Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Redington Shores, FL – Fire at high-rise condo building extinguished by single sprinkler

Firefighters responded to the 2-alarm structure fire at 8:06 a.m. Tuesday at the Anglers Cove Condominium located at 17450 Gulf Boulevard. The firefighters discovered that there was a fire in a storage room adjacent to the condominium office that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. There were no injuries, and damage was limited to smoke and water damage to the office area. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Management of Anglers Cove stated that the 48 unit building was at nearly full occupancy at the time of the fire. Upon arrival Firefighters found the building being evacuated and light smoke showing from the north side of the building on the ground floor. Gulf Boulevard was shut down for about 20 minutes, and more than 200 residents had evacuated and were waiting in adjacent parking lots for the firefighters to complete their work.

“It is important to recognize the significance of this fire being controlled by the building’s sprinkler system, one single sprinkler head prevented this from being a much greater incident and prevented injuries and greater loss of property,” said City of Seminole Fire Rescue Public Education Officer Brad Dykens in a news release.

The fire had escalated to two alarms due to the special hazards that exist when dealing with a fire in a high rise building and to ensure the safety of all the residents. During the course of the evacuation one resident in a wheelchair was assisted down the stairwell by firefighters.

Units from Seminole, Pinellas Suncoast, Madeira Beach, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg fire departments responded.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Columbus, OH – Kitchen fire on 9th floor of high-rise apartment building put out by sprinkler system

The fire happened around 5 a.m. in the Skyview Towers on Sawyer Boulevard, just south of I-670. According to the fire chief, the blaze started on the 9th floor, where a stovetop caught fire. The building’s sprinkler system activated and effectively put out the flames. All evacuated residents are now safe and back inside.

Apartment Building, Residential

Syracuse, NY – Sprinkler system helps contain off-campus apartment fire at Syracuse University

A camp stove fire in an apartment on the corner of Euclid and Livingston avenues set off the sprinkler system in the apartment Sunday night. 

A senior in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications who asked not to be identified by name said he was experimenting with a new camp stove in preparation for a camping trip during Spring Break when the flame of the stove escalated beyond its intended height, setting off the sprinkler system. The fire, located in an apartment building at 320 Euclid Ave., was reported just after 9 p.m. Sunday night. The Syracuse Fire Department left the scene just before 9:50 p.m.

The student, who lives on the third floor of the apartment building, said nothing was burnt. He said that when he saw the flame rise, he went to the bathroom sink and extinguished the flame, but the sprinkler system went off.

Syracuse Fire Department District Chief Robert Whitehead said the sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to. There was still water in some light fixtures and some electricity was shut off in the building, but that “everything was handled,” he said.

A National Grid van came to the scene around 9:30 p.m. and remained at the scene past 10 p.m.  Chelcie Pellegrino, a senior communication and rhetorical studies major who lives in the apartment building, said she was inside when the fire started, but said she did not hear an alarm. Pellegrino said she heard fire trucks come to the scene and heard people running up the stairs of the building. She added that if she was not able to stay in her apartment tonight, she had friends who lived on Livingston.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gainesville, FL – Fire at off-campus apartment building extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A fire at southwest Gainesville apartment complex that began under a television was extinguished Saturday afternoon before it had spread to other areas, reported Gainesville Fire Rescue.  Acting Chief Don Campbell credited the sprinkler system and the quick response of firefighters in keeping the fire in check.

The fire was reported about 12:10 p.m. at Campus Club Apartments at 3700 SW 40th Blvd., according to a GFR press release.   Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from an apartment and forced entry into it. They found that two sprinkler heads had activated.  A small fire was in the entertainment center under the TV.

Firefighters finished extinguishing the fire. No one was home at the time.   “This fire would have definitely been bigger, with the potential for extension into the rest of the building,” Chief Campbell said in the release.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Cooking fire in apartment building put out by sprinkler system

The Madison Fire Department credits sprinklers with putting out a cooking fire in an apartment on West Mifflin Street.  Firefighters were called to the 500 block of W. Mifflin just before 3 p.m. Friday. They say someone in a third floor apartment was cooking when oil in a pan ignited. The flames set off a sprinkler head in the kitchen. The fire department says there was minimal smoke damage from the fire, but some water did flow into lower floors.  Seventeen people in the apartment building are safe.  The fire department says there’s no word on when residents would be able to get back into their apartments, but all of them were able to arrange a place to stay overnight.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sechelt, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler averts major downtown blaze

The Sechelt fire department is praising the use of fire sprinklers, which averted a major fire in downtown Sechelt last Thursday afternoon. Fire Chief Bill Higgs said the fire occurred just after lunch on Feb. 19 at a residential apartment building when a pot of grease was left on a stove unattended.

 “Upon arrival it was observed that a fire had occurred in the kitchen of a second-floor suite,” Higgs said. “The heat from the blaze had activated just one sprinkler head, which extinguished the fire. The fire department was automatically called by the monitored sprinkler/fire alarm system and the residents were alerted to the fire by the alarm bells. We were on scene within five minutes and quickly learned that we were only needed to ventilate the building and begin cleanup.”

Higgs said the fire had the potential for catastrophic life and property losses. “Thankfully, this fire occurred in a building protected by fire sprinklers and therefore had been completely extinguished by the automatic system that had been installed throughout the building,” he said.

In less than an hour, the 17 volunteer firefighters and four fire trucks had returned to the fire hall. No civilian or firefighter injuries occurred. “Only one tenant was displaced from the building for a couple of days, and everyone else reoccupied their suites that day,” Higgs said. “The total dollar loss to the $3-million structure was less than $5,000. Had this fire occurred in a similar unsprinklered building, at least three other fire departments from the Sunshine Coast would have been called to assist with the suppression effort, lasting at least half a day, with the follow-up investigation, demolition and rebuilding lasting months.”

The Sechelt fire department recommends the installation of fire sprinklers to all building owners ranging from single-family homes right up to multi-family or commercial buildings, new and old. “At less than $1.50 a square foot in new construction, why not?” Higgs asked. “Come and see us to learn what we have witnessed about the community cost saving benefits of automatic fire sprinklers in our town of just 12,000 people. We encourage others to learn from our experiences and to support our efforts in the promotion and continued use of commercial and residential fire sprinkler systems.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Paramus, NJ – Overnight fire at nursing home contained by sprinkler system

The blaze at a Paramus nursing home began in a resident’s room and was contained by the sprinkler system at the Care One at Pine Rest Nursing Home on West Ridgewood Avenue shortly before 12:15 a.m. early Thursday.  A female resident was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with what were reported to be minor injuries.  There were also unconfirmed reports of two residents with smoke inhalation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bismarck, ND – Firefighters credit sprinklers for knocking down fire in 24-unit apartment building

The Bismarck Fire Department responded to the fire alarm at 5:12 am at 3945 N 19th Street.  When firefighters arrived, smoke was spreading throughout the building and coming from heat registers.
The cause of the fire was an electrical junction box in the mechanical room.  The short caused insulation to catch on fire. Firefighters say a sprinkler in the room activated, knocking the fire down. Occupants of the building were evacuated, and there were no injuries. There was no damage outside the mechanical room. The estimated fire loss was limited to approximately $5,000.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Chicago, IL – Fire in 24-story high rise condominium tower contained by sprinkler system

On the night of February 23, a fire was contained to a single condo unit by a fire sprinkler system on the 14th floor of the Erie on the Park high-rise in Chicago. The information was obtained through an email sent to the residents by the property manager of the 24-story, 125-unit condo building at 510 West Erie Street. The building was required by the city to install fire sprinklers when it was completed in 2002.

Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, says that the successful fire sprinkler activation is an excellent reminder of the life-saving benefits that fire sprinklers provide in high-rises. But he also points out the glaring difference in fire protection between newer and older high-rises in Chicago.

“There are hundreds of residential high-rises in Chicago that were built before the city’s fire sprinkler requirements in 1975 that do not contain fire sprinklers,” notes Lia.

Approximately 100 of the older high-rises chose to install fire sprinklers to comply with the city’s Life Safety Evaluation (LSE) ordinance that had a deadline of January 1, 2015. That’s another 100 high-rises that will be in the “with” column for fire sprinklers, leaving less and less high-rises “without.”

Yet, the majority of the remaining high-rises chose other measures that will not fully protect residents unprotected from fires.

“As evidenced by last night’s sprinkler save, fire sprinklers are the only technology that actively control a fire and provide residents with a safe route of escape,” adds Lia. “High-rise owners, residents and prospective buyers must be mindful of the presence or absence of fire safety features, especially fire sprinklers, in their buildings.”

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Cheyney, PA – Suspected arson fire at university residence hall extinguished with help from sprinkler system

State police and campus detectives are investigating a suspicious dormitory room fire that sent a campus police officer to the hospital and caused the evacuation of more than 100 students from Tubman Hall at Cheyney University in Thornbury about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, said Trooper John E. Stewart Jr., a member of the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Unit.

“It was intentionally set. It is still under investigation,” said Stewart Sunday afternoon.  He noted an unknown person or persons entered room 518 on the fifth floor of the residence hall and attempted to set a student’s personal belongings on fire, which activated the emergency sprinkler system.

“The room’s occupant was not present at the time of the fire’s discovery,” said Stewart.  A Cheyney University Police Department sergeant who responded to the blaze suffered chest pains and smoke inhalation and was transported to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland, where he was treated and released, noted the state trooper.

“The sprinkler knocked down the bulk of the fire and he took down the rest,” said Stewart.  The name of the officer who extinguished the blaze was not available at press time.  Stewart said the fire was contained to one room and resulted in mostly water damage.

Concordville, Rocky Run and Edgmont fire companies responded to the fire, as did members of some Chester County fire departments, said Stewart. The scene was reportedly cleared by just after 8 a.m. Sunday.

Gwen Owens, director of public relations for Cheyney University, said Tubman Hall houses 127 students. She said they were permitted re-entry into Tubman Hall to retrieve items Sunday afternoon and have been temporarily relocated to two other residence halls on campus.