Category Archives: Residential High Rise

Ocean City, MD – High-rise condominium fire extinguished by sprinkler system

A potential disaster was averted on Sunday evening when a sprinkler quickly extinguished a kitchen fire at a 25th-floor unit in a north-end high-rise condominium.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday, the Ocean City Fire Department responded to a fire alarm activation resulting from a fire in a unit at the Century I condominium building. When firefighters arrived, there was smoke reported from a unit on the 25th floor. The fire department response was quickly upgraded to a structure fire in a high-rise structure.

The fire, which originated in the unit’s kitchen, was suppressed by one fire sprinkler upon arrival of the fire department. Firefighters on scene worked immediately to remove smoke throughout the 25th floor. OCFD officials said the fire at the high-rise structure illustrated the importance of working fire sprinkler systems.

“Fire sprinklers respond quickly and effectively to fire, often extinguishing the fire before the fire department arrives,” said Ocean City Fire Marshal David Hartley. “This is a perfect example of how an automatic sprinkler reacted quickly, reduced the heat and flames and prevented injuries to those inside the building.”

The unit was unoccupied at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The fire damage was limited to the unit in which it originated. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office.

Columbia, MO – Single sprinkler activates to control fire in apartments for seniors and disabled

Officials said unattended cooking was the cause of a Thursday fire in an apartment at Paquin Tower, 1201 Paquin St., according to a Columbia Fire Department news release. A fire department crew was dispatched at 9:39 p.m. to the apartment building, where water was spotted coming from under an apartment door.

According to the news release, one sprinkler head brought the fire under control and 84 percent of residential fires are contained by one sprinkler head. The crew remained on the scene to clean up the water in the apartment and in the hallway.

 

Auburn, WA – Early morning fire in senior apartment building doused by sprinkler system

A building sprinkler system contained a fire in a seven-story senior apartment complex in Auburn early Thursday morning. Damage was limited to four apartments, the Valley Regional Fire Authority reported.

VRFA crews responded to a report of the fire at the Plaza 17 Apartment building, 1001 17th St. SE, shortly after 7:30 a.m. When crews arrived, they found that three sprinkler heads had activated containing the fire to one apartment unit on the sixth floor of the building. Residents were evacuating.

Firefighters completed fire extinguishment and searched the building for any remaining residents needing assistance. Residents were able to rest in the building’s community room, unaffected by the fire, while fire crews cleared smoke and used water vacuums to remove excess water.

Four apartment units were deemed uninhabitable, primarily because of the water damage. Building managers were able to find housing for all but one resident who will be helped by the American Red Cross. Kent Fire Department RFA, South King Fire and Rescue and King County Medic One assisted the VRFA. The fire is under investigation.

Shreveport, LA – High-rise apartment blaze knocked down by sprinkler system

Firefighters were called to the high-rise Fairmont Apartments building in downtown Shreveport just before 7:00 Monday evening. Fire officials say the fire appeared to have started in the kitchen of a third floor apartment. Fortunately, the sprinkler system had mostly knocked out the fire before firefighters arrived.

“The sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do, save the owners of the building money, reduce the damage and minimize injuries to the occupants. So, the sprinkler system was effective in doing its job,” says Shreveport Fire Chief Fred Sanders. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

San Diego, CA – Sprinklers help contain blaze at senior residential high-rise; No injuries

A fire of unknown origin erupted in a City Heights senior-housing high-rise Monday afternoon.  The non-injury blaze began spreading on the seventh floor of the 10-story building in the 4100 block of 42nd Street about 2:45 p.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

It took crews about a half-hour to extinguish the flames, which appeared to have originated on or near an outdoor deck, SDFRD Capt. Joe Amador said.  A built-in fire sprinkler helped keep the blaze from rapidly spreading prior to the arrival of emergency personnel, he said.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the unit where it originated, though several nearby ones sustained smoke and heat damage, according to Amador.

Authorities evacuated about 70 people from the building and directed others to remain in their apartments for a time as a precaution. The American Red Cross was called in to help arrange interim lodging for those unable to return to their residences immediately.

Dayton, OH – 8th floor fire at senior apartment building extinguished with help from sprinkler system

 Crews were dispatched to the senior living facility just before 7:30 p.m. Friday on a report of a fire in an apartment of a multi-story building.   The fire originated in an eighth-floor apartment at Bethany Village,  The sprinkler system activated and several medic units have been requested.

Washington Twp. fire Capt. Ron Kern said the fire began in the kitchen of an eighth-floor apartment, and said the cause is under investigation. He also confirmed that two residents have been displaced because of water damage that occurred from floors eight to five.The building was being evacuated as fire crews arrived, Kern said, lauding staff for its quick work in starting that process when the fire alarm was activated. He did not know how many residents and staff had to be evacuated.

We’re told by a maintenance worker at the facility that there was a fire in the kitchen of an apartment on the eighth floor, but it was quickly put out by firefighters and the building sprinkler system. Only the eighth floor was evacuated, fire officials said, and two units are now inhabitable because of water damage.

Hibbing, MN – Single sprinkler contains early morning fire at senior high rise apartment building

A fire at Hibbing’s Androy Building Sunday morning drew a full response from the Hibbing and neighboring fire departments. But when they arrived, they found the fire had already been contained by a single sprinkler head.

The Androy Building houses senior high-rise apartments, an Elks Club banquet center and an orthodontics clinic. According to the Hibbing Fire Department, firefighters arrived shortly before 6 a.m. when an automatic fire alarm was triggered. The found smoke coming from a vent near the kitchen of the Elks Club and tenants starting to to evacuate the building.

Inside, crews found smoke in the Elks side of the building but the fire down to a smolder. Crews put out the remaining smoldering material and ventilated the smoke from the banquet room. By 7:10 a.m., it was deemed safe enough to allow tenants back in.

Hibbing Fire Marshal Bryan Fagerstrom determined the case was accidental — a steam table had been left on which overheated and ignited the wood buffet table. He stressed the importance of having a properly maintained sprinkler system. “The sprinkler system in this fire was serviced and maintained per code and did exactly as it should by containing the fire and keeping it from spreading,” he said in the release.

Hamilton, ON, Canada – Fire in garbage chute at high rise apartment building extinguished by sprinklers

Residents were evacuated from a downtown apartment building for about half-an-hour Monday to allow Hamilton firefighters to deal with a fire in the garbage chute.

Firefighters were called to 150 Sanford Avenue North shortly after 8:30 p.m. Monday.  Fire department spokesperson Claudio Mostacci said by the time firefighters had arrived, the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire.

 The service sent 11 vehicles to the scene. Some firefighters remained on the scene to deal with possible “hot spots” in the garbage.  Mostacci said no one was hurt and there was no damage.

While he could not say what caused the fire, Mostacci said the fires are often started by people accidentally throwing cigarette ashes down the chute.  He reminds tenants in apartment buildings to be careful.

Redington Shores, FL – Fire at high-rise condo building extinguished by single sprinkler

Firefighters responded to the 2-alarm structure fire at 8:06 a.m. Tuesday at the Anglers Cove Condominium located at 17450 Gulf Boulevard. The firefighters discovered that there was a fire in a storage room adjacent to the condominium office that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. There were no injuries, and damage was limited to smoke and water damage to the office area. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Management of Anglers Cove stated that the 48 unit building was at nearly full occupancy at the time of the fire. Upon arrival Firefighters found the building being evacuated and light smoke showing from the north side of the building on the ground floor. Gulf Boulevard was shut down for about 20 minutes, and more than 200 residents had evacuated and were waiting in adjacent parking lots for the firefighters to complete their work.

“It is important to recognize the significance of this fire being controlled by the building’s sprinkler system, one single sprinkler head prevented this from being a much greater incident and prevented injuries and greater loss of property,” said City of Seminole Fire Rescue Public Education Officer Brad Dykens in a news release.

The fire had escalated to two alarms due to the special hazards that exist when dealing with a fire in a high rise building and to ensure the safety of all the residents. During the course of the evacuation one resident in a wheelchair was assisted down the stairwell by firefighters.

Units from Seminole, Pinellas Suncoast, Madeira Beach, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg fire departments responded.

Columbus, OH – Kitchen fire on 9th floor of high-rise apartment building put out by sprinkler system

The fire happened around 5 a.m. in the Skyview Towers on Sawyer Boulevard, just south of I-670. According to the fire chief, the blaze started on the 9th floor, where a stovetop caught fire. The building’s sprinkler system activated and effectively put out the flames. All evacuated residents are now safe and back inside.