Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

Peoria, AZ – Apartment kitchen fire controlled by single automatic sprinkler; No injuries reported

Peoria firefighters said a sprinkler system in an apartment prevented a stove fire from causing more damage than it did.  Peoria-Fire Medical crews responded to a fire at approximately 11:45 a.m. Thursday at the Rancho Del Sol Apartments.  Crews found a home filled with smoke and a stove fire being controlled by a single fire sprinkler head.

The fire damaged the stove and microwave with some damage to the cabinets and drywall, officials said, and there was also water damage from the sprinkler head.  The homeowner said a pan of oil on the stove was unattended for less than a minute.

“This fire . . . could have been significantly worse without the presence of a fire sprinkler system,” Peoria-Fire Medical officials stated in a release. “Flames from a grease fire can quickly spread and engulf a kitchen. In this case, the fire was being controlled by the sprinkler system until fire crews could arrive.”

Everyone was able to evacuate safely with no injuries, officials said.  According to fire investigator Mike Brune, a similar stove fire in a Peoria apartment complex without sprinklers did significantly more damage and left the apartment

Fire crews stayed on scene to clear away the standing water so that the homeowner could get back in the home more quickly.  “With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this is an important reminder that kitchen fires are the No. 1 cause of home fires. Always stay in the kitchen while cooking on the stove, and keep a fire extinguisher nearby,” the release stated.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Grand Rapids, MI – Fire at high-rise apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system; No injuries

Emergency crews had to scramble Thursday afternoon in downtown Grand Rapids after fire broke out on the fifth floor of the Weston Apartments. At first, smoke could be seen pouring out a window, quickly followed by water from the fire hoses. Everyone in the building was evacuated, and investigators say the fire was contained to just one apartment.

“Our primary concern, right now, is to get 89 families that call this building home into their homes,” said Grand Rapids Fire Department deputy chief Kevin Sehlmeyer. “Many of them, in the process of leaving, left all their belongings behind — including cell phones. We have a mother that needs diapers.”

Fire officials say no one was injured, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. There isn’t much room in downtown Grand Rapids to grow out, so the only option is up. Those taller buildings and provide more difficult challenges for fire fighters.

“All of our companies are trained in high rise operations which includes working off stairs I mean they had to hike up five floors before they even began work today,” says Grand Rapids Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Sehlmeyer.

This afternoon, their training allowed them to hold this fire at Weston Apartments to just one unit.  Crews learn how to climb stairs quickly and efficiently to get hose and water to the burning apartments, they learn to blow water from inside out to avoid spreading flames on the inside and deeper into the building. Out of the 96 units, only one had fire damage only two water damaged.

“We worked off of what is called a stand pipe. There’s a fire protection system in the building our crews hook to that then make their way onto the floor,” says Sehlmeyer.

Like any high rise, these buildings come with sprinkler systems, which help.The concrete construction of older buildings, like the Weston, help contain the damage. But time is still the enemy when these apartments are so stacked together. There’s no wiggle room to stop it from spreading.

“The faster we can get the water picked up the less damage to the units below so that’s the priority right now,” says Sehlmeyer.

Apartment Building, Residential

Victoria, BC, Canada – Late night apartment fire extinguished by single sprinkler

The fire, believed to have been caused by oil in a pan on a stove, broke out at 10:45 p.m. in a suite at Quadra Street and Caledonia Avenue. The fire was extinguished by a single sprinkler near the stove. However, four floors directly below were flooded, causing damage, said acting Battalion Chief Lance Mitchell of Victoria Fire. The resident of the suite received second-degree burns to one of his hands while trying to extinguish the blaze. He was taken to hospital by B.C. Ambulance. Several displaced residents will be given assistance with housing through the Victoria Emergency Management Agency, the fire department said. The department’s fire inspector reminds people cooking with oil not to leave the pot or pan unattended and to have a lid nearby in case of fire.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Biloxi, MS – Fire at assisted living facility held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

The grounds surrounding the Pillars were filled with emergency vehicles and crews throughout the morning on Wednesday, after flames forced residents and staff at the Pillars Medical Residences in Biloxi to evacuate.

Fire Chief, Joe Boney says the fire wasn’t as involved as others he’s seen, but it was still a dangerous situation. “Anytime you have a fire like this, it doesn’t take a lot of fire. The smoke is what gets people. Especially when you have many residents in a close area like this,” said Boney.

Chief Boney says the sprinkler system also did its job. “It did stop the fire. It held the fire until we could get to it to put it out,” said Boney.

According to Boney, only one staff member had to be treated for smoke inhalation, and no residents were injured. The staff at the facility had already started the evacuations when the fire department arrived.

“They did exactly what they were supposed to do, they made sure their residents were safe,” said Rhonda Nettles, administrator of a sister facility to the Pillars.

According to Nettles, the staff members practice several fire drills a month to make sure they are prepared for any incident. Since the fire was contained to one room, the residents were simply moved to a safer area of the building.

In addition to the building’s safety features, all agencies involved were on top of their game. AMR operations manager, Gregory Doyle, says that teamwork is a product of proper training.

“When you train all the time together. Go to the same meetings, go to the same planning sessions, it helps out a lot,” said Doyle. Although one wing of the facility had a bit of water damage, officials hoped to have the residents back to their rooms by the end of the day.

 

Residential, Single Family Home

Brentwood, CA – Residential sprinkler system contains garage fire at house

Fire crews were called to the 1300 block of Castello Ranch Road around 1:45 p.m. Monday and found a fence on fire between two houses, Battalion Chief Jeff Burris of the East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said in a statement. The fire also extended into garage of one of the houses.

Crews extinguished the fire on the fence, while the fire in the garage activated a residential sprinkler system that limited the damage to the exterior of the left side of the garage wall, Burris said. Investigators determined that ashes from a barbecue that were thrown into a plastic garbage bag stored next to the fence likely started the fire.

The fence between the homes was destroyed. Investigators said the financial damages to the fence and garage were approximately $50,000.  Nobody was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

St. Cloud, MN – Sprinkler system douses overnight apartment fire; No injuries

An apartment fire late Sunday caused about $6,000 damage at Empire Apartments, 54 Fourth Ave. N. The person who lived in the apartment left the apartment with the stove on, according to fire investigators. Items on the stove caught fire and burned the cabinetry above the stove. Two sprinkler heads activated and put the fire out. No injuries were reported.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory

Durham, NC – Residence hall fire at Duke University controlled with help from sprinkler system

About 175 students were evacuated from Randolph Residence Hall on Duke’s East Campus early Monday morning following a fire in a first floor laundry room.  The fire alarm sounded about 2:25 a.m., and all building occupants were safely evacuated to the common room of Blackwell Residence Hall, which is adjacent to Randolph, for about an hour before the building was cleared for reentry.

Duke University Police and the Durham Fire Department responded to the fire alarm, when a dryer caught fire. The building’s sprinkler system engaged causing some water damage, which was primarily limited to the laundry room on the west end of the building and the adjoining hallway. A locked door on the second floor was also damaged when firefighters had to forcefully enter the room to ensure no one was inside, but no rooms were damaged by the fire.

An emergency services company has already begun to address the water damage. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Riverside, CA – Overnight apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

Two families were displaced after a sprinkler system put out a garbage can fire at an apartment in Riverside early Sunday morning, Nov. 15.  Riverside firefighters were dispatched to 9800 County Farm Rd. in Riverside about 1:05 a.m., fire officials wrote on an incident fact sheet.

Firefighters discovered that the fire had been in a bathroom wastebasket and had been put out by the apartment’s sprinkler system, the fact sheet said.  It took fire officials two hours to clear the water from the building.  The families were placed in lodging by Red Cross, the fact sheet said. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Apartment Building, Other - School / University, Residential

Greeley, CO – Off-campus apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

Four students were displaced from their homes Tuesday after a fire in one apartment touched off the sprinklers at the Arlington Park Apartments. Greeley firefighters were called around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday to a fire at the Arlington Park Apartments, Building No. 3, 2315 9th Ave.

Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke showing. The fire was contained to one apartment and was put out by the building’s sprinkler system. But students living in two rooms would be displaced because of smoke and water damage, said University of Northern Colorado spokesman Nate Haas.

Students were evacuated and there were no injuries, reported Greeley Firefighter Battalion Chief Rick Hinchcliffe.  Firefighters were clearing the building as of 8:30 p.m., and the fire was out minutes later. Custodians were called in to clear the water.

The immediate damage was contained to the apartment with a fire, with water damage to the apartment immediately below, Hinchcliffe said.  Haas said university residence officials were working Tuesday to find temporary housing for the students in the college’s residence halls.

Hinchcliffe said three fire trucks, one ladder truck and one heavy rescue truck responded, with a total of 15 firefighters on scene. There is no word yet on a cause or a damage estimate.