Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Harrisonburg, VA – Fire department credits sprinkler system for extinguishing grease fire at apartment building

According to a release by the Harrisonburg Fire Department, a residential sprinkler system is to thank for saving a city apartment complex.  Around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, January 9th, firefighters responded to the 100 block of Chestnut Ridge Drive. Once crews arrived, they discovered a grease fire, which started on the stove, was already extinguished by a residential sprinkler system.   Although the sprinkler system uses water, that’s not how they recommend you put out a grease fire. They say the best method is to put a lid on the pan to smother the grease or to use a fire extinguisher.

Captain Mike Armstrong, deputy fire marshal with the Harrisonburg Fire Department, said you never want to pour water on a grease fire yourself.  “The amount of water that is being put out far exceeds what you or I would put on that pan, so the system will suppress the fire,” added Armstrong.   While sprinkler systems aren’t common in homes and aren’t required by state code, they can help save money in an emergency.  “In the case of residential sprinkler systems, fire damage and cost, is reduced one tenth to one twentieth, so you’re talking ten to 20 times less damage and cost in the end,” explained Armstrong.   Capt. Armstrong also recommends keeping a fire extinguisher in your kitchen area, but not right next to your stove because of its accessibility if there are flames.

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, IL – No injuries in apartment arson fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

Four apartments in the Near North Village building at Fourth and Madison streets sustained water damage Tuesday night after a fire was started in a hallway. Springfield Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs said someone apparently set a blanket on fire in a fifth-floor hallway about 6:10 p.m. The fire activated the building’s sprinkler system, and firefighters who responded spent most of their time getting the sprinklers shut off.  Water from the sprinklers damaged one apartment on the fourth floor, two on the third floor and one on the second floor, Helmerichs said.  No one was injured. The fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fayetteville, NC – Arson fire at apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

Residents of a building in West Park Apartments in Fayetteville were evacuated about 9 a.m. Sunday after one of their neighbors threatened to kill himself by setting his apartment on fire, authorities said. The Fayetteville Fire Department said a small fire was set but quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system.  The Police Department said the man was taken into emergency custody for a mental evaluation. The Police Department had no record that a fire was set.  West Park Apartments is off Raeford Road on Laneridge Way and Fountain Grove Loop in western Fayetteville.

Apartment Building, Residential

Richmond, VA – No injuries reported in early morning apartment fire contained with help from sprinkler system

Residents in a downtown Richmond apartment building were evacuated shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday after a report that a couch had caught fire in one of the units.  The fire was reported in the Broadway Apartments, located above the Walgreens in the 300 block of East Broad Street, at 4:33 a.m. Saturday. The first crews were on scene about six minutes later, officials said.

Firefighters did not find a fire when they arrived, but the first and second floors were heavily enveloped by smoke, prompting the evacuation, said Lt. Chris Armstrong, spokesman for the fire department. A sprinkler system had activated in one of the apartments, he said.  The incident was marked under control at 4:53 a.m. after crews checked on all the residents.  No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

North Stafford, VA – Apartment complex fire held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

A fire in a North Stafford apartment complex Friday afternoon damaged three apartments, but no one was injured.  Stafford County firefighters responded to an apartment building on Minuteman Circle shortly before 2:45 p.m. and found a fire on the patio of a ground-floor unit that had spread into the apartment and to the balconies of the two units directly above, according to a news release from Stafford Fire and Rescue.  The building’s sprinkler system held the fire in check until firefighters could extinguish it.

 The three damaged units at Stonegate Apartments were deemed uninhabitable, displacing 10 adults and five children who were relocated to other facilities.    The fire caused an estimated $75,000 in property damage and $10,000 in damage to building contents.

The sprinkler system and a quick attack by firefighters is credited for saving $1.9 million in property and contents.

Apartment Building, Residential

Ocean City, MD – Fire Marshal credits sprinkler system for saving resident’s life in apartment fire

The Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office is crediting fire sprinklers for saving the life of an Ocean City woman who just barely escaped a kitchen fire on New Year’s Eve.  Just before 7:30 p.m., firemen were called to the area of 25th Street and Baltimore Avenue, for a building fire.   The woman had been cooking when grease spilled over onto the stove burners, starting a fire that quickly spread.

A single sprinkler head in the kitchen activated and extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of fireman.  The unit suffered limited fire and smoke damage in the kitchen. The adjoining staircase and first floor restaurant area also experienced water damage.  The cause of the fire is classified as accidental.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bremerton, WA – Apartment fire caused by cigarette extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A cigarette likely is the cause of a small fire that evacuated the Firs apartment complex Tuesday night, according to Bremerton firefighters. Crews were called to the 60-unit complex, at 183 Russell Road, about 8:45 p.m. and found the fire already mostly out. The building has a fire sprinkler system, which, with the help of a resident with an extinguisher, snuffed the flames.  No injuries were reported. Residents took shelter in surrounding housing complexes as well as within Kitsap Transit buses called in to assist.  The Bremerton Fire Marshal’s Office continues to investigate the fire, but it appears a cigarette in one room lit a bag, which ignited a couch, firefighters said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Omaha, NE – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling apartment fire

Authorities are investigating a fire at an apartment complex. It broke out around 10 o’clock Wednesday morning. It happened at the Park West Apartments near 108th and Jaynes Plaza, near Fort Street.  There were no reports of injuries but utility service was partly interrupted on a frigid morning.  Firefighters initially responded to an automatic fire alarm system. They arrived to find a small fire in a coat closet in a third floor apartment.   The fire was quickly brought under control but it triggered the sprinkler system resulting in damage to the first, second and third floor apartments.  Residents were allowed back into the building shortly before noon.

Apartment Building, College/University (on campus), Residential

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Overnight fire at university apartment complex doused by sprinkler system

An apartment building at UBCO was evacuated early Monday as the result of a fire. The fire was reported at around 12 a.m. in a unit at Discovery Avenue at UBCO.  “First in Engine reported smoke and sprinkler activation in a second floor unit at this location,” Platoon Captain Kelly Stephens said.  He said the cause of the fire was bedding and a mattress placed against a baseboard heater, and added that fire sprinklers had doused the fire before it could spread.  The lone occupant of the unit managed to escape unharmed.  Water damage was contained to the second floor unit and six units below.  All affected students have been allowed to return to their units.

Apartment Building, Residential

Peoria, IL – Cooking fire at apartment building put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

About 5:30 p.m., Peoria firefighters responded to a report of a fire that was prompting occupants to flee Apartment 8208 of 1808 W. Cherry Bud Drive. Firefighters arrived to the fire already out.  The occupants had overheated cooking oil, which burst into flames and activated the unit’s sprinkler system, said Battalion Chief Aldo Scott.  The sprinkler extinguished the fire.  No injuries were reported.  The apartment complex was going to provide housing for affected residents, Scott said.