Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Richmond, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system knocks down apartment fire possibly caused by Molotov cocktail

Richmond RCMP is investigating a suspicious fire late on Sunday evening in City Centre which is thought to have displaced up to eight families.

Shortly after 11 p.m. the Mounties were called to the 5800 block of No. 3 Road  to assist Richmond Fire-Rescue with a fire on the sixth floor of an apartment building.

Fire crews had arrived earlier to find heavy smoke coming from the sixth floor.

The Richmond News understands a Molotov device had been thrown on the floor and the fire was knocked down by the sprinkler system.

Residents of the apartment claim this is the second time in a week that the building has been targeted, adding that a smoke bomb was let off and offensive graffiti was found.

However, according to the RCMP, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but is being treated as suspicious.

“We are greatly relieved no one was injured,” said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang.

“We are currently reviewing surveillance footage and conducting interviews with witnesses.

“One of our specially trained fire investigators is working with our counterparts from Richmond Fire-Rescue.”

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Cpl. Kevin Lin immediately at 604-278-1212. To leave a tip, email Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

No injuries were reported, but several families were unable to return to their homes due to water damage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lafayette, LA – Trash compactor fire at apartment complex suppressed by sprinkler system

(Blog Note: Smoke does not cause a sprinkler to activate, but rather only the substantial heat from a fire).
A Friday afternoon fire at a downtown Lafayette apartment complex likely was caused by an improperly trashed lit cigarette, according to the Lafayette Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived at Uptown Lofts at 519 S. Pierce St. around 4 p.m. to find smoke coming from an apartment’s trash compactor, spokesman Alton Trahan said. The smoke caused the room’s sprinkler to activate, suppressing the fire before firefighters could remove the metal trash bin with burning materials inside, Trahan said.

The building did not sustain fire damage, but occupants were evacuated while firefighters investigated the smoke’s origin. Investigators ruled the fire an accident

Apartment Building, Residential

Manassas, VA – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire caused by clothes left near fireplace

City of Manassas Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to a fire at the Barrington Park Apartments in the early morning hours of April 11. The fire started when a pile of clothing was left near a gas fireplace that was accidentally turned on. Smoke alarms alerted the occupants to the fire.

One person was trapped in an upstairs bedroom because of smoke but fire and rescue personnel were able to evacuate the man who was treated and released at the scene. The fire was extinguished by the apartment’s residential fire sprinkler system that went off properly and suppressed the fire.

The City of Manassas Fire and Rescue department reminds residents that home fire sprinkler systems can control and even extinguish a fire in less time than it takes for the fire department to arrive on scene. By having a fire sprinkler system in the home, the risk of dying from a fire is cut by about about 80 percent. The average property loss per fire is cut by about 70 percent when a fire sprinkler system is in place

Apartment Building, Residential

Lynn, MA – Couch fire in fourth floor apartment extinguished by sprinkler system

The Lynn Fire Department responded to a couch fire in a fourth floor apartment at 501 Washington St. Tuesday, said Lynn District Fire Chief Stephen Archer. The fire, which occurred at 4 p.m., was extinguished by a sprinkler system. Residents of that unit have had to find a new home due to water damage, Archer said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Portland, OR – Sprinkler activates in apartment fire that started outdoors

Ten adults, four children and five pets were displaced from their apartments as the result of a two-alarm fire that damaged six units at a Northwest Portland complex Saturday morning.

No one was injured on the fire at the complex in the 18000 block of Northwest Chemeketa Lane.

Volunteers with the Cascades Region Disaster Action Team of the Red Cross responded to provided assistance for temporary lodging, assistance to address immediate basic needs, and information about recovery services and disaster health and mental health services.

According to Tualitan Valley Fire & Rescue, at 9:45 a.m. on April 9, firefighters responded to Westridge Meadows Apartments after multiple callers reported heavy black smoke on the outside of one of the first floor units.

By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread from the exterior of the twelve unit building to the interior, moving rapidly to the second and third floor.

First-arriving firefighters began an aggressive fire attack, quickly knocked down flames on the exterior of the building and then working their way floor by floor extinguishing the fire. Primary and secondary searches by crews confirmed that all occupants were able to get out.

Firefighters worked for nearly 45 minutes to ensure the fire was out by extinguishing hot spots from the roof and pulling ceiling from inside apartments.

All residents were able to exit the complex safely. One person was treated for a non-fire related medical need.

The Washington County Sherriff’s Office, Portland Fire & Rescue and the Hillsboro Fire Department all assisted on the fire.

A fire investigator has determined that the fire started on a balcony, but was unable to immediate learn how. The investigator will continue conducting witness interviews and the fire remains under investigation.

The complex was equipped with a fire sprinkler system, which was activated once the fire moved inside the building. According to TVF&R, when a fire sprinkler system is present, the likelihood of injuries and costly damage is dramatically reduced. More information about fire sprinkler systems can be found at: www.tvfr.com/index.aspx?nid=144

Apartment Building, Residential

Juneau, AK – Sprinklers activate in apartment blaze; fire damage limited to one unit

Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a fire at the Channel View Apartments on Gastineau Avenue Sunday afternoon. Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto said only one unit was burned. Quinto said he didn’t know if there was any damage to the building’s roof, but the unit’s front-facing windows were broken.

A woman and two children who are presumed to have been in the unit when the fire happened went to the emergency room at Bartlett Regional Hospital because of smoke inhalation. As of 8:30 p.m., the woman was in stable condition and the two children were being evaluated.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

While residents suffered few physical injuries, most of the low-income apartments have severe water damage.

Will Noel does maintenance for the apartments. He said 17 of the building’s 22 units have water damage from the sprinkler system that went off during the fire.

Noel said he saw the woman who lives in the burned apartment as she was leaving for the hospital and that she said her outlet had caught on fire. The fire marshal hasn’t identified a cause yet.

Apartment Building, Residential

Roseburg, OR – Wheelchair-bound resident OK after sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire

Around midnight on April 8, the Roseburg Fire Department was dispatched to a fire in apartment #204 in the Grand Apartments at 730 SE Cass Ave.  Fire officials say it was contained to the studio apartment and extinguished by the building’s automatic fire sprinkler system.

The wheelchair-bound resident was found sitting on the floor when firefighters entered the room, the report said. He was evaluated for smoke inhalation and transported to Mercy Medical Center where he was released later Friday morning.

Investigators say the fire was most likely caused by the apartment’s 60-year-old resident, who discarded a cigarette in a paper-filled trash can near a kitchen cabinet. The building’s automatic sprinkler system activated within three minutes, extinguishing the flames, which had begun climbing to the ceiling of the apartment.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Apartment kitchen fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

Firefighters here responded to a call at about 10:15 a.m. Friday, April 8, at The Fargoan building at 319 Broadway. Residents were evacuated as the Fire Department worked to clear smoke from the building, but no one was injured in the incident, according to Craig Nelson, battalion chief with the Fargo Fire Department.

Upon arrival, firefighters found a fire located in the kitchen area inside one of the units. Nelson said the building’s sprinkler system quickly put the fire in a second-floor unit of the building.  Firefighters used a hand line to extinguish the remaining fire.

No one was injured, including a number of pets reported to be in apartment units. That was a relief to Katie Perleberg, who anxiously watched from across the street as firefighters cleared smoke from the building and helped nearby businesses clean up water that had poured down from the floor above them.

Nelson said at about 10:25 a.m. that Broadway would likely be closed for about an hour as crews continued to clear the building of smoke and water. Water from the sprinkler system caused damage to the three businesses located on the lower level of the complex.  Crews helped those businesses contain the water and relocate some merchandise.

He said the cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known. The total cost of the fire loss is unknown at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Orlando, FL – Hoverboard fire at apartment building limited by sprinkler system

A hoverboard set out to charge burst into flames inside an Orange County apartment Thursday, displacing three families, according to Orange County Fire Rescue. More than a dozen firefighters responded after the fire broke out in a third-floor apartment on Avalon Reserve Boulevard just before 8 p.m.  Officials said the hoverboard went up in flames while it was charging.

A dog was removed from the home after residents were evacuated. “There was one child who apparently ran in there to get the dog,” Battalion Chief Carollee Burrell said. The child was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The mother of the child, who asked not to be identified, said she was at work when she got the frantic call. The hoverboard was a Christmas gift for her son. The son, who also was not identified, said the hoverboard started to shake before bursting into flames.

The flames did not spread throughout the apartment but sprinklers went off inside of it and two neighboring units. Orange County Fire Rescue said three families were displaced due to water damage from the sprinkler. The Red Cross is helping those residents find a place to stay.

Apartment Building, Residential

Easton, PA – Sprinkler system holds apartment fire in check; Fire started in dryer

A dryer fire Wednesday evening in Easton led to extensive damage in an apartment and the temporary evacuation of the entire building. It was reported about 5:50 p.m. in an apartment at G.J. Mills in the 1400 block of Bushkill Drive in the city, near the border with Forks Township.

Tenant Fred Green said he was doing laundry in his apartment when the dryer, stacked atop the washer, caught fire. “Underneath the bottom of the dryer, I saw flames and the filter was melting,” he said.

He dialed 911 and the building’s alarm sounded. The Easton Fire Department had the fire quickly extinguished upon arrival, Capt. Henry Hennings said.

“The sprinkler system kept things pretty much in check until we got here,” he said. “A lot of water damage, though.” Hennings confirmed the fire started in the dryer but said the cause was undetermined Wednesday night.

Residents temporarily evacuated by the incident clustered together at the apartments inside a converted mill complex along the Bushkill Creek.

Despite the alarm sounding, firefighters had to go door to door in the complex to evacuate all the residents as a precaution, Hennings said. He noted that if an alarm sounds in a building, anyone inside needs to get out. Older construction can mean buildings lack firewalls, and flames can spread to any void from the basement to the attic.

No one was reported injured. Green’s second-floor apartment sustained flame, heat and smoke damage, and firefighters reported some smoke in at least four other apartments.  Only Green was displaced following the incident, Hennings said, and was being put up temporarily by the property owner, Strausser Enterprises Inc.  The fire department cleared the scene about 7:20 p.m.