Category Archives: Residential

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Weaverville, CA – Sprinkler douses fire at senior apartment building

A fire in a room at the Weaver Creek Senior Apartments on Browns Ranch Road in Weaverville caused minor injuries to the occupant but was doused by water from a sprinkler head that activated Tuesday morning, March 31, Fire Chief Scott Alvord said.

The woman doesn’t remember exactly what happened, but she was wet when firefighters arrived and it is likely that she was smoking in bed and fell asleep, Alvord said. The resident used oxygen and it appears the bedding caught fire — but the blaze was put out by the sprinkler, which also woke the occupant, he said.

Residential, Residential High Rise

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.

Apartment Building, Restaurant

San Antonio, TX – Restaurant fire in mixed-use residential building suppressed by sprinkler system

San Antonio fire officials responded to the fire just after 2 a.m. at the Saltgrass Steakhouse on River Street near E. Crockett and N. Presa streets. The restaurant’s sprinkler system kept the fire contained and damage was limited to the kitchen. 

Firefighters said the flames started in the river level kitchen at the restaurant and appeared to be electrical in nature.  About 25 residents from about 15 apartments above the restaurant were evacuated due to smoke, but later allowed to go back inside. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gillette, WY – Sprinkler system extinguishes early morning fire in apartment building

The Campbell County Fire Department responded to 1926 Harvest Moon in Gillette for a fire alarm activation at 6:12 a.m. Friday. The call was upgraded to an active structure fire after neighbors reported seeing flames in the rear of the building. Upon arrival, crews found a four-plex apartment building with fire and heat damage in the back porch area of a lower unit, according to a fire department incident report. A fire sprinkler had activated and extinguished the fire before the department’s arrival.

Apartment Building, Residential

Schenectady, NY – Sprinklers activate; help contain overnight apartment fire

The fire, which broke out around 1 a.m. Saturday at 799 Albany St., left the 48-unit apartment building temporarily closed to about 25 tenants, according to the Red Cross.  Deputy Fire Chief Michael O’Clair said the hallway sprinkler system kicked on.   The fire damage was limited and confined to one apartment building.  

Residents were able to enter the building Saturday afternoon to retrieve some belongings, but the building is not expected to be habitable until Tuesday.  The cause of the fire had not been determined later Saturday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Erie, PA – Overnight apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

A fire at an Erie aparment building was reported at 11:20 PM at 343 East 6th Street.  When fire crews arrived on the scene, they found that the sprinkler system was activated, keeping the fire from getting worse. The fire broke out near the foyer of the apartment building, and was quickly extinguished. No injuries were reported, and a fire inspector was called to investigate.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fairborn, OH – Suspicious overnight fire at senior apartment complex put out by sprinkler system

… The second fire call came in at 1:56 a.m. as a piece of furniture on fire by the complex elevators. The fire department received further updates that there was heavy smoke and the sprinkler system had been activated.  “Someone had tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but it was actually the sprinkler that put the fire out for us,” (Fairborn Operations Chief Dave) Reichert said.

Residents were evacuated again due to the amount of smoke. In order to get the occupants out of the weather, fire crews cleared and opened the facility gymnasium.

“This one more significant than the other,” said Reichert. “Pretty much everything used to furnish a home today is made of a petroleum product that gives off a massive amount of smoke, with a lot of energy and a lot of fuel. Our crews did an excellent job of, number one, taking care of the occupants, making sure they were safe while we continued to do our work getting the remaining smoke out of the building.”

The exact causes of the two fires are still under investigation. Due to the suspicious nature of the fires, the State Fire Marshal was called in to investigate. “It’s definitely odd to have two fires, a couple hours apart, in two different locations in the same building,” Reichert said.  No injuries were reported during either incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at apartment complex

Fargo firefighters got a quick knockdown on a fire thanks to an automatic sprinkler system that controled most of the stove fire. The fire was reported just after 6 p.m. Wednesday in a second floor apartment at 5018 Amber Valley Parkway South in Fargo.

There were no injuries. The fire started when the tenant was cooking and stepped away from the kitchen. She noticed the fire when she heard her smoke detectors go off.

Battaliion Chief Tim Binfet says if the sprinklers had not activated, the fire would have spread throughout the apartment. Damage is estimated at $15,000. The Red Cross assisted the tenants with temporary lodging.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pasadena, TX – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system

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** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department Reported **
On Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 7:34 pm, the Pasadena Fire Department responded to a reported Automatic Fire Alarm at 3271 Shaver Street in Pasadena.  Upon their arrival firefighters were advised that it was a false alarm but that the water flow alarm was also activated.

Investigation by fire department personnel revealed that there had been a small fire in the kitchen of one of the apartment units which activated a single sprinkler head and extinguished the fire. No Injuries were reported. Fire damage was confined to the top of the stove and the cooking container and water damage was confined to the apartment of origin. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental.

This incident shows the importance of an automatic fire sprinkler system and demonstrates that if the building did not have an automatic sprinkler system, the outcome could have been completely different.

Furthermore there is no doubt whatsoever that at the very least the presence of a sprinkler system saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the building owners and potentially prevented citizens and firefighters from being injured or killed.

Apartment Building, Residential

Knoxville, TN – Sprinkler contains apartment fire to stovetop area

Knoxville Fire Department responded to an apartment on fire at the Lyons Den Apartments off of Valley View Road in North Knoxville. When firefighters arrived, they found that a ceiling sprinkler had gone off and contained the damage to the stovetop area where the fire started.  Firefighters plugged and replaced the sprinkler head.

The fire department tweeted today from its official account that a sprinkler had done its job and saved them a lot of work.

A sprinkler head does its job, contains fire