Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Williston, ND – Apartment fire contained by sprinkler system; No injuries and dog saved

The Williston Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire at 5:17pm Wednesday to 4915 11th Ave W, or Renaissance Heights Apartments. Units arrived on scene at 5:23pm with smoke showing from the front of the building on the fifth floor. The fire was contained to a kitchen in one apartment and was controlled within about 5 minutes.

The fire sprinkler in the apartment contained the fire until the fire department arrived. Firefighters did rescue one dog from the apartment that was on fire.   There were no injuries reported. Approximately 49 residents were temporarily displaced overnight with 16 apartments that suffered smoke and/or water damage. Thirty-five firefighters were on-scene as well as police and emergency management. The building was released to management at 10:10 p.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Manassas, VA – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling apartment fire

On Thursday, Oct. 19 at 10:24 a. m., fire and rescue units were dispatched to an apartment fire at Woodburn Apartments, located in the 7800 block of Keara Court in Manassas. Upon arrival, firefighters observed smoke and fire showing from the side of an apartment that had extended into the home. Upon entry, firefighters discovered an activated sprinkler head that helped contain the fire. Firefighters quickly suppressed and extinguished the fire. No injuries reported.  The occupants were not home at the time of the fire. Red Cross is currently assisting the family, six adults and eight children, displaced by the fire. The fire is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

Apartment Building, Residential

Petersburg, VA – Laundry fire in loft apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system

A minor clothes dryer fire generated much smoke and caused the evacuation of an apartment building in Petersburg Thursday. Petersburg Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services responded to South Street Lofts building located at N. South and Hinton Streets at 12:38 p.m., for a call about a fire in a single occupant residence on the third floor, according to Interim Battalion Fire Chief Michael Ferguson.  The fire was under control at about 1 p.m. Mutual aid from Colonial Heights provided brief coverage at the Market Street Fire Station No. 2.

Nicole Nivens, a second-floor resident, stood in the parking lot holding her two-year-old daughter after evacuating the building.  “I just put her down for a nap and I heard the fire alarm,” said Nivens, who then grabbed her jacket, shoes and daughter to leave the building.

Ty Wheless, a resident of the third floor, also stood in the parking lot with her wife and small dog. “I thought it was a drill,” said Wheless. “We didn’t smell any smoke or anything.”

Ferguson said the building management company worked to relocate one occupant as a result of the fire.

Property management representatives at the scene declined to comment for this article. The property management website for the apartments describes the historic building as the former Federal Cigar Company building renovated into one- and two-bedroom loft-style apartments.

It was “extremely hard to ventilate” smoke from the building because the historic building designation allows for the windows to remain closed, said Ferguson. He said the ventilation process took longer than usual as a result. Firemen set up fans to blow smoke up through a roof hatch in the stairwell of the Hinton Street entryway.

Residents were seen re-entering the building at 1:47 p.m.

 

Apartment Building, Residential

Mankato, MN – Sprinkler extinguishes fire at off-campus apartment; No injuries

A sprinkler system is being credited for extinguishing an apartment fire near MSU’s campus.  Mankato Public Safety was called to 1801 Monks Avenue Thursday night just after 11 o’clock.  Firefighters found a stove top fire that had been put out by an active sprinkler. No one was injured.

They say there is no such thing as a perfect fire, but this is probably as close as you could come.  Mankato Fire Deputy Director Jeff Bengtson says, “Because of the sprinkler head location and function, it was able to extinguish the fire prior to our arrival. So instead of dealing the disasters of a fire…firefighters were able to focus on clean up and helping to handle water damage.”  Damage from the water extended to the apartment unit and the two floors below.

Apartment Building, Residential

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Apartment balcony fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Deputy Fire Chief Chris Forster says it is suspected the fire started when a cigarette butt was disposed of in a planter on the balcony by a resident at about 2:30 a.m. The peat in the planter ignited shortly before 5 a.m.  “But the good part of it is — and we are very big advocates of, not all buildings have them — is sprinklers on balconies,” he said. “The sprinkler activated and extinguished the fire as the guys got on scene. We didn’t actually spray any of our water on it.”  The fire caused significant damage to the balcony and vinyl siding, but was contained to that area.

Apartment Building, Residential

Grapevine, TX – (No media coverage) Apartment fire caused by unattended cooking doused by sprinkler system

***No media coverage – Fire Department reported*** On October 1st, 2017 at 03:32 the Grapevine Fire Department was dispatched to the Montelena Apartments at 501 Turner street #622 for an alarm activation. The first on-scene fire crews arrived to find audible fire alarms activating with nothing showing. Apartment #622 on the second level was investigated and fire crews found a single side wall sprinkler head had activated and extinguished a fire on the stove. The cause of the fire was from unattended cooking. There was fire damage to kitchen cabinets around the stove and smoke damage to the ceiling above the stove. The single sprinkler head contained, extinguished the fire; saving lives and property on the same floor and below. Even though the fire alarms had sounded, residences in the affected fire apartment were still in their bedroom. Fire damages were estimated around at $4000 saving and protecting a property valued $33,450,000.

The numbers are accurate for repairs and value of building. The contents of the apartment was estimated on renters insurance of $10,000

Apartment Building, Residential

Bridgewater, MA – Sprinkler system limits fire damage in apartment blaze; No injuries reported

Eighteen residents of a large apartment complex building are displaced due to water damage to multiple floors after a dryer fire Monday night. The Bridgewater Fire Department responded to Axis at Lakeshore, which is off of Pleasant Street (Route 104), about 11:10 p.m. after receiving a fire alarm activation at the station, then a subsequent 911 call.

“There was a fire in a dryer which was in a laundry room in an apartment on the fifth floor,” Chief Thomas Levy told The Enterprise. When firefighters arrived, there was heavy smoke on the fifth floor of the building, which has six floors. Although there was still an active fire inside the dryer when firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system was keeping it from spreading throughout the apartment.

“Within 20 minutes, they knocked the rest of the fire down,” Levy said. About 150 people had to evacuate the apartment building. Although there was smoke and water damage to all floors but the sixth, most of the residents were allowed back in. Levy said about 18 people who live in the apartments on each floor directly below the unit where the fire occurred were displaced. They either found places to stay overnight or were put in a nearby hotel by management.

“The fire was contained to that one apartment, but we had smoke in the hallway and water damage on all five floors underneath where the fire occurred due to sprinkler activation,” Levy said. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire inside the dryer. The fire chief said neither the lint trap or lint buildup in the duct work are initially believed to be the cause.

“The investigation is pointing toward the interior of the dryer, which was pretty melted,” Levy said. “We’re not sure if it was a mechanical failure, if it was overloaded or there might have been something inside the clothing.”

The chief said cooperation from maintenance staff and management helped firefighters quickly get into the affected apartment. Levy said they will investigate the cause further and work with management to make sure other dryers aren’t in danger of catching fire. This fire comes after there were two dryer fires in the region about a week apart in late September – one in East Bridgewater and the other in Whitman.

“These residents were home, but we would never advise leaving a dryer or any electrical appliances unattended,” Levy said. The chief estimated the damage caused by the fire to be about $75,000. The unit where the fire occurred sustained heavy water damage and there were ceiling collapses on two upper floors due to the water.

“The sprinkler system activated the proper way, the fire alarm activated and the smoke detectors were working,” Levy said. “It’s unfortunate the water damage that was sustained, but that’s out of our control.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Billings, MT – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling apartment fire

An apartment fire Tuesday night above two Billings restaurants forced customers temporarily into the street while firefighters responded to the incident. The fire burned in a second floor unit of the Acme Hotel Apartments building above Hooligan’s Sports Bar and set off sprinklers in the apartment and fire alarms in the building.  Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the apartment and the cause was under investigation, according to Battalion Chief Dave Gilbert.

Multiple fire engines parked in the middle of North 28th Street and the Billings Police Department blocked the street off between First Avenue North and Second Avenue North during the response.   The street remained blocked off as of 8:00 p.m.  Some smoke traveled into a third floor hallway in the building and fans were set up to ventilate the area and clear smoke, Gilbert said.   About 20 minutes after the fire alarms began customers were allowed back into Hooligan’s Sports Bar and the Montana Brewing Company.

Gilbert said it was possible Hooligan’s would have to close early Tuesday night depending on the sprinkler system setup in the building. In some cases sprinkler and alarm systems in buildings are interconnected to the extent that shutting of one part of the system can affect the remainder, Gilbert said. A Billings Fire Department fire marshal would determine if any closures were necessary, Gilbert said. As of 9 p.m. a fire marshal was still conducting interviews and the cause of the fire remained undetermined, Gilbert said. More information would be available later in a press release, he said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pendleton, OR – Early morning apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

One person is recovering from smoke inhalation after an early morning apartment fire.  Firefighters got the call from the Security Apartments on Court Avenue just after 6:00 Monday morning. Responding units found a fire on the first floor of the three story building. The sprinkler system kept the fire under control while crews evacuated the building and extinguished the fire.  Medics took one person to St. Anthony hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.