Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Danville, VA – High rise apartment fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

Two Danville House apartments were damaged in a Saturday afternoon fire blamed on unattended cooking. The Danville Fire Department responded to the call on the eighth floor in apartment No. 802 at 600 Main St. at about 1:45 p.m., according to a news release.

A fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by a sprinkler system but filled the apartment with smoke. “After confirming there was no additional fire, the engine company stopped the flow of water from the sprinkler head,” Battalion Chief Brian K. Alderson said in the release. “Water was running down into apartments on the seventh floor.”

Crews redirected water out a window and covered furniture and other valuables with salvage covers, Alderson said. Power to the affected apartments also was turned off. Firefighters stayed on scene until about 340 p.m. There were no injuries.

The apartment on the eighth floor received smoke, heat and water damage, and another apartment on the seventh floor received water damage. The Danville chapter of the American Red Cross is helping one occupant and her pet.

Another occupant will stay with family. “All other tenants were allowed to return to their respective apartments,” Alderson said.  The cause of the fire was unattended cooking, according to the release.

“The DFD reminds everyone to stay alert and in the kitchen when cooking,” Alderson said. “The sprinkler system at the Danville House kept this fire from becoming a large fire that would have displaced many residents.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Conroe, TX – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

2 Comments

** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED**
The City of Conroe Fire Department was notified of an apartment fire at 500 Hickerson St. near N Frazier St. (Hollow Creek Apartments) at approximately 10:34 AM on June 22, 2016. Conroe Firefighters arrived at approximately 10:38 AM and discovered that there had been a fire in the kitchen of one of the apartment units which activated two sprinkler heads and extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or occupants of the building.  Fire damage was confined to the kitchen area.  Water damage was confined to the apartment of origin.  The cause of the fire was unattended cooking and was determined to be unintentional.

For the second time in one week within the City of Conroe, the importance of properly installed and maintained automatic fire sprinkler systems in residential occupancies has been demonstrated. It is likely that the automatic fire sprinkler system saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the building’s owners and occupants.  Further, no adjacent occupants were displaced and possible injuries and deaths to citizens and firefighters were prevented.

Automatic fire sprinkler systems have over 100 years of proven performance protecting life and property. The Conroe Fire Department would like to remind the public that unattended cooking is the leading cause of residential fires in Conroe, and throughout the United States, each year.  Being mindful while you cook, however, can go a long way toward helping to prevent these fires:

**Keep an eye on what you fry
**Be alert when cooking
**Keep things that can catch fire away from the cooking area

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Santa Cruz, CA – Laundry room fire at assisted living center held in check by sprinkler system

Residents of Paradise Villa Assisted Living on 17th Avenue were evacuated Monday morning after a fire broke out in a laundry room.  No one was injured, said Central Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Breasher.

The blaze started about 9:55 a.m. at the two-story complex at 2177 17th Ave. in Live Oak. Residents were evacuated as thick smoke spread from a laundry room, Breasher said. Firefighters found a clothes dryer on fire.

“The automatic fire sprinkler system activated and held the fire in check until the firefighters could finish extinguishing the flames,” Breasher said.  It took about 15 minutes to contain the blaze and 30 minutes to fully control it, Breasher said.

Members of the American Red Cross of the Central Coast provided shade tents and drinking water to 23 residents and nine employees who were evacuated, Breasher said. Firefighters removed smoke and water from the building and residents were allowed to return.

Firefighters continued to investigate the exact cause of the fire on Tuesday.  Santa Cruz Fire, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, American Medical Response, California Highway Patrol and PG&E also responded.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Arcola, IL – Fire at senior living facility contained to one room by sprinkler system

In a fire minutes count. Practice and training pay off. On Saturday morning at about 1:30am staff at Carriage Crossing in the Green Mill Village development in Arcola noticed smoke.  Within moments are fire sprinkler was activated and staff at the assisted living facility began evacuating residents near the area of the fire.  With the help of firefighters all 46 residents were removed from the building.

“Those individuals and those residents were out within seven minutes. So the training paid off.  Everyone stayed very calm,” Cassie Yoder of Green Mill Village told WAND’s Doug Wolfe.  “Residents were with the people they knew.”

Residents are now housed in the adjoining Best Western Plus which is a sister property to Carriage Crossing. Residents and staff have settled in to a normal routine. On Monday, clean-up was underway.

“Most of the damage is just from the sprinkler system and water damage,” said co-owner Jeff Bentley. “It’s contained to one room and at this point we don’t know what caused it yet.”

Bentley says his company has constructed a new facility in Champaign that is similar to the one in Arcola. His staff is attempting to get state licensing to speed up so some of the residents can be moved to Champaign.

The state fire marshal’s office was at Carriage Crossing on Monday attempting to determine a cause of the fire.

Other - Residential, Residential

Adams, MA – No injuries reported as sprinkler system puts out fire at homeless shelter

Twelve Louison House residents were displaced after a small attic fire that was largely extinguished by the house’s sprinkler system.

Assistant Fire Chief John Pansecchi said the electrical fire broke out in the attic around 11:45 Sunday morning but was quickly snuffed out by the family support center’s sprinkler system.

“There were no injuries and minimal fire damage, and I can’t stress enough how much the sprinkler system probably saved that building,” Pansecchi said. “The sprinklers put the fire out in the area so basically we just investigated and tried to determine the cause.”

He said the water damage was caused by the sprinkler system and two families and four individuals were put up at a nearby hotel. The Louison House and the Red Cross provided this support.

It is unknown at this point when residents can move back into the house; the building inspector must make a ruling first.

Pansecchi said the Adams Police and Ambulance were present and Cheshire Fire covered the Adams Station.

Pansecchi said the knockdown was a great success and went smoothly.

“It was a success,” he said. “It was an hour and a half for us there compared to the four hours we spent on Park Street.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Plymouth Meeting, PA – Sprinkler system credited with saving life and property in apartment fire

An accidental fire at the Parc Apartments on Plymouth Road Friday morning caused fire and water damage to one apartment and water damage to an additional nine to 10 apartments.

“The husband and wife living in the third-floor apartment tried to put out the fire in the kitchen,” said Andrew Mount, the Plymouth fire marshal. “They pulled the fire alarm in Building 5000 and evacuated with other residents of the building. The sprinkler system in the apartment had extinguished the fire by the time the fire companies arrived.”

The Harmonville and Plymouth fire companies were the first fire companies to respond to the 8:46 a.m. fire, Mount said. The Conshohocken Fire Company No. 2, Lincoln, Wissahickon and Barren Hill fire companies also responded to the fire along with Plymouth Ambulance.

“The sprinkler system most certainly saved a life and it minimized the damage to the building,” Mount said. “If we didn’t have a sprinkler system in the building firefighters could still be fighting this fire.”

There were no injuries reported.

Mount said that the Parc Apartments management has hired a restoration company to clean up water damage in the second-floor apartments. He said the company will return later to make permanent repairs as well.

“Someone might be critical of the water damage,” Mount said, “but there is less fire damage and less water damage compared to the amount of water the firefighters would use to put out the same fire.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Peoria, IL – Fire at senior living center controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Peoria Fire officials are investigating a blaze that broke out Thursday at Courtyard Estates at 1117 N. Western Ave. There was a reported explosion from one of the apartments, however officials cannot determine if there actually was one. Fire crews discovered the blaze in an apartment on the fourth floor where they found an air conditioning unit that appeared to have an electrical issue and caught fire. The complex’s sprinkler system activated, according to Battalion Chief Aldo Scott. A fire investigator was called to the scene to determine an official cause. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Battle Creek, MI – Kitchen fire at senior apartment complex controlled with help from sprinkler system

NORTH POINTE WOODS FIRE: Damage was estimated at $20,000 after a fire at North Pointe Woods at 700 North Ave. Battle Creek firefighters were called at 6:43 a.m. Monday, the city reported in a news release on Thursday. Firefighters said the fire began on the stove when a stove burner was left on. The fire activated the sprinkler system. A second-floor apartment was damaged with smoke and water and a first floor apartment below had water damage. A hallway on the first floor also filled with water. Residents remained in their apartments as firefighters used ventilators to remove smoke from the hallways.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Hutchinson, KS – Chemical fire in student’s apartment confined by sprinkler system

Hutchinson police investigators think a Hutchinson college student was experimenting with mixing chemicals to create an explosion when he caused a fire in his Plaza Towers apartment Tuesday evening. Local authorities also contacted Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after their investigation revealed the man was sharing his knowledge in chemical bomb making with people in other states, Hutchinson Police Detective Jamie Schoenhoff said.

Police arrested Chase Lee Coble, 22, on suspicion of aggravated arson in an occupied building, unlawful possession of explosives in an occupied building, conspiracy to commit use of explosives and felony criminal damage to property. He has not yet made a court appearance and remains jailed on $12,500 bond.

Firefighters responded to Coble’s apartment at the Plaza Towers, 17 E. Second Ave., at about 4 p.m. after a fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system. The fire itself was small, said Deputy Fire Chief Doug Hanen, and was confined to the top of an upright freezer. He estimated damage from water to the apartment, however, at $4,000 to $5,000.

“After the fire department responded, they discovered numerous chemicals in the apartment they thought might have been meth-lab-related,” Schoenhoff said. “Due to my past history with investigating meth labs, I quickly observed it was not a meth lab but something, in my opinion, more nefarious.”

Police called the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which in turn contacted the South Central Region Homeland Security Hazmat Response Team. All of the chemicals were collected and properly disposed of, Schoenhoff said.

“Mr. Coble is a student at (Hutchinson Community College) majoring in chemistry,” Schoenhoff said. “He’s attended several colleges in other states, in the same major.”

He came to Hutchinson from Salina about a year ago, the detective said.  In talking with Coble and finding items throughout the apartment, they identified at least three chemicals that when mixed with others would create an explosion of flash fire, Schoenhoff said.

“That created a danger to all the occupants of the building,” he said.

The 12-story building has 63 apartments. There also were indications in the apartment that there had been previous fires or explosions there, Schoenhoff said, though none resulted in firefighters responding or significant damage.

“Of equal concern, he’d been communicating with individuals in other states with reference to giving advice and detailing how to make chemical explosives,” he said.

At least one such contact was in Minnesota.  That information, he said, led investigators to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI.

Investigators seized at least 10 computer servers from the apartment, though all “went through the sprinkler system shower,” he said.

“Right now, we’re handling it at the state level, but everyone is interested in the computer analysis.”

The chemicals, for the most part, Schoenhoff said, are items anyone can purchase and none was illegal in itself to own. The problem, he said, is in mixing them, and Coble admitted to attempting to create explosives.

“He knew his stuff, as far as chemicals and reactions,” Schoenhoff said. “He gave different reasons, some legitimate reasons, as to why he was trying to experiment.”

Police arrested Coble last month on suspicion of driving under the influence and battery on a law enforcement officer, Schoenhoff said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Brockton, MA – Apartment kitchen fire is kept from spreading thanks to sprinkler system

A kitchen fire displaced 11 residents of a Brockton home Wednesday night. The Brockton Fire Department responded to 18 N. Arlington St. about 8:16 p.m. for a report of a grease fire on the stove in an apartment in the building.  The fire extended to the kitchen cabinets and into the wall, Brockton Fire Deputy Chief Mark Baker said.  A sprinkler went off in the building, which helped to prevent the fire from spreading further.

Ladder 1 responded and put out the flames with a hose. The building sustained about $50,000 worth of heat, smoke and water damage, Baker said.  The home’s 11 residents were displaced and were assisted by the Red Cross in being placed in other properties owned by the landlord.