Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Manchester, NH – Sprinkler system helps limit damage in apartment fire; No injuries

Thirty apartments were evacuated Sunday morning after a small fire broke out in a third-floor unit at 195 Eastern Avenue. Manchester firefighters received an automatic fire alarm at 10:58 a.m. Sunday at Hillview Apartments at 195 Eastern Ave. District Fire Chief Mike Gamache said upon arrival crews discovered water and smoke in a third floor apartment. Firefighters located a small fire, partially extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. 

Gamache said firefighters extinguished the remainder of the fire, then assisted residents in apartments on the first and second floors, where water from the sprinkler system drained onto their possessions. Gamache said extensive salvage operations were performed to save the residents’ belongings. 

No injuries were reported. Gamache said fire and water from the sprinkler system caused an estimated $10,000 in damages.  The property, which consists of four buildings, is owned by Eastern Avenue Associates LLC, with an assessed value of $8,643,200, according to the city’s website.

Apartment Building, Residential

Houston, TX – Single sprinkler contains early morning apartment fire; No injuries reported

Fire marshals are crediting a sprinkler system with limiting damage during an early-morning fire at a northwest Harris County apartment complex. A blaze broke out at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday on the third floor of an apartment in the 15000 block of Tuckerton.

The fire triggered a single sprinkler system on the balcony. It contained the flames until firefighters arrived at the scene. There were no reports of injuries, officials said.

“The fire sprinkler did exactly what it was designed to do. Lives and property were saved because one sprinkler head activated and minimized the fire damage,” said Harris County Fire Marshal Mike Montgomery. The cause of the fire was later identified as “discarded smoking materials,” officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Victoria, BC, Canada – Stove fan fire in high-rise apartment building doused by sprinkler system

A small fire in an apartment building on Fisgard Street will likely have residents of least a few units looking for somewhere to stay tonight. Crews were called to the 12-story Hudson Mews building at 780 Fisgard just before 8 p.m.

People living in the 120-unit building were forced out as firefighters arrived and searched for the cause. It turned out to be a fire in a stove fan on the fifth floor of the building.

“When crews arrived on scene, they found that a suite on the fifth floor had had sprinkler activation,” said Victoria Fire Department Acting Battalion Chief Mark Robertson.

“it was caused by a small fire in a hood vent.” The fire doesn’t appear to have caused much damage but it set off sprinklers.

“The fire has been extinguished but there was quite a bit of water damage to the suites below,” said Robertson.  City of Victoria Emergemcy Social Service attended to take care of any residents that were unable to return to their suites.

The building’s management team assisted with contacting their repair contractors and organizing their residents.  Those who could return home were allowed back in about 45 minutes later.

The building opened in May 2014.

Apartment Building, Residential

Seattle, WA – No injuries after apartment complex fire is extinguished by sprinkler system

Residents at a Seattle apartment complex said they started knocking on each other’s doors as soon as the fire alarms went off. Tenants evacuated early Tuesday morning as flames burned through portions of the second and third floors of the Union View Apartment complex, Seattle Fire said. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire.

The complex is located in the 1600 block of Dexter Avenue North. A unit’s patio was charred in the flames. No injuries were reported,

Close to 60 Seattle firefighters responded.  Authorities haven’t determined the fire’s cause, as of Tuesday morning. Fire officials are investigating.

Apartment Building, Residential

Salt Lake City, UT – Sprinkler system prevents apartment fire from spreading likely saving lives and property

Crews responded to a two-alarm fire in Salt Lake City Friday night, and occupants in all 18 units are displaced for the night due to smoke and water damage. The fire broke out at an apartment building at 647 South and 1200 East just after 9 p.m.

According to the Salt Lake City Fire Department, the blaze affected one apartment on the first floor of the three-story building. There was also smoke damage throughout the building.

All residents of the building are displaced for the night, fire officials said. They estimate 30-40 people total live in the 18 impacted units. A nearby LDS Church has opened their doors for anyone who needs a place to go.

When crews arrived on scene, there was heavy smoke, and fire officials said the apartment sprinkler systems activated to control the fire.  There were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Mark Green
Fox 13 News
Salt Lake City, Utah

Apartment Building, Residential

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system credited with controlling apartment fire; No injuries reported

A working fire alarm and sprinkler system helped people get safely out of an apartment complex Tuesday with a unit on fire, Portland firefighters said.

When firefighters arrived at the complex at 12110 E. Burnside Street at about 10 p.m., smoke was coming from the back of a second-story unit.

Firefighters said no one was injured. They said people had time to evacuate the building because the apartment’s fire alarm went off and the building’s sprinkler system put most of the fire out.

Firefighters said the cause of the fire is being investigated.

Apartment Building, Residential

Old Orchard Beach, ME – Kitchen fire at apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire at an apartment complex in Old Orchard Beach damaged two units Monday and caused $100,000 in damage, the fire chief said.  Alarms sounded about 10:30 a.m. after a kitchen stove fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system, said Old Orchard Beach Fire Chief Ed Dube.

Fire crews responded to find smoke coming from the building at 18 Smithwheel Road, but the flames were already extinguished by the sprinkler, Dube said. No one was injured.  Water damaged the third-floor unit where the fire began and damaged one below it.

Apartment Building, Residential, School / University

Lynchburg, VA – Fire at off-campus apartment complex at Liberty University put out by sprinkler system

A small grease fire interrupted move-in day for local college students Saturday afternoon. Multiple fire and public safety crews responded to The Oasis, a student-only apartment complex off Candlers Mountain Road, about 4:30 p.m. The apartment complex is less than a mile from Liberty University’s main campus.

Crews responding included Lynchburg Fire Department, Lyn-Dan Heights Volunteer Fire Department, Rustburg Volunteer Fire Department and Campbell County Public Safety. Lynchburg Battalion Chief Mike Reeves said Lynchburg was called in to assist Campbell County.

Reeves said the fire started on the fourth floor of the building. The sprinkler system was able to put out the fire, but Reeves said apartments directly below had heavy water damage. Firefighters worked to clean the apartments with brooms and squeegees as students were forced to wait outside with their belongings. Some students didn’t wait for the scene to clear and continued moving into their apartments.

Campbell County Fire Marshal Randall Johnson said a private contractor was called in to clean.  An apartment complex manager did not provide an exact number of students displaced but said most affected students were staying with friends in the same complex.  Liberty University officials could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Brockton, MA – Apartment arson fire contained by sprinkler system

… The incident is the second arson fire in the city in a week. On Aug. 19, someone set a fire inside an apartment in a 16-unit apartment building at 119 Newbury St., Williams said.

The apartment was unoccupied, however, there were other people in the building at the time. No one was injured.

The building’s sprinkler activated and helped keep the fire from spreading inside the four-story wood-frame building until firefighters arrived, Williams said.

Anyone with information on these two arson cases is asked to call the Arson Watch Reward Program at 1-800-682-9229. A reward of up to $5,000 has been offered for pertinent information.

Apartment Building, Residential

Petersborough, ON, Canada – Garbage chute fire at apartment building kept in check by sprinkler system

A fire in a garbage bin at an apartment building caused $500 damage and prompted an evacuation of the building.

Peterborough Fire service responded quickly to alarm bells ringing at a high-rise building at 909 Clonsilla Ave. this afternoon.

Upon arrival it was determined that a garbage bin  under the building’s garbage chute was on fire. This activated the  sprinkler system which controlled the  fire until fire crews extinguished the fire.

Smoke had spread throughout the  building and crews were able to remove it.

The building tenants had evacuated the  building upon hearing the  alarms ringing.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, said acting platoon chief Lloyd Dozois.