Category Archives: Other – Residential

Other - Residential, Residential

Campbell RIver, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at homeless housing facility

No injuries to report after flames broke out in a top floor unit at a supportive housing facility in Campbell River.

Just after 11:30 last night (Wednesday), Campbell River fire chief Thomas Doherty says crews were dispatched to Q’waxsem Place.

The 50-unit building, located at 580 Dogwood St., opened in February and provides homes with 24/7 support for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

According to Doherty, an alarm call is what first prompted Campbell River Fire Rescue to attend.

Once on scene, he says crews quickly noticed smoke spewing out a third-floor window. They then utilized hose lines, working to extinguish the blaze in hopes it wouldn’t spread to other units.

But Doherty says the building’s sprinkler system did activate, which played an ‘instrumental’ role in getting the job done.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.

“All said and done, there’s damage to the one unit on the third floor, and a little bit of water damage as well to some subsequent units,” Doherty explains. 

However, while a number of residents did evacuate before firefighters arrived, others did not, which posed a challenge, Doherty tells My Campbell River Now.

Eventually, everyone made it out. Doherty notes that a transit bus stopped by, offering a warm and dry place for residents to stay while crews assessed the damage.

“We were fortunate to be able to let the occupants return to their units, with the exception of those that were damaged,” he adds.

Other - Residential, Residential

Gasden, AL – Sprinkler system helps put out kitchen fire at group home; No injuries reported

A bad situation Saturday morning could have been a tragic one, according to Rainbow City firefighters, when a kitchen fire started in a group home.

Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the home, Nick Hill of the RBC Fire Department said in a press release, and while en route, they received an update that a heat/smoke alarm and a sprinkler system at the home had activated.

Rainbow City Dispatch told firefighters a caller said grease had boiled out of a pot onto a stove, starting the fire.

“Upon arriving on scene we found smoke exiting the structure,” Hill said. Crews went to work to locate anyone who might be in the structure and to battle the blaze, he said.

“Search and Rescue crews found that there was a bed-bound subject within the home,” Hill said. That person was safely brought out of the home.

Fire fighting crews found a small fire on the stove in the kitchen, he said, but thanks to the activation of the sprinkler system, there was minimal damage.

“What fire remained was still burning due to the stove hood blocking the water from the sprinkler,” Hill explained. The fire was extinguished with a dry chemical extinguisher, and crews checked for fire extension into the walls and cabinets.

They found no evidence the fire had spread further.

All occupants in the residence were accounted for and safe, Hill said. Property owners and managers were looking into finding a place to move the occupants until the residence was repaired.

The outcome of this incident, Hill said, can be greatly attributed to the working smoke/heat alarms and the properly working sprinkler system.

Rainbow City Fire Rescue has a smoke alarm installation program to install smoke alarms in the homes in Rainbow City at no charge to the residential property owner, he said.

“This is a program provided by anonymous donors at a state level, ‘Get Alarmed Alabama!’ and ‘The Alabama Fire College,’” he explained.

For any questions about the smoke alarm installation program contact Rainbow City Fire Rescue at (256) 442-2511.

Other - Residential, Residential

Macon, GA – Sprinkler system helps contain fire at Home for Children and Youth; No injuries reported

The Methodist Home for Children and Youth says they’re thankful after Macon-Bibb firefighters put out fire near one of their buildings Saturday night.

CEO of the home, Alison Evans, says she got a call around 6:45 p.m. that a golf cart parked under a breezeway to an administration building had caught fire. 

The golf cart was battery powered, and something in it malfunctioned, according to the Macon-Bibb Fire Department.

The department says there was no major damage to the breezeway itself other than soot buildup and some water damage inside the building due to a sprinkler. 

Evans says the fire was not near any of their children’s homes, and there were no injuries. The home is operating as normal. 

They lost a golf cart, but Evans says she’s happy with the fire department’s response. 

The Methodist Home for Children and Youth is located off Pierce Avenue.

Other - Residential, Residential

Grand Forks, ND – Kitchen fire put out by fire sprinklers at group home; No injuries reported

Six people have been forced out of their homes after a kitchen fire broke out in a Grand Forks REM house, how long is uncertain.

Fire broke out this morning around 9 at 415 N. 51 St.

By the time crews got to the scene, a sprinkler system had put out the bulk of the fire.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the fire.

The kitchen has moderate smoke and fire damage.

No one was hurt.

Other - Residential, Residential

Fall River, MA – Sprinkler system suppresses fire caused by careless disposal of cigarette; No injuries reported

A smouldering cigarette discarded in a plastic trash can is the apparent cause of a Monday afternoon fire that briefly stalled the Fall River Veterans Day parade.

“It was determined that it was the careless disposal of cigarettes in a trash barrel,” said Fire Department Capt. Neil Furtado.

Furtado said the trash barrel was in a third-floor unit of a rooming house at 515 South Main St.

Fire investigators found a cigarette butt embedded in the melted plastic of the trash barrel “which was a strong indicator that’s where the fire started,” Furtado said.

The building’s sprinkler system suppressed the fire but caused water damage to the 18-unit structure, said Furtado. Investigators pegged the cost of the damage at approximately $15,000.

No injuries were reported to fire personnel or building residents, according to Furtado.

Firefighters responded to the building about 2:15 p.m. Monday. The residence was located along the parade route near where the parade stepped off from Kennedy Park.

The Veterans Day parade was briefly paused so that fire apparatus could approach the scene.

Other - Residential, Residential

Chesapeake, VA – Sprinkler system controls kitchen fire; No injuries reported

A kitchen fire has forced two people out of their home in the 1900 block of Robert Hall Boulevard Monday night.

The call came in at 7:46 p.m.

The first unit arrived on scene seven minutes later to find the small kitchen fire being controlled by the sprinkler system.

Firefighters quickly initiated an attack and made sure that the building was clear. The fire was completely extinguished at 8:09 p.m.

No one was hurt, and the residents are being assisted with lodging arrangement.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Other - Residential, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Third floor balcony fire controlled by fire sprinkler; No injuries reported

Fire officials believe “improperly discarded smoking material” is to blame for a fire that damaged a multi- family home Sunday.

Fire crews responded to the call Sunday at 11:46 a.m. at 1119 Matteo Drive, building three.

Assistant Chief of Operations Thomas Robinson says Wilmington and New Hanover Crews arrived to find a sprinkler controlled balcony fire on the third floor. Units left the scene of the fire by 1 p.m.

Investigators determined the cause was discarded “smoking material” in a flower pot. The home’s vinyl siding was damaged as well as some outdoor furnitues, but the damage was minor.

There were no injuries reported to the family or fire crews.

Other - Residential, Residential

Bloomfield Hills, MI – Fire sprinkler systems controls fire in attic until crews arrived; No injuries reported

For the second time in just a few months, a fire broke out at the historical Manresa Jesuit Retreat House early July 31, according to police.

According to Sgt. Steve Splan, of the Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Department, an alarm at the retreat’s main house, 1390 Quarton Road, was activated at 5:44 a.m. July 31. Upon arrival, first responders said they could smell smoke, and they circled the unoccupied building to find the source.

“We repositioned to the north side of the building and we could see smoke coming from what appeared to be the attic area,” Splan said. 

The attic of the facility had been undergoing renovations and reportedly hadn’t been used in some time. With the help of firefighters from Bloomfield Township and Troy, the flames were extinguished from the attic — a space Splan said is notoriously tough for firefighters — and the damage was contained to an about 20-by-20-foot space.

“The sprinkler system did a fantastic job. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and hold the fire back until our crews were able to fully extinguish it,” he said. “It was lucky for the sprinklers — actually, probably not lucky: good preparation.”

Splan said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but as of now there is “zero suspicion of foul play.” There were no injuries.

The Eagle could not reach anyone at Manresa for comment before press time. The phone lines were disconnected, likely due to the department cutting off power to one of the buildings as a precaution, Splan said. 

Just a little over three months ago, public safety personnel responded to another fire at the facility, on April 10, when a fire broke out in a large historical barn on the property. While the barn, one of three,  was burned down completely, there were no injuries, and at that time, Steve Raymond, the associate director of Manresa, said the incident wouldn’t affect daily activities. 

The cause of that fire has yet to be released by investigators. 

Other - Residential, Residential

Spring Valley, CA – Sprinkler system puts out house fire ignited by lamp; No injuries reported

Firefighters responding to a house fire in Spring Valley Friday morning came across two guinea pigs swimming for their lives as a sprinkler system doused the flames.

At around 2:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a resident’s report of a fire at home in the 9800 block of Avenida Ricardo.

Responding fire crews entered the structure as the home’s built-in sprinkler system was active and putting out much of the flames.

However, crews saw that the water from the system had soaked two guinea pigs and flooded their cage.

Crews rescued the two guinea pigs and helped safely remove two dogs from the home. The pets’ owners were not home at the time of the blaze.

Fire officials believe a lamp fell near the guinea pigs’ enclosure and ignited some hay next to it.

No animals or humans were injured in the fire, but the home suffered extensive water damage from the sprinkler system.