All posts by viking210

Government/Military, Prison / Jail

Murfreesboro, TN – Jail fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system

A nurse suffered smoke inhalation during a medical office fire Saturday afternoon at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, according to a release from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services paramedics took the nurse to St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital for treatment, the release stated.

Sprinklers quickly extinguished the fire confined to the medical director’s office, but smoke filled the first floor of the medical wing and administrative offices, according to the release. Water from the sprinkler flooded the medical hallway, dispatch and the administrative hallways. 

Deputies used fire extinguishers to put out hot spots, official said. Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue firefighters estimated 35 gallons of water per minute dropped from the sprinklers, Sheriff Robert Arnold said in the release. Deputies, the sheriff and inmates mopped water from the hallways. 

The Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department and Rutherford County Fire Rescue responded to clear the area of smoke that filled the hallways, officials said. The water and smoke damage did not spread to the inmate housing areas.  

Arnold asked Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue to investigate the cause of the fire with help from sheriff’s arson investigator Detective Randy Groce.  “It’s unfortunate this incident happened,” Arnold said in the release. “Thank God, no one was seriously hurt.”

Arnold thanked Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue, Rutherford Fire Rescue, Sheriff’s Office employees and inmates for their quick response.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Longview, WA – Fire in sauna room at YMCA extinguished with help from sprinkler system

1 Comment

Authorities said the fire started around 8 a.m. at the Longview YMCA when a wooden bucket used to dump water on hot rocks in the club’s second-story dry sauna caught fire. The sauna normally warms up an hour before the club opens, but the bucket was not supposed to be on top of the rocks, Longview Fire said Saturday.

The sprinkler system activated to help control the fire.  The club reopened after the fire was put out, Longview Fire said.  There were no injuries.

Other - Residential, Residential

Mount Clemens, MI – Fire at shelter for women and children extinguished with help from sprinkler system

*** To help Turning Point Shelter recover quickly from this fire, please consider donating at http://www.gofundme.com/y49hv48 ***
An accidental fire at the new Turning Point shelter in Mount Clemens on Sunday afternoon sent about 40 resident women and children scurrying outside for safety.  Nobody was hurt, as fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze as the sprinkler system had activated.  

Residents will not be allowed back into the 52-bed facility for a couple of days, according to fire officials. “My main concern right now is getting these women and kids out of the heat and finding them some water so they don’t become dehydrated,” said Debbie McPeek, chief programming officer for the shelter. 

Fire crews were called to the three-story, 12,000-square-foot building about 2:30 p.m. after passers-by saw smoke coming from the roof.  Mount Clemens fire Capt. Joseph Stark said responding firefighters tracked the source of the smoke to a dryer fire in the laundry room. 

The interior had “minimal” water and smoke damage, which will take a few days to clean up before residents are allowed back in.  “We’ve notified the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross to try to find these people some temporary housing before they can get back in,” Stark said. 

Mount Clemens firefighters were assisted by crews from Clinton Township, Harrison Township and Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The $3 million shelter opened in 2013 for Turning Point, a Macomb County domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and protective housing facility. The facility typically aids hundreds of local women and children every year.

 McPeek and other shelter workers were busy identifying all of the residents as they sat in a rear parking lot until housing could be found for them. She hoped the damage would be cleaned up in a timely manner.  “It’s a relatively brand new building – go figure,” she said. “We want to get in there and see what happened and how we’re going to address it.”

Turning Point officials said anyone wanting to donate toiletries or other items to assist the women in their short-term stay out of the shelter could call 586-463-4430 or visit turningpointmacomb.org.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential, Residential High Rise

Champaign, IL – Sprinklers control fire in campus high-rise apartment building

Nobody was hurt in an apartment fire Sunday night at a campus high-rise.  Champaign Fire Marshal John Koller said firefighters were called to a blaze at the Tower at Third, 302 E. John St. at 9:22 p.m.

By the time firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system was already controlling the fire, which was limited to a single apartment on the third floor. However, smoke had spread throughout the floor. There was moderate smoke in the apartment and light smoke on the rest of the floor.

The residents were evacuated to the lobby on the first floor while firefighters tackled the blaze.  A resident of the apartment told firefighters he had had some problems with a refrigerator in the apartment, but it was too soon to determine a cause on Sunday night. 

Koller said investigators would be looking into the cause late Sunday night and early Monday morning.  Koller said the fire was under control by 9:40 p.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Palo Alto, CA – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire started by teenager cooking hash oil

A teenager who police said was cooking hash oil in his Palo Alto apartment was arrested Thursday night after he started a fire that displaced several residents in the apartment complex.

The 17-year-old male, whose identity is not being released because he is a juvenile, was reportedly trying to make hash oil in the kitchen at around 8:40 p.m. Police said he was using the kitchen stove and liquid butane to make the liquid substance, a concentrated form of cannabis that can be smoked or ingested. The teenager briefly left the stove unattended and a fire started, triggering the building’s sprinkler system, police said.

The Palo Alto Fire Department received calls from several residents about the fire, but when police officers and firefighters arrived on scene they found that the fire had already been extinguished by the sprinkler system, according to police.

The fire damaged the kitchen but was otherwise contained, police said. Yet both the teenager’s apartment and two neighboring apartments sustained major water damage and were deemed uninhabitable for the night. American Red Cross workers helped the residents in the neighboring apartments obtain shelter for the night, police said.

In investigating the fire, police said they determined that once the fire was extinguished, the teen tossed the butane canisters down a nearby trash chute and tried to flush down the toilet a “substantial amount of marijuana.”

After paramedics treated him for a burn on his arm, the teenager was cited for one felony count of manufacturing hash oil and one misdemeanor count of destruction of evidence. He was released into the custody of a parent, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Logan, UT – Fire at electronic parts manufacturer put out with help from sprinkler system

What could have turned out to be a large business fire in Logan, was saved by the quick activation of fire sprinklers.  The fire happened Tuesday at TMM technologies at 710 N 600 W.  At the business they make computer circuit boards. Fire officials say some employees were doing, what they call “hot works” with grinders and torchers.

During the process, a fire was ignited and it spread to the second floor. The fire sprinklers helped put out the fire. Fire officials say by the time they arrived, they were able to put out the rest with fire extinguishers. Everyone was able to go back to work. No one was injured.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Valdosta, GA – Sprinklers contain hotel fire caused by suspected meth lab

A man and woman have been arrested after a fire broke out in a room of a Valdosta motel Wednesday, and police are saying the pair was attempting to make methamphetamine.  At 12:02 p.m., the Valdosta Fire Department responded to the InTown Suites located at 1558 Baytree Road after receiving a fire call from Lowndes 911.

Firefighters on the scene located and extinguished a fire located in the bathroom of room 243. The fire was contained by the building’s sprinkler system, and no one was injured.  Due to the suspicious nature of the fire, investigation of the incident was turned over to the Valdosta Police Department, according to VFD Captain James Clinkscales.

Due to the suspicious nature of the fire, the motel was evacuated. The Lowndes/Valdosta Convention Center, the Wood Valley Community Center and the Courtyard by Marriott hotel provided shelter and refreshments to more than 30 evacuees. Residents were allowed to return to the motel later Wednesday afternoon, with officials saying the damage was isolated to the one room.

The Lowndes County Narcotics Unit assisted the Valdosta Police Department with the removal and disposal of chemicals found in the room.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system douses fire at Mayo support facility; No injuries reported

Rochester Fire Department responded to the Mayo Support Center Thursday morning after a piece of machinery that cleans the floor caught fire. “We showed up and they had a smoke haze in the building. The building was investigated and found that in the maintenance area, a piece of maintenance equipment had malfunctioned during charging and caused a small fire, which initiated the sprinkler system, which almost completely extinguished the fire” said Chuck Solseth, the Rochester Fire Department Acting Battalion Chief.

 Initially, one fire engine and the battalion chief car responded to the fire alarm; however, two more engines were called in after the discovery of smoke being produced.  Crews went in with a carbon dioxide extinguisher and put out what the sprinklers couldn’t.

Solseth said this type of fire does not happen very often. “It’s not very common for things to just catch fire while they’re in there charging. It does happen on occasion. But that’s why it’s important that we monitor what’s going on. Pieces of the equipment that you’re charging, if they’re abnormally warm or making any type of odd odors or sounds, may be reason to unplug it and investigate it further,” said Solseth.

Solseth added that when plastic pieces catch fire, like that of the floor cleaning machinery, it can prove to be detrimental. “The plastics create/release chemicals. The smoke itself will have carbon monoxide in it because of the products of combustion. We ventilated the structure out, used our respiratory equipment, so that we could access the area, ventilated it out, and then verified it with air monitors that there was no more hazard for us,” said Solseth.

Employees of the Mayo Support Center were evacuated until around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Sunnyvale, CA – Hotel dryer fire extinguished by sprinkler system

A dryer in a hotel caught fire and spread in the laundry room. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system by the time Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety fire personnel responded. The smoke was cleared from the building, and it was determined that no one was injured.

Compiled from Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety reports.
Fire– June 15, 2:36 p.m. S. Sunnyvale Avenue.

Apartment Building, Residential

Webb City, MO – Early morning apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system limited the spread of a fire in a Webb City apartment building early Tuesday.  Crews with the Webb City Fire Department responded to a fire at the Cardinal Towers, 324 N. Tom St., about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The alarm was traced to a single apartment on the first floor, where firemen searched for occupants. They found the woman had left the apartment when she was awakened by the alarm and was safe in the lobby of the building.

Firemen were able to stop the fire quickly, they said, because the sprinkler system had prevented the blaze from spreading beyond the single apartment. The source of the blaze was found to be in the area of a medical oxygen concentrator. The Webb City Police Department and METS ambulance also responded to the blaze.