carpets, and we will have fires,” Bascetta said. “They take precautionary measures to prevent that, but sometimes something like this occurs and it is purely accidental.”

Bascatta said when fires burn in latex bundles the only way to extinguish it is to drag it from the building and pick it apart while spraying it down. Brunoli said they used foam to douse the smoldering fire and the Department of Energy and Environmental protection monitored runoff to ensure none of the plastic bits got into storm water systems.

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system controls fire at go kart race track

Pole Position Raceway remains open after fire — Firefighters are investigating a blaze that occurred at the Las Vegas branch of Pole Position Raceway on Saturday evening. There is a second Pole Position location in Summerlin. Thirty-nine firefighters arrived at 4175 S. Arville St. to find smoke, according to the Clark County Fire Department.

The building’s sprinkler system held the fire in check until crews were able to extinguish it. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. A damage estimate was not immediately available, but the business remains open.

Viera, FL – Sprinklers activate to help limit damage in apartment kitchen fire; No injuries

One second floor apartment unit was damaged by smoke and fire and sprinkler water, and another was damaged by sprinkler water as part of a cooking fire that originated on a second floor structure at the Mission Bay apartment complex in Viera on Thursday afternoon, according to Brevard County Fire Rescue. Units from BCFR and the Rockledge Fire Department responded to a call just before 4:30 p.m.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire, BCFR adds.

Arcadia, CA – Kitchen fire at Sbarro’s Pizza extinguished by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire at the Sbarro’s Pizza in the Westfield Santa Anita mall caused a temporary evacuation of the food court Thursday evening, officials said.  Nearly 20 firefighters from the Arcadia and Los Angeles County fire departments responded to a call of a structure fire at 8:15 p.m. Thursday in the 400 block of South Baldwin Avenue, fire officials said in a statement.

Mall security directed firefighters to the food court, where they saw smoke and evacuated the area. Further investigation found a fire sprinkler had extinguished a blaze in the restaurant’s kitchen, officials said.  The fire was limited to the immediate area and happened when combustible materials were placed on a stove, officials said.  Officials estimated the fire caused approximately $25,000 in damage and no injuries were reported.

Hampton, VA – Vehicle fire in warehouse held in check by sprinkler system

A business caught fire in the Copeland Industrial Park this afternoon. The fire started in a warehouse around 2:30 p.m. in the 100 block of E St. after a vehicle’s engine went haywire, Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Anthony Chittum said in a news release.

Firefighters got there and saw smoke coming from inside the warehouse and got reports that all employees had already evacuated, Chittum said.  They went inside and discovered a commercial vehicle ablaze, with the fire spreading to nearby storage containers, he said.

The building’s sprinkler system helped keep the fire in check, and firefighters extinguished it within 15 minutes, Chittum said. Investigators ruled the fire an accident after determining there was a mechanical failure in the vehicle’s engine, he said.

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Sprinklers activate, assist firefighters in extinguishing restaurant fire at downtown high rise

The Bank of America building in downtown Fort Lauderdale was evacuated Thursday after a fire broke out in a restaurant located inside the building. A Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue representative said the grease fire began on the first floor of the building inside the grill at Grille 401. He said firefighters could see black smoke coming from the restaurant upon arrival.

 “When crews arrived, they found heavy black smoke coming from the upper part of the parking garage,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Capt. Greg May said. “The sprinkler heads activated like they were supposed to, but the fire got in the duct system and traveled the length of the building which is several hundred feet.”

“We looked out the side window here, and it was just covered in smoke,” Britny Alexander, who was inside the building at the time, said.

All 23 floors of the building were evacuated for several hours. No injuries were reported. Firefighters said Grille 401 would be closed for the remainder of the day. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Dumfries, VA – Kitchen fire extinguished by apartment’s sprinkler system

A sprinkler system put out a fire that broke out in the kitchen of a Dumfries apartment Wednesday afternoon, causing about $5,000 in damage.

There were no injuries reported in the blaze, but a building inspector posted two units in the complex as unsafe, according to the Prince William County fire department.

At about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, fire and rescue crews were dispatched to the fire at a row of apartments in the 17000 block of Islip Loop in Dumfries, the fire department said. As they entered the complex, they went to the kitchen of the unit where the fire originated.

They saw that the apartment’s sprinkler system had been activated, suppressing and extinguishing the fire, the department said. Smoke remained throughout the unit with minor fire damage.

The Prince William Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire originated on the kitchen stove, and it was accidental.