Category Archives: Other-Government/Military

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Cleveland, OH – Sprinkler system activated for garbage can fire at train station; No injuries reported

A garbage can fire inside Terminal Tower near the Tower City station has shut down the Blue and Green lines between Tower City and the East 55th Street Station. RTA says 67R buses will replace the rail service.

RTA also said Red Line trains will express the Tower City Station for the time being, with eastbound passengers destined for Tower City transferring to a shuttle bus at West 25th Street Station.

The fire activated the building’s sprinkler system, with RTA police as well as Cleveland police and fire personnel responding.

According to Lt. Mike Norman of Cleveland Fire, the fire was contained to a garbage can and the “surrounding structural area.” Responding units found the area filled with smoke. No fire alarm was activated.

“The Fire Marshal has been notified and will follow up on the issue with the fire alarm system,” said Norman.

The fire damage is estimated at $2,000.

No injuries were reported.

RTA Police have a suspect in custody.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Corpus Christi, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at transportation facility

An early morning fire caused some damage to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) building at N. Staples St., Mike Rendon with CCRTA told 3NEWS.

The fire was reported just after 8 a.m. in a second floor storage room. RTA officials were preparing for a board meeting when the fire began, Rendon said.

Corpus Christi Fire Department crews were on scene within five minutes, Rendon said, and had the fire put out shortly after.

The water sprinkler system did cause some damage to the building and it will be closed for the rest of the day Wednesday, Rendon said. All RTA employees have been told to work from home today.

There is no word on the cause of the fire at this time. 

The Veterans Services and Social Services Offices within the building will be closed to walk-in clients until further notice. 

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system activated for possible arson fire

A fire Monday morning at a city-owned building in downtown Fresno that’s more than 120 years old may have been arson, according to a Fresno Fire Department battalion chief.

Crews were called at about 8:30 a.m. to the Greyhound bus station on Tulare Street and Santa Fe Avenue where flames from outside the building set off fire sprinklers, Battalion Chief Devin McGuire said.

Crews found two windows had been broken from the outside where the fire originated, McGuire said, and witnesses pointed out a man in the area who may have started the fire.

Firefighters worked to replace a damaged sprinkler, pushed pooled water out of the building and investigate the potential arson, he said.

Greyhound was not open at the time of the fire, according to fire crews.

The bus company rents the northern most space of the Spanish mission-style structure that also houses the Amtrak station in downtown. The city owns the building, McGuire said.

“It’s definitely a suspicious fire any time you do have a fire that starts on the exterior of the building,” he said.

The damage is not expected to affect daily business for the depot, he said.

The historic Santa Fe Railroad Depot building was completed in 1899.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Pleasant Prairie, WI – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire at public works center

The village Fire Department along with multiple fire agencies responded to the Roger Prange Municipal Center where a fire was reported to have started inside a public works vehicle Sunday night.

Fire departments from several surrounding communities were called at 6 p.m. to 8600 Green Bay Road to the municipal center’s public works building, which houses snow plows and other vehicles. The fire reportedly began inside a newer dump truck used in snow plowing operations, according to authorities on scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Pleasant Prairie Fire units arrived at 6:08 p.m. Minutes earlier, a police officer in the area noted “heavy black smoke” coming from the building, according to Fire Chief Craig Roepke.

Also responding to the fire were Zion, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park and Newport fire agencies, he said. Bristol Fire and Salem Lakes assisted with a “change of quarters” to cover potential calls while village firefighters were out at the fire scene. The fire was under control at 6:18 p.m. and out at 6:24 p.m., he said.

“It appears that it was a vehicle fire that started in the engine compartment and at this time that’s all that we know,” Roepke said.

“Generally speaking, vehicle fires in the engine compartment spread rapidly. Typically, for a vehicle fire we don’t call all those units, but the fact that there was a vehicle fire inside a structure — that’s the indicator for additional units because if the vehicle sets the structure on fire, now we have building fire,” he said.

Roepke said the fire was contained to the vehicle itself and there was no damage to the structure or “any other vehicle” in the large storage building.

“The public works vehicle storage garage … is a sprinklered building. And the sprinkler system did activate and kept the vehicle fire in check until arriving units were able to extinguish (the fire),” he said.

Damage estimates have yet to be determined. He said the vehicle chassis is “likely a total loss” however, other components may still be salvageable. Public Works Director John Steinbrink Jr. also responded to the scene.

The Prange center campus also houses the village Police Department and 9-1-1 dispatch in a building just to the north of the public works structure, but were not affected by the fire.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Chicago, IL – Fire at courthouse extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A small fire broke out Sunday at a criminal courthouse on Chicago’s southwest side that is known as one of the busiest in the country.

No injuries or substantial damage was reported, according to authorities.

Fire officials found a small rubbish fire on the fifth floor of the Leighton Criminal Court Building around 12:10 a.m. that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.

The fire’s cause has not been determined.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said authorities are investigating.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Woodland Park, CO – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at bank overnight; No injuries reported

An investigation continues into an internal fire that occurred inside the Park State Bank & Trust facility on the early morning hours of Jan. 27.

Authorities still haven’t determined the exact cause of the incident, which didn’t result in any injuries.

On the upside, the bank has returned to normal operations, after undergoing some intense mitigation efforts for several days.

According to Park State bank officials, the fire occurred under a soffit on the east side of the building shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 27. The fire damage was mitigated by the bank’s sprinkler system. In an official statement, bank president Tony Perry said, ‘The sprinkler system did such a great job that we are now assessing the damage, root cause, and have begun mitigation efforts.”

The fire, though, did cause extensive damage in parts of the facility.

After being closed on Jan. 27, only the drive-through was operating both Tuesday and Wednesday, as teams were assessing interior damage and air quality was low, according to bank officials. All first-floor flooring has to be removed and will be replaced. As of Thursday, operations resumed for team members with all employees working on the second floor.

Yellow tape was displayed in front of the bank entrance during much of last week to allow experts to assess the damage.

In a statement on the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce’s Grapevine page, the bank offered thanks to emergency service officials, insurance and damage exerts and    local customers.

“PSBT wishes to thank Chief (Tyler) Lambert and the NE Fire Protection team for responding quickly and preventing the fire from spreading throughout the building. Thanks are also due to both Joy Pickett of The Insurance Center, who quickly had a team out to assess the claim, and Michael Whittemore and his 1-800-Water Damage team which immediately began mitigating damage and preparing to return the building to full service as quickly as possible Thank you also to the city of Woodland Park and the many, many bank customers who offered help. It is a privilege to be a part of this wonderful community.”

The one casualty is the forthcoming Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce After Hours gathering, originally planned at the bank next month.

Due to building repairs, the Chamber After Hours event for Feb. 18 will still be hosted by PSBT, but the event will occur at the Ute Pass Cultural Center. This is the third time the site for the forthcoming February After Hours has been changed.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Kearney, NE – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at court house; No injuries reported

Crews responded to an early morning fire in Kearney.

According to the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, correction officers called the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department after seeing smoke in an office around 2:30 a.m.

When fire crews arrived, the Sheriff’s Office said the small fire had been extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system.

Water from this system caused damage to the office’s furniture and carpet.

While crews are investigating the cause of fire, the Sheriff’s Office said they do not believe the flames were criminal.

The Sheriff’s Office said the jail on the property was not damaged but crews remained on scene to continue check air quality.

No injuries were reported.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Pasco, WA – Vending machine fire at US Post Office put out by fire sprinkler; No injuries reported

 Postal workers were forced to evacuate the US Post Office in Pasco after a soda machine fire.

It ignited around 6:15 Saturday morning near Court Street and Road 36. According to Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear, they believe the origin of the blaze was the Coca-Cola machine.

The fire was contained to the break room. However, smoke traveled through the building, causing the evacuation. Gear said the sprinkler system put out the fire.

Thankfully, no one was injured.

KAPP-KVEW spoke with a long-time postal worker who said mail could be delayed by a day. Gear said no mail was damaged.

It’s unclear when employees will be able to go back inside. Firefighters are ventilating the building. Walla Walla County District 5 responded due to the need for large fans to help ventilate the building quicker. 

Other-Government/Military, Recycling / Waste Facility

Redding, CA – Fire at solid waste facility extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Redding firefighters went to the city’s solid waste facility Saturday morning to extinguish a fire that was traced to some sort of hazardous material someone had recently dumped.  A city of Redding employee was operating a dump loader that came into contact with the “unknown material” that someone had recently dropped off, the fire department said.  The fire quickly grew in the pile of garage and the city’s airport rescue firefighting equipment was called in to spray foam on the blaze.  The fire activated the facility’s sprinkler system so an overhead water nozzle also helped crews. Four engines, a ladder truck and 17 firefighters responded.  No one was injured and firefighters spent two-and-a-half hours at the scene.  The fire department offered this safety message: “To prevent accidental fire through the reactions of chemicals, please discern the difference when dumping solid household waste as compared to hazardous materials.“

Other-Government/Military

Lee’s Summit, MO – Truck fire in state vehicle maintenance facility contained overnight by sprinkler system

A dump truck fire early Friday morning caused minor damage to the service area at the MODOT Maintenance Facility in Lee’s Summit.  Firefighters responded to the building at 2050 NE Independence Ave. at 1 a.m.  Firefighters saw smoke coming from a garage when they arrived.  A fire sprinkler helped control the fire. Firefighters said it was under control by 1:35 a.m.  The fire damaged the dump truck and the smoke caused minor damage to the service area.  No one was inside the building when the fire started. It’s not clear what caused the fire.