Fire crews say they responded to M.L.K. Jr. Blvd and Annadale Avenue for a small fire on the first floor, which was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system. The facility had extensive water damage and many of the occupants were temporarily displaced.
Fire officials say one person was transported to a local hospital with smoke inhalation. Fire investigators say an oxygen generator may have been the cause of the fire.
Battalion Chief Brian Harryman of the Berkeley Fire Department credited the Hope Center’s fire sprinkler system with putting out the blaze before it spread.
“It probably saved the whole building,” he said.
The Hope Center, which opened in 2022 on the site of a former city parking lot, has 53 supportive housing units while Berkeley Way Apartments, part of the same complex, has 89 affordable units and services for low-income families.
Firefighters were dispatched to the Hope Center, at 2012 Berkeley Way, just before 8:30 p.m. Monday for a report of smoke on the third floor.
“We’re getting reports of somebody blowing up their room, unknown what that means,” a dispatcher told the Berkeley Fire Department as the call came in.
Thanks to proximity, Berkeley firefighters arrived at the Hope Center in under a minute, Harryman said: BFD’s Station 2 is just across the street about 100 feet away.
Inside the apartment, firefighters found scooters and lithium-ion batteries that had been charging unattended.
The fire was out quickly thanks to the sprinkler system, but the water caused “considerable damage” to the apartment where the batteries were charging.
Several adjacent units saw minimal damage due to water that got in beneath the doors.
Firefighters had to manually turn off the sprinklers to control the flow.
“There’s a considerable amount of water damage,” a firefighter said over the radio just before 8:40 p.m., adding: “We’re going to need squeegees and manpower.”
All of the residents were able to return to their rooms aside from the unit where the fire happened.
Fortunately, Harryman said, a friend in the building offered that resident a place to stay.
“We checked around and all the shelters were full. All the hotels were full,” he said. “We really didn’t have a place to send him.”
Harryman noted that some of the scooter rental companies pay people to charge lithium-ion batteries for them. But he said he did not know if that had been the case on Berkeley Way.
BFD strongly discourages anyone from charging lithium-ion batteries inside their homes, he added. Even outside, they should not be left unattended.
“Don’t plug them in and leave for the day or leave them for the weekend,” he said. “These things are overcharging, heating up and causing fires. If you are going to charge it, remain home with it and don’t charge it inside.”
Last year, the city of Berkeley announced in June that six recent fires had been caused by unattended lithium battery charging.
“These local battery fires — involving e-skateboards, e-scooters, and at least one e-bike — have also been seen around the region and nation,” the city wrote.
The city also noted that fires could “occur spontaneously while charging” and advised anyone noticing signs of fire, such as smoke, gas and sparks, to evacuate the area and immediately call 911.
Learn more from the city of Berkeley about fire risks related to lithium-ion batteries.
When crews arrived on Academy Court Saturday, they said the main body of the fire had already been extinguished.
Firefighters helped get the smoke from the building and also assisted with water removal, which eliminated further damage, said firefighters.
The cause remains under investigation.
A fire on the third floor of Ellis Place, a supportive housing building located at 1055 Ellis Street prompted occupants of the building to evacuate and a road closure between Recreation Avenue and Gaston Avenue.
The building was fully evacuated by the time 17 crew members responded to the blaze at around 10:40 a.m.
Everyone was accounted for and there were no injuries, said Capt. Corrie Lang from the KFD.
“It turned out to be a smoldering mattress in one of the units and the sprinkler system extinguished the fire,” Lang said. “Mostly smoke and water damage now.”
The road has since reopened, with crews currently cleaning up the scene.
Lang said the cause of the fire is unknown.
The fire on 33rd Street was first reported around 8:15 p.m., according to a news release from Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services.
It was located in an exterior storage space on the second floor of the building, the release said.
The fire suppression sprinkler system was working and helped mitigate the effects of the flames until firefighters could arrive on-scene.
“Due to the fire suppression system and quick actions by firefighters, there was no fire extension into the living quarters, and there was minimal damage to the structure,” the release said.
All occupants safely evacuated their homes during the blaze and were able to return after the fire was extinguished by firefighters, the release said.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined, according to the release.
Two fire engines, one battalion chief from Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services responded to the fire, along with two San Luis Obispo County Cal Fire engines and one battalion chief and a ladder truck from the City of Atascadero Fire Department.
Shortly after 6:00 AM Sno911 began receiving call from people reporting an alarm going off in the building and there was at least one report of smoke and flames.
Residents and staff safely evacuated the building.
Everett Fire’s Ladder 1 arrived and confirmed a fire in one apartment bringing a full commercial response. The sprinkler system had activated and the fire was contained to the one room which had both smoke and water damage.
There were no injuries and at this writing an investigator with Everett Fire is on scene working to determine the cause.
The incident, which occurred at the independent student housing complex for Cayuga Community College, was reported at approximately 4:47 p.m.
Officials said the dormitory’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the fire before firefighters reached the scene.
However, the resulting water damage prompted the Auburn Code Enforcement Office to condemn the affected third-floor unit and the units directly beneath it on the first and second floors.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Lattimore Hall’s management is currently arranging alternate accommodations for the displaced students, and the fire department has taken measures to manage the aftermath of the incident, including shutting down the third floor’s sprinkler system and ventilating the smoke. Auburn City Ambulance was also present on-site.
The fire was confined to a common area near the entrance to the mansion, according to the Winona Police Department.
The fire, which required off-duty firefighters to be called for assistance, resulted in minor fire, smoke and water damage to the building.
The fire did not result in any injuries, but the department reported one resident had to be assisted in evacuating the building by firefighters.
The residents of the mansion are being assisted by the Red Cross to find new housing.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The mansion was sold earlier this year to the Kappa Chi Fraternity for $1.85 million, over double the estimated market value of the mansion, according to Winona County’s commercial sale records.
Kappa Chi chapter president Creighton Butler said that the fraternity has not moved into the mansion yet and the residents had leases from before the purchase of the property.
He said the sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire to the common space. The building’s fire alarm system automatically reported the blaze to the Winona Fire Department.
Butler said there was “a lot to be figured out still” for the fraternity regarding its plans to move into the mansion.
The mansion, built in 1857 by one of Winona’s founders, Henry Huff, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976.
Initially reported as an individual in need of rescue, Santa Cruz firefighters responded to the 1010 Pacific Ave. scene shortly after 4 p.m. Arriving firefighters entering the building encountered heavy smoke coming from inside the kitchen, but found no trapped building occupants, Battalion Chief Josh Coleman wrote in a media release. Two adults reporting smoke inhalation were treated at the scene, the department said.
Occupants of the building’s 113 apartments were evacuated during the fire. The fire was extinguished within about 10 minutes and firefighters spent two hours searching for hidden fire extension elsewhere in the building and assisting residents in returning to their homes. The department estimated the fire resulted in about $10,000 worth of damages.
Fire investigators determined the cause to be accidental, with no foul play noted. The two-alarm fire drew mutual aid assistance from Central and Scotts Valley fire protection districts.
According to Franklin Fire Company, the incident happened in the building at around 12:13 a.m. on Saturday.
Due to the fast response and readiness of the team, officials say the fire was contained to a commercial dryer in a utility room, which was the root of the flames.
A firefighter with the station even captured the ordeal from his perspective on camera:
Luckily, authorities say they were able to quickly “isolate gas and electric at the dryer and shut down the sprinkler system to the affected area.”
Crews say they worked with nursing staff to make sure all residents were able to safely remain inside the building during the situation.
No one was injured in the fire.
