Category Archives: Townhouse / Condominium

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Myrtle Beach, SC – Townhouse fire put out by residential sprinkler system; Neighboring homes spared

Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue credits a home’s sprinkler system for saving the house and the family. Lt. Jonathan Evans says a cooking fire was put out at a home in Market Common before firefighters could even arrive.

“First off, the sprinkler system is already in your home, so it goes off, it’s going to be a lot easier for it to put out the fire than us. Sometimes it takes us a little bit longer to get to you, get the hoses off and all that stuff. Plus, the amount of water it puts out – it puts out about 20 gallons per minute compared to the 250 or 300 gallons per minute that we put out, so on top of the fire damage you already have, by the time we get there, that water damage is going to be that much more because we want to make sure that fire is out,” Evans said. Evans says if you can’t afford to have a sprinkler system installed in your home, having a fire extinguisher or installing the Stovetop Firestop can help prevent extensive damage from small fires.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Richfield, MN – Fire on 6th floor of condominium building held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

Richfield firefighters responded to a kitchen fire on the 6th floor of the Gramercy Park Cooperative condominium complex around 2 p.m. December 18.  A sprinkler system in the complex, located across from Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, kept the fire in check until crews could arrive, according to Richfield Fire Chief Wayne Kewitsch, a staunch advocate of fire sprinkler systems in private residences.  The fire resulted in no injuries. The cause was ruled to accidental, according to Kewitsch.

 

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Keystone, CO – Single sprinkler head keeps condo fire from spreading

An apparent accidental fire Saturday evening caused significant damage in the Mill Creek condominiums in Keystone, but a sprinkler head kept it from spreading, and no one was injured.

Some 15 firefighters from Lake Dillon Fire responded to an alarm triggered by the sprinkler system about 7:15 p.m., and they were assisted by a crew from Red, White & Blue Fire of Breckenridge in extinguishing the fire. They were supported by two volunteers from the Lake Dillon Fire Corps.

The fire caused significant damage to two units and left two others with smoke and water damage. Keystone Resorts found alternative lodging for the people staying at the six-unit building at 56 River Run Road.

The fire apparently broke out in the concealed space between the third and fourth floors, and the initial focus of the investigation is on electrical wiring.

“Fortunately, everything worked as it should: A single sprinkler head kept the fire from spreading, and the alarm alerted the occupants. And, most importantly, the occupants heeded the alarm and evacuated the building immediately,” said Lake Dillon Fire Chief Jeff Berino.

A preliminary estimate of the total damage is between $400,000 and $500,000.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Palm Beach, FL – Sprinklers help douse car fire in condominium parking garage

Residents of the La Bonne Vie condominiums got a lucky break Monday evening when a longtime volunteer firefighter helped extinguish a car fire that broke out in their parking garage.

Fire-Rescue Division Chief Sean Baker said the incident happened about 7:10 p.m. in the lower parking garage below the condos, 3475 S. Ocean Blvd.

“The front end of the car was fully involved in fire,” Baker said. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Stephen Miller, one of the residents, said he and his wife Arlene were sitting in their living room when they heard a pop.

“I said ‘That’s not good,’ and then the fire alarms went off,” Miller said Tuesday.

He went downstairs and tried to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The burning Mercedes was parked right under a sprinkler head.

“The sprinkler system held it, but I wanted to make sure it didn’t get near the other cars,” Miller said.

Crews finished extinguishing the fire shortly after arriving.

Miller, 70, said he was a volunteer firefighter for 52 years in North Brunswick, N.J. “I’m like an old war horse, a fire horse,” he said, laughing. “It happened and I reacted.”

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Louisville, KY – Apartment kitchen fire contained with help from sprinkler system

A 3-alarm fire forced residents to evacuate the Brown Suburban Condominium Homes Thursday night. Firefighters responded to the fire at the condo at 3320 Bardstown Road near Goldsmith Lane around 9 o’clock. The fire started in an apartment on the third floor and was contained to that unit, but smoke filled the hallways, and residents were forced to evacuate. Many of the residents are elderly and in wheelchairs, which made the evacuation more difficult, but everyone got out safely.

Firefighters say several apartments have smoke and water damage. Buechel Fire Chief Adam Jones says two people were checked by EMS at the scene.

“We made several medical assists to get them out of there — nobody was transported,” Jones said. “Louisville Metro EMS did check out two different residents that came out — didn’t transport them to the hospital or anything like that so everybody’s safe.”

It took about an hour to put out the fire.

After an investigation, Jones says the fire started when a stove was unintentionally left on after someone accidentally bumped a knob. The overheated stove set a wall on fire,triggering the sprinkler system.

There is substantial smoke and water damage to the third, second and first floors of the building.

The Red Cross helped 10 adults and six children displaced from several apartments with the most damage.

Residents without damage are back in their homes. Others are working with cleanup crews and insurance adjusters.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Scottsdale, AZ – Townhouse fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

Scottsdale Fire Department said a townhouse near 92nd and Cholla streets caught fire Friday morning and a resident was rescued and treated for smoke inhalation. Scottsdale fire crews arrived around 6:30 a.m. and discovered a bedroom fire had activated the unit’s sprinkler system. Firefighters assisted a woman out of the townhouse and paramedics treated her for smoke inhalation. After she was treated at the scene, she was taken to the hospital. Fire department officials did not have an update on her condition. The fire is under investigation. Officials said the townhouse had a smoke detector and one sprinkler was activated above the fire. No firefighters were injured.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Salisbury, MD – Residential fire caused by lightning strike extinguished with help from sprinkler system

The Office of the State Fire Marshal says they responded to reports of a home fire in Salisbury, Tuesday morning.  Around 9 AM, the owner of the home, located on Stream Valley Court, noticed fire damage, called it in, and the Salisbury Fire Department became the first responders.  The fire reportedly happened earlier in the morning, while the home was unoccupied, at which time the sprinkler system activated and extinguished most of the fire.

The damage was not discovered by the homeowner until they apparently returned to the home around 8:30 AM on Tuesday.  According to the report, it took 15 firefighters about five minutes to control the flames, which originated from the basement wall/ceiling assembly.  Officials say that the preliminary cause is thought to be accidental, with the fire resulting from a lightning strike.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Daly City, CA – Residential sprinkler system helps firefighters extinguish townhouse fire

Three residents were displaced by a structure fire reported in Daly City Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency crews were dispatched to a townhouse in the 300 block of Michelle Lane to find flames coming from the rear deck.

As they entered the home they determined that the fire had spread into the family room and attic.

Their efforts to extinguish the fire were aided by the home’s fire sprinkler system as well, firefighters said.

Crews remained on scene for an additional two hours to overhaul the structure.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Lincolnshire, IL – Trash room fire in residential condominium building extinguished by single sprinkler

*NO MEDIA COVERAGE – FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED*
“Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District received a fire alarm for a 5 story residential condo building. Crews found a waterflow activation for the trash room. Once inside they found that a single sprinkler had controlled and extinguished a small fire in the dumpster at the bottom of the trash chute. The chute was equipped with a fusible link activated fire door at the opening to the trash chute and sprinklers in the shaft. Neither activated due to the single sprinkler activation.”

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Plymouth, MN – Garage fire is kept from spreading into townhome thanks to sprinkler system

At 11:23 p.m. on Thursday, June 2, the Plymouth Fire Department responded to 16787 39th Avenue North for a house fire. The first units arrived and found a tuck-under attached garage fully engulfed with fire spreading to the house. All occupants were evacuated with no injuries. One firefighter sustained a foot laceration and was treated and released.

There was significant damage to the garage, but thanks to a sprinkler system that activated, minor damage was caused to the living space. The adjoining townhouse units were cleared of smoke and those residents were allowed back inside their homes.

Plymouth Police, Wayzata Fire, Golden Valley Fire, Loretto Fire, Maple Plain Fire, Minnetonka Fire and North Ambulance assisted. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and is under investigation.