Category Archives: Other / Not Specified

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

St. Cloud, MN – Sprinkler system halts fire at body shop; fire started in painting booth

A fire caused around $100,000 worth of damage to a St. Cloud body shop.

The fire department says an alarm alerted them to St. Cloud Collision Center, 1801 8th Street South, near the Coborn’s on Cooper Aveune South, on Thursday at 7:49 p.m.

When firefighters got on the scene they found the sprinkler system had almost extinguished the fire and saved the building.

Officials say the fire started in the drying unit of a painting booth. The booth, a car, and a portion of the roof were damaged.

No one was in the building at the time of the fire.The fire remains under investigation. It took firefighters about two hours to clear the scene.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Sterling, VA – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire that started in paint booth

The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office has determined that the Jan. 26 fire at a Sterling commercial facility was accidental.

Just before 7:30 p.m., the Loudoun County Emergency Communications Center received a call reporting a structure fire in a commercial building in the 45000 block of Elmwood Court in Sterling.

The initial caller reported a fire in an interior paint booth which was followed by a call from the fire alarm company reporting a water flow alarm inside the structure. Fire and rescue crews from Kincora, Sterling, Cascades, Ashburn, Lansdowne, Moorefield, and Fairfax County responded to the incident, Fire and Rescue Public Information Officer Laura Rinehart said.

Upon arrival, firefighters found active fire and smoke conditions coming from the two-story commercial occupancy. Fire crews deployed hoselines to initiate an attack on the fire. The building’s sprinkler system had activated, limiting the fire spread to other portions of the building. One occupant, the initial caller, was located safely outside of the structure upon arrival of fire and rescue units, Rinehart said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire with assistance from the sprinkler system, containing the fire to the area or origin, preventing extension into adjoining areas of the structure.

The Fire Marshal’s investigation determined the fire to be accidental in nature with $25,000 damage to the structure and $75,000 to the contents. There were no injuries to civilians, though one firefighter on the scene was transported to a local area hospital for evaluation after a medical emergency, Rinehart said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Auburn, WA – Hallway fire at casino doused by sprinkler system

Between Jan. 9 and 15, the Valley Regional Fire Authority responded to 291 requests for service, among them the following:  Hallway fire: 5:05 p.m., (south Auburn). Having responded to a report of smoke curling out of a room at the Muckleshoot Casino, crews found in a hallway a small fire that had already been drowned by the automatic sprinkler system. Subsequent investigation determined that the fire had been an accident.

 

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Redmond, OR – Downed power line causes fire at wood products business; Sprinklers contain blaze

A downed power line fell onto a roof at Redmond’s Bright Wood Corp., sparking a fire in an electrical box Sunday morning, officials said. A sprinkler system contained the blaze until power was shut off, but damage and expected repair costs still totaled an estimated $400,000. Redmond fire crews were called out around 10:20 a.m. to the Bright Wood mill at 630 Southeast First Street, said Fire Marshal Traci Cooper.  Firefighters arrived to find the downed power lines and a fire in an electrical box in a mill building, Cooper said.  The sprinkler system activated and contained the fire until Pacific Power could shut off electricity to the area, she added.  Fire crews then ventilated the building to remove smoke and ensure the blaze was extinguished.  The fire marshal said the cause of the downed power line was not known, though freezing rain had been reported in the area.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Medford, OR – Fire at commercial laundry business contained with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters battled both fire and ice Thursday night in northwest Medford when they responded at 8:50 to a blaze at Alsco Inc., 980 Ellen Ave. The building, a commercial laundry facility, sustained “moderate smoke damage,” with no visible damage to the structure, according to an agency Facebook post. An investigation showed the fire ignited in a large dryer that had been filled with mop heads and other textiles. The materials were left in the dryer by accident, fire officials said, likely leading them to smolder, ignite, then spread to some nearby linen bags. Alarms in the building began to sound and the facility’s sprinkler system kicked on.  Fire crews initially responded to the scene with four engines, but quickly upgraded the response to a second alarm because of the amount of smoke and the fire’s location deep in the building.

“Second alarm is actually used for resource improvement,” said Medford Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Erin Sawall. “It could be for any myriad of needs.” Six engines from Medford Fire-Rescue and Jackson County Fire District No. 3 responded, tangling with ice outside while they fought the fire inside. Thursday night’s low temperature in Medford dipped to 18 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, turning the roads outside into a skating rink for firefighters while they prepared hoses.  “It was a very icy scene,” Sawall said. “Crews operated in a pretty dangerous atmosphere.”  Crews deployed salt to help. One firefighter did slip, Sawall said, but he wasn’t seriously injured. No other injuries were reported. Firefighters had the flames extinguished within a half hour, but spent almost three more hours on scene venting the buildup of smoke.  Fire officials said the building’s sprinkler system was a big help in snuffing the flames.  “It had some serious potential,” Sawall said. “Under these conditions, that’s the best we can hope for.”

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Mansfield, OH – Sprinkler system keeps cardboard fire at business development center from spreading

Braintree Business Development Center, 201 E. Fifth St., Mansfield – Firefighters were contacted about an alarm going off early Saturday. They arrived to find heavy white smoke that limited visibility. Cardboard had caught fire in a single room. A sprinkler activated to keep the fire from spreading. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Fair Lawn, NJ – Arson fire at commercial building extinguished by sprinkler system

A man was charged with burglary and arson after he broke into a River Road building and set a trash can on fire, police said.  Police responded to 13-09 River Road on a report of a fire.  Police found that a fire had occurred in the building’s trash room and that the sprinkler system extinguished it.  Detective Paul Donohue investigated and, after reviewing video evidence, arrested Edward Ostrowicz, 26, of Saddle River, Metzler said. Ostrowicz is homeless, but found him at his parents’ home, police said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Bowling Green, KY – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire, prevents it from spreading in downtown building

At about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the Bowling Green Fire Department responded to a structure fire with visible flames on the third floor at 423 Park Row, the building adjacent to the Brewing Co.  Three fire trucks responded to the call and immediately started preparing a ladder truck to allow firefighters access to the roof. Once they gained access, they found a small fire had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

“On a large building we will try to determine exactly where it is before we start committing resources to the wrong area,” BGFD Chief Jason Colson said. “We’ve shut down the sprinkler system and stopped water from flowing in the building.”  Firefighters also went into the surrounding buildings to verify that there weren’t any other issues or possible fires. Colson said no further fire resources were needed and both buildings were unoccupied.  The cause of the fire was undetermined as of 8:30 p.m. Fire investigators were called to the scene. BGFD was attempting Thursday night to make contact with the building owner.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Albuquerque, NM – Sprinkler systems help protect businesses in string of arson fires

The Federal Bureau of Investigations confirms one person is in custody following a string of fires at several Albuquerque businesses Saturday morning.

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden would not elaborate on the suspect’s connection to the fires.

“We do have a person in custody and we firmly believe that our community is safe and this should not happen again,” said Chief Eden.

The FBI is leading the investigation and they have not released any details on who was taken into custody or what charges that person faces. APD says it is helping the FBI, ATF and State Police gather evidence.

Albuquerque Police Arrested the suspect Saturday morning in connection with a fire at the Barnes and Noble at Coronado Center, another fire at the Old Navy Store on Cutler near San Mateo and a fire at the Shred It center on Broadway.

Those businesses all suffered fire and smoke damage as well as water damage from sprinkler systems set off by the fires.

There were similar incidents at three Starbucks locations in Albuquerque on Friday morning.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Thurmont, MD – Fire at catalog business controlled with assistance from sprinkler system

Frederick County Fire and Rescue responded to a building fire around noon on Saturday on Apples Church Road in Thurmont, Md.  Official said smoke was coming from the top of a building which led neighbors to call 911. Fire officials said that the sprinkler system went on which helped calm down the fire, but fire crews did use fire hoses. Locals said that a catalog business is located in that building and the property owner and businesses owner was on site. No one was harmed in this incident

“Once the smoke gets cleared out then we will go in and make sure that the fire is completely out, there is no areas and the Fire Marshall will do their determination and figure out what caused the fire,” said Battalion Chief, Doug Wallick.

This is an open investigation.