Category Archives: Townhouse / Condominium

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire in condo; No injuries reported

A condo building fire Sunday night in Kelowna left water damage to multiple units.

Platoon Capt. Robert Skeldon with the Kelowna Fire Department says crews were called about 8:45 p.m. to the building at 1740 Richter St.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a single unit on the third floor, with water in the hallway.

Firefighters found signs of an obvious fire inside the unit, with two sprinkler activations.

There was no fire extension to the rest of the building, however there was water damage to multiple units, says Skeldon.

A search was conducted to ensure all occupants were safely out of the building.

There were no injuries in the incident.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is not considered suspicious.

KFD responded with four engines, a rescue unit, ladder truck, command unit, and 20 personnel.

RCMP, paramedics and emergency support services assisted at the scene.

Calgary, AB, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes car fire at condo building parkade

Residents were evacuated from a 25-unit condo building in the city’s northeast Tuesday morning after a car went up in flames in the underground parkade.

Firefighters were called to the building in the 7000 block of 80th Avenue N.E. at around 8:45 a.m.

The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire but residents were displaced due to smoke and carbon monoxide concerns.

As of 10 a.m., ventilation of the building was underway and fire officials expected residents would be permitted to return in short time.

A Calgary Transit bus provided shelter to some of the displaced while others entered a neighbouring building within the complex for a reprieve from the frigid weather.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Somerville, MA – Sprinkler systems activated for two separate fires

Sprinkler systems in two Somerville buildings prevented serious fires this past week during the early morning hours while occupants were asleep, accoding to Somerville Fire Department’s Chief Engineer Charles Breen Jr.

On Friday, Oct. 28t at 4:25 a.m. the Somerville Fire Department was notified of a fire alarm activation via a building alarm system which was directly connected to the city fire alarm box system.

Firefighters were dispatched to 32 Kent Street, a 40 unit, four story wood frame apartment building. Firefighters encountered smoke on the fourth floor and forced entry into a 4th floor apartment. They found a man on the floor inside and removed him to safety. He was taken to the hospital.

Sprinklers confined the fire to one room in the apartment and firefighters completed extinguishment. Due to water damage, the building was evacuated and all occupants were temporarily displaced. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to smoking.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, the department was notified of a fire alarm activation from an alarm monitoring company at 4:09 a.m.

Firefighters were dispatched to an address on Lake Street and arrived to find a sprinkler head operating in a ground level garage in a row of three story town houses.

One sprinkler head confined the fire to a very limited area in the garage and, after verifying that the fire was out, crews were able to clear the scene in 15 minutes.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended candle that had ignited nearby combustible items.

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes cooking fire in condo

A cooking fire that broke out in an east side condo was quickly extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler, minimizing damage and preventing fire-related injuries to occupants and firefighters.

Crews were sent to the 5300 block of Congress Avenue for reports of fire in a condo unit. Engine Co. 11 entered and found there had been a small cooking contained to a pan on the stovetop. An occupant was heating vegetable oil in the pan when it ignited. The occupant reflexively put water on the fire, which caused the fire to flare up rather than extinguish. The flare-up created more smoke and heat, triggering an automatic fire sprinkler to activate from above. The fire was extinguished by the fire sprinkler before firefighters arrived.

There was minimal smoke damage in the kitchen and no damage to nearby countertops or cabinets. The exhaust vent above the stove did suffer some fire-related damage.

Firefighters cleared remaining smoke from the unit and cleaned up some of the water. Property managers were notified of the incident and given guidance on what steps to take to restore alarm and sprinkler systems following the fire.

Bullhead City, AZ – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condominium; No injuries reported

On Tuesday evening, April 19, 2022, at approximately 6:07 PM, several BCFD units were dispatched to a report of a possible structure fire on the 200 block of Moser Ave. The first arriving crew reported a multi-story condominium with smoke showing out of a single unit. Crews quickly confirmed that the unit was unoccupied and were able to gain access through the front door. Fortunately, the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, which properly activated, contained, and extinguished the fire before it was able to spread. No injuries were reported during this incident, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.

Firefighters attribute the working automatic sprinkler system to saving lives and property. Due to the location of this fire, it could have extended into the living spaces of the surrounding units, causing extensive damage.

Dewey Beach, DE – Sprinkler system activated for fire in residential unit; No injuries reported

A Feb. 19 fire caused $75,000 in damage to a Dewey Beach residential unit.

The fire was reported at 7:30 p.m. at 1701 Bayard Ave., where firefighters from Rehoboth Beach, Lewes and Bethany Beach found flames coming from top floors of a four-unit building, officials said.

A residential sprinkler system confined the fire to unit A of the building, with moderate damage to the exterior of the structure, officials said. Occupants had exited the home before firefighters arrived, and there were no injuries reported.

Firefighters were on the scene for more than two hours extinguishing the blaze. The Delaware State Fire Marshal is investigating to determine the origin and cause of the fire. More information will be posted when available.

Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Fire at condo extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire in a three-storey Devonshire Drive West condominium complex was contained to one suite say fire officials.

Just after 3:00 pm on Saturday, April 24, 2021, firefighter were called to the complex. When they arrived they encountered smoke inside the building an quickly launched an offensive attack. The building’s fire sprinkler system was able to quickly knock down the blaze before crews arrived.

No injuries were reported.

The residents in all of the other suites were able to return on crews had completed ventilating the building.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

North Aurora, IL – Townhouse garage fire stopped by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

North Aurora Fire Protection District officials said no one was injured in an early Sunday morning fire inside a townhouse garage.

Fire officials said the fire was reported at about 1 a.m. on the 11 block of Kilberry Lane. Responding firefighters did not see any smoke or fire upon arrival, but residents of the townhouse attached to the garage reported hearing “popping” from inside the garage and smelled smoke before alerting the fire department.

When firefighters opened the garage, they could see smoke. A sprinkler system in the structure had been activated, helping to prevent any significant fire damage to the building, officials said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe contents in the garage sparked the fire. However, they don’t have reason to believe the blaze originated from any vehicle in the garage.

The garage was attached to an “end unit townhome,” and only the residents of that unit were displaced because of smoke damage to the residence, officials said.

No damage estimate was available.

Las Vegas, NV – Fire sprinkler system keeps kitchen fire from spreading in home

Firefighters rescued 90-year-old resident and three dogs after a kitchen fire at a Las Vegas home Friday night.

Clark County firefighters were called to 2343 Koho Drive, near St. Rose Parkway and Jeffreys Street, after reports of a kitchen fire and found smoke showing from the townhome, according to a statement from Deputy Chief Thomas Touchstone.

Sprinklers inside the home kept the fire from spreading but an elderly resident was trapped upstairs, neighbors told firefighters.

Firefighters were able to rescue three dogs and the resident, who suffered minor injuries, according to the statement.

The cause of the fire was not yet determined.

Ocean City, NJ – fire sprinkler systems put out sixth floor fire at hotel and later that day extinguish fire at a condo

The Ocean City Fire Department had a busy day on Sunday with a fire at a downtown hotel in the afternoon and another at a residence later that evening.

Around 2:30 p.m. last Sunday, the Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) responded to a fire alarm activation at the Stowaway Grand Hotel on 22nd Street. First-arriving firefighters located the hotel’s alarm panel and determined the source of the activation was on the fifth floor. Four OCFD firefighters operating in groups of two made their way to the fifth floor from inside the building and found a smoke and fire condition in an electrical closet.

OCFD spokesman Ryan Whittington said crews were able to put out that fire with dry chemical extinguishers and that firefighters wouldn’t use water in a fire of that type because it was electrical in nature. With that situation well in hand, Whittington said while on the fifth floor, firefighters were alerted to another potential fire on the sixth floor above.

The crews made their way to the sixth floor and found an active fire and smoke conditions. As firefighters were preparing to tackle that blaze, the hotel’s sprinkler system activated and put out the fire.

The entire situation was brought under control around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, or a little over an hour after the first alarm activation. Whittington said the protocol for the fire department in that case was to send the high-rise package, which includes larger apparatus and equipment.

“Because the Stowaway Grand is considered a high-rise in terms of the number of floors, there are certain things we have to do,” he said. “We actually deployed our high-rise package, which includes the ladder trucks and larger apparatus equipped with a larger amount of hose and larger caliber hoses.”

Hundreds of hotel guests were evacuated during the incident, resulting in some quick thinking by the command staff.

“Battalion Chief David Peterson had command and he requested a city bus,” said Whittington. “There were hundreds of guests milling around and waiting to get back in, and having the bus there provided a place for them to sit down and relax in the air conditioning.”

Whittington said the fire department’s protocols and training prevented what could have been a much more serious situation.

“Everything worked like it should have,” he said. “To our guys’ credit, they really saved the building from much more damage.”

Hours later, the OCFD responded to another residential fire at a condominium on Trimper Avenue, according to Whittington.

“We arrived and found a heavy smoke condition on the first floor,” he said. “Crews made their way to the third floor and found a basket of blankets and other materials in a storage closet too close to a heat source and it combusted. We believe a light bulb might have started the fire, but it is still under investigation. In that incident, the condo’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire.”