Category Archives: Hospital/Care Facility

Visalia, CA – Parking garage dumpster fire controlled thanks to fire sprinklers, ruled arson

A Visalia man with a history of lighting fire was arrested in connection with a downtown Visalia Dumpster fire. 

Around 12:55 p.m. Thursday, Visalia firefighters responded to a fire behind 227 E. Main St, near the Main Street Theatre. The Dumpster was in an enclosure that is part of the east Acequia parking structure, which is equipped with a sprinkler system.

Smoke activated the sprinklers which kept the fire from spreading. The fire caused only minor damage, according to Sgt. Russ Gauger.

On Friday, officers were called to the corner of Main and Court streets by a downtown security guard. The security guard told police he saw a man he’d seen near the Dumpster just moments before Thursday’s fire.  

Officers found and spoke with Charles Spurlock, 40. After some follow up investigation, Spurlock was identified as the suspected arsonist, Gauger said.

Spurlock was arrested in August 2016 in connection to a string of Visalia fires set just hours apart. During the incident, Spurlock tried to outrun officers but was eventually arrested after a perimeter was set up in the backyard of house near Savannah Street and Judy Street.

In 2017, he was held to answer on numerous felony charges related to the case. 

Spurlock was arrested on suspicion of arson, possession of a controlled substance and a parole violation. He was booked into Tulare County Pretrial Facility. His bail is set at $50,000. 

Iowa City, IA – Parking garage car fire contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

No one is hurt after a Sunday morning fire in a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics parking ramp.

The Iowa City Fire Department found a car on fire around 6:05 a.m. in one of the underground levels of parking ramp two.

Firefighters said the sprinkler system contained the fire and fire personnel fully extinguished it.

The fire did not damage any other cars or property.

The Iowa City Fire Marshal’s office is still investigating a cause.

Philadelphia, PA – Hospital fire extinguished by fire sprinklers after man barricaded himself in room and set fire to bed sheets; No injuries reported

The emergency room at a Kensington hospital was closed Saturday after a man set a fire inside one of the rooms, police said.

A man at Temple University Hospital’s Episcopal Campus barricaded himself in a room in the emergency department and set fire to bed sheets, but no one was injured.

Police said hospital security searched the 30- to 40-year-old man at about 2:40 p.m. Saturday and placed him in a room. The man was there to receive drug treatment. Police said he barricaded himself inside and turned on oxygen tanks, then lit the bed sheets on fire.

Police said a maintenance man broke a window and the man climbed out and fought with security, but police arrived and arrested him. The emergency room was evacuated with no injuries. The blaze was extinguished and the fire marshal declared it an arson.

A spokeswoman for Temple Health said the building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire. Patients in the ER were transported to Temple University Hospital’s Main Campus, she added. The hospital will continue sending ER patients there until the Episcopal ER can reopen.

Police said the emergency room will remain closed until repairs are completed.

Dalles, OR – Two fire sprinkler heads extinguish fire at medical center; No injuries reported

The Mid Columbia Medical Center building was damaged by what Hood River Fire Chief Leonard Damian described as “a small fire” with extensive water damage to the three-story commercial building, early on May 15.

The office of Overwatch Imaging and the Kobe Sushi + Bar were also damaged. The building is located on Nichols Parkway on the waterfront just east of Second Street near downtown Hood River.

The fire was extinguished by a sprinkler system that prevented any further fire damage, according to Damian.

“Most importantly, nobody was hurt and all patient files are secure,” said Christina McManigal, chief ambulatory operations officer at MCMC. “We are currently assessing the damage, but we do know that the Nichols Landing building will remain closed for restoration. It is too soon to know if the closure will last a few weeks or several months.”

All MCMC clinics and the hospital in The Dalles are open. MCMC’s Hood River-based providers have been seeing patients in The Dalles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so while the Nichols Landing building is restored.

At 2:15 a.m., Hood River Fire & EMS crews responded to a water flow alarm at the MCMC building, in the 30 block of Nichols Parkway in Hood River.

“We were dispatched to a water flow alarm, a fire alarm that tells us possibly that a sprinkler system may be activated,” said Lt. Tony DePinto, who was first on the scene.

DePinto said that when HRFD firefighters arrived, they found the fire alarm system had activated along with smoke and a small fire on the third floor inside the building.  Fortunately, two sprinkler heads had extinguished the fire before it had extended any further.  Firefighters shut off the water flow, searched the building, determined the extent of damage, and ventilated the building to clear the smoke. Fire crews were able to remove smoke from the building and covered computers on the first and second floors to prevent any further damage from the water. MCMC medical scanning equipment was also protected from damage, according to Damian.

Hood River Fire & EMS was assisted by units from West Side Fire District, Wy’East Fire District, and Cascade Locks Fire Department.

The cause of the fire is presently under investigation.

“The fire sprinkler system activation prevented the building and its contents from significant damage and contained the fire as designed. Because of the small size of the fire, crews were able to concentrate on removing smoke and water from the building and protecting sensitive equipment from water damage, further reducing the damage from this fire.  Had the building not been equipped with fire sprinklers, the fire would’ve easily grown in size, causing major damage to the building and its contents,” Damian stated.

Franklin, TN – Fire sprinkler extinguishes fire at unoccupied pediatric clinic; No injuries reported

A fire broke out at an unoccupied pediatric clinic in Franklin just before 9 p.m. Friday. The flames were extinguished by the building’s automatic sprinkler system.

When the sprinkler system was triggered, the fire alarms sounded, dispatching the Franklin Fire Department to the location. Those crews arrived at Pediatric Associates of Franklin – located at 570 Baker’s Bridge Avenue – and found light smoke and one active sprinkler. The sprinkler had extinguished a fire in a patient examination room before firefighters made it there.

Franklin fire investigators said the damage was limited to the room where the small blaze began.

Damage to the building is estimated to be less than $10,000. No interruption of business or care is expected for the practice.

Coppell, TX – (no media coverage) Single fire sprinkler extinguished fire at day care

At 8:45pm Coppell Fire Department was dispatched on an automatic fire alarm to a day care facility.  CFD units arrived approximately 4 minutes later with very light smoke inside the structure.  Crews began a search at the front door, immediately hearing the activated fire sprinkler head.  Firefighters saw remnants of a ceiling mounted exhaust fan burning.  They ‘pulled the ceiling’ exposing burned roof members and the activated automatic fire sprinkler head.  The single fire sprinkler head extinguished the fire. 

Approximately $7,000 damage (not including water restoration)

Potential loss if building did not have protection – approx. $650,000 (structure and contents, not including loss revenue)

Ottawa, Ohio – Fire sprinklers help put out dryer fire at nursing center

Forty-eight residents living at Autumn Court in Ottawa were temporarily displaced last Saturday following a fire at the skilled nursing center.

Ottawa Fire Chief Dan Rieman said Ottawa Fire Department responded to the fire call at 10:56 a.m. Saturday morning. Also responding to the fire were the Glandorf Fire Department and Putnam County EMS.

Rieman said it was a drier fire in the laundry room. The fire caused a sprinkler to go off, leaking water down the hallway of the nursing center. This required the residents to have to be evacuated from the facility.

The residents were initially taken across the parking lot to Ottawa Highland Lanes facility with the assistance of the Autumn Court staff members, fire volunteers, and EMS volunteers. Also responding to the scene to assist was the Putnam County Office of Public Safety and Red Cross.

Arrangements were then made to transport the residents to Ottawa Elementary School, a designated Red Cross shelter. Assisting with transportation was a bus provided by Smooth Cruises LLC and ambulettes provided by the Putnam County Office of Public Safety.

Ottawa-Glandorf staff was at the school to assist with the care of the residents. Later in the day, residents were able to return to their homes around 6 p.m.

“I want to thank everyone who helped us,” said Leticia Hull, a human resource staff member of Autumn Court. She said many Putnam County people stepped up to help in many ways on Saturday.

The website for Autumn Court describes the facility that provides 24-hour care skilled nursing, long-term care, physical, occupational and providing 24-hour speech therapies for those with behavioral issues or mental illness. And, four-hour skilled nursing, long-term care, physical, occupational, and speech therapies for those with behavioral issues or mental illness.

Ooltewah, TN – Fire sprinkler system keeps fire contained to janitorial closet at nursing home; No injuries reported

The Life Care Center in Ooltewah escaped major fire damages when a fire suppression system at the facility activated around 5:40 Saturday evening.

The Highway 58 Volunteer Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting a kitchen fire at the nursing home near 5911 Snow Hill Road.

The Highway 58 VFD reported a small fire in a laundry bin. The fire sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the janitorial closet.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Chattanooga Fire Department, no injuries were reported but HCEMS was on the scene.

The Chattanooga Fire Department says all residents were temporarily moved to another wing of the facility.

Sioux Falls, SD – Equipment fire at hospital extinguished by fire sprinkler; No injuries reported

Authorities say a small equipment fire at a Sanford Hospital building in Sioux Falls forced staff to temporarily move some patients to a different part of the building.

The fire broke out around 11 p.m. near the radiology department on the ground floor of the medical center.

According to Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, an equipment maintenance cart started on fire, but it was extinguished by a sprinkler before firefighters arrived.

A Sanford spokesperson said patients were briefly moved from the emergency department and The Birth Place while firefighters evaluated the situation. Once the smoke in the air had been cleared, patients were returned to their rooms.

No one was hurt during the incident.

Sanford said its fire response worked “as designed.” The spokesperson said patients will not experience any disruptions due to the incident.

Levittown, PA – Fire contained to commercial dryer at substance abuse treatment center thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A Saturday night fire damaged a residential substance abuse treatment facility.

Firefighters from the Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company and Newtown Fire Association were called to Pyramid Healthcare, formerly Today Inc., in the 1900 block of North Woodbourne Road by Core Creek Park in Middletown for a report of a basement blaze around 10:15 p.m.

Crews arrived and found the basement fire contained to a single room. They beat back the bulk of the flames within 10 minutes, and the fire was placed fully under control a few minutes later, Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company Chief Frank Farry said.

Smoke spread throughout the building that has dorms, but the fire was contained to the single room in the basement. The room contained a large commercial dryer and had a working sprinkler, Farry said.

No injuries were reported.

The Bucks County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the blaze due to the fact the facility leases their location from the county.