Category Archives: Single Family Home

Tucson, AZ – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading in single-family home

A house fire in the 4700 block of east Starflower street was extinguished quickly and without incident. Rural Metro Dire Dept. says that a quick response time, successful tactics and a well maintained sprinkler system played a significant role in snuffing out the house fire.

The fire is said to have started in the kitchen and thanks to the sprinklers it was contained there.  The prevention department of Rural Metro fire says that this situation goes to show that checking smoke detectors and other preventative methods can help immensely. 

As of now the investigation is ongoing, the cause of the fire is unknown and there is no information as to cost of the damage.

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.

Rockland, ME – House fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system

Two house fires were quickly extinguished but could have had severe consequences if not for safety systems in each residence, the local fire chief said in a press release Monday. The first fire call came in shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday when Rockland police officers heard an exterior bell connected to the sprinkler system as they passed by a home on Union Street.

A resident had dumped the contents of an ashtray into a plastic bag and left the bag on the first floor before going to bed on the second floor. The bag ignited within 30 minutes but was put out by an automatic sprinkler system. The activation of the sprinkler awoke the resident who came downstairs to begin a cleanup.

While the sprinkler alarm went off, Fire Chief Adam Miceli said that the only smoke detector found in the residence had not gone off during the fire. The chief said that could have been because the sprinklers doused the fire before enough smoke had been generated to activate the smoke alarm. He said that the fire was located near the stairs and that there was not a second exit.

 

Chapel Hill, NC – Home cooking-related fire put out by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system extinguished a cooking-related fire Tuesday at a home in the Southern Village Neighborhood in Chapel Hill. Just before 1 p.m., Chapel Hill fire received a call from an alarm monitoring company reporting a fire at 500 Market Street.

Six trucks responded to the call as a sprinkler system was able to put the fire out. Responding fire fighters worked to ensure the fire was out. Chapel Hill fire officials said the cause of the fire was cooking related. No one was injured in the incident.

Owings Mills, MD – Sprinkler system extinguishes arson fire after domestic dispute

A teacher’s aide from Washington, D.C., has been charged with throwing gasoline on her boyfriend and setting his home on fire, Baltimore County Police said Tuesday. Officers were called to the home in the 10800 block of Sherwood Road in Owings Mills just before 5 p.m. Sunday for a report of a domestic situation. While en route, they learned that the home was on fire.

The victim told police that his girlfriend, 29-year-old Lisa Lashell Finley had assaulted him that morning while she was intoxicated, according to court documents. When she went back to his home, he told her he wanted to end their relationship of about two years and told her she could gather her things while he waited in the basement.

He smelled gas and went upstairs to find the stove on but no fire. Finley then threw gasoline on him, according to court documents. Holding a lighter and a can of hairspray, she allegedly threatened to kill him. Police say the man left the home. But when he returned, he found a fire burning inside. A sprinkler system extinguished the fire.

Finley later turned herself in at the Franklin Precinct Monday afternoon. She has been charged with attempted first degree murder, first degree arson and first degree assault. Finley is an educational aide at Anacostia High School, an official with D.C. Public Schools confirmed. She was hired in Oct. 2013. Her current employment status is not known at this time.

Petaluma, CA – Sprinkler controls fire in home under construction; Protective cap still in place

A blaze that broke out Thursday inside a three-story home under construction northwest of Petaluma could have been much worse had a sprinkler system not activated and limited the fire’s spread, a fire official said.

“Under different circumstances, it could have been a much larger fire,” said Rancho Adobe Fire Battalion Chief Mike Weihman.  The blaze at 3528 Skillman Lane was reported at about 5:55 p.m. by a neighbor who spotted smoke billowing from the unfinished house.

Weihman said the fire broke out in a first-floor room at the rear of the structure that was being used by construction workers. The room also had an overhead fire sprinkler that activated despite being so new that it still had a dust cover over it. Weihman said water from the sprinkler doused most of the flames, greatly assisting firefighters, who brought the blaze under control within 20 minutes of their arrival on scene.

Derry, NH – Sprinkler system helps 14-year-old girl escape intense garage fire

Fire officials say a residential sprinkler system helped knock down an intense garage fire at 3 Alder Court on Monday, and also helped save a 14-year-old girl who was home at the time.The girl was in the basement and unaware of the fire in the attached garage until she noticed water running from the sprinkler system and saw smoke filling the house. After seeing the garage was on fire, she was able to escape, said Derry fire Lt. Jack Webb.The forward progress of the fire in the garage was stopped until firefighters could arrive and extinguish the blaze. “That sprinkler system stopped the fire,” Webb said, adding “it allowed the little girl to get out of the house.”Firefighters were able rescue a small dog that was uninjured, he said. The first call came into the dispatch center at 3:36 p.m. and crews were on the scene at 3:44 p.m., Webb said.When they arrived, the garage was fully involved, with fire above the roof line.Firefighters from four stations responded to the blaze that went to two alarms, Webb said. Crews had to contend with bitter cold and icy conditions. There were also five other calls that occurred in town during the fire, including a major sprinkler system burst at Shaw’s Supermarket.The crews poured a lot of water onto the garage of the two-story Colonial-style house and the fire was declared under control at about 5 p.m., Webb saidCrews remained on the scene until 7:23 p.m. for overhaul and to assist the family members recover their belongings. There was some extension of the fire into the attic and roof of farmer’s porch. The living area of the house received smoke and water damage; it will be uninhabitable until professionally cleaned, Webb said. The family was renting and will stay with relatives temporarily, he said. The garage and its contents are considered a complete loss. Fire loss, including contents of the garage, is estimated at $150,000. A corvette was lost in the blaze, Webb added.The cause of the fire isn’t suspicious and appears to be accidental, Webb said. –

Lafayette, CA – Sprinkler system helps stop fire in single-family home, Fire crews rescue dog

Crews responded around 8:45 a.m. to reports of a fire at a house on Kim Road and arrived to find that a sprinkler system inside the home had helped prevent the blaze from spreading, fire Capt. George Laing said.  Firefighters rescued a pet dog from a fire that damaged a hillside home in Lafayette this morning, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman said.

The home’s hillside location and its distance from the nearest fire hydrant made it tough to access and douse the flames, but crews were able to get the fire under control around 9:20 a.m., Laing said.

“All in all, this was a great job by the crews and a save by the sprinkler system,” the fire captain said.

Sprinklers limit spread of garage fire to single-family home, no injuries (Fontanta, CA)

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which was reported at 12:25 p.m. in the 7300 block of Kamloops Avenue. The fire apparently started at an exterior fence, spread to the attached garage, and then jumped into a second story bedroom. All of the occupants of the house escaped safely. While inside, they had smelled smoke and went outside to discover the fire in the garage. The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes, and the residence had a sprinkler system which helped protect the second story bedroom, the Fire Department said.