Category Archives: Dry Cleaner

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Alice, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at dry cleaners; No injuries reported

Alice firefighters and Alice police responded to a fire at a business near the intersection of San Diego and South Reynolds Tuesday night.

Firefighters responding to the fire alarm noticed smoke filling the downtown streets. They were able to located the fire inside the dry cleaning business.

Alice FIre Chief Patrick Thomas said the sprinkler system inside the business activated and kept the fire small until firefighters were able to access the business and extinguish the fire.

“The fire could’ve been worse for the business and for the downtown businesses in the area, but we’re thankful that the sprinkler system activated,” Thomas said. 

Firefighters have not found a cause to the fire, but do not believe it was intentional. 

“We’re thankful that in happened when the business was closed and no one was around, so no one got hurt,” Thomas said.

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Eden Prairie, MN – Fire at dry cleaners contained by fire sprinklers

On Feb. 13, Eden Prairie firefighters responded to a small fire which was contained by the building’s sprinklers before the firefighters arrived, the assistant chief told Eden Prairie News.

Two fire trucks went to 6205 Dell Road at 8:12 p.m. in response to a water flow alarm after sprinklers went off in Best Cleaners, assistant chief Kurt Buchanan said. A bin of laundry had caught fire, but nothing else in the building burned and the responders’ main tasks were to ensure the bin was extinguished and clear the building of smoke and burnt materials, he said.

“It’s a good story, that sprinklers make a difference,” Buchanan said. “They’re designed to keep fires at bay.”

The fire department contacted Best Cleaners and the owner of the strip mall, which also houses Venice Nails and a Holiday gas station, Buchanan said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Buchanan said.

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Newark, NJ – Sprinkler system helps extinguish overnight fire at laundry business

A fire that started earlier in the day caused thousands of dollars in damage and temporarily closed Buckeye Linen Services.

The fire was reported around 11:10 p.m. Thursday. Crews remained on scene until about 1:45 a.m. Friday. 

Newark Fire Chief Pat Connor said the fire started in a dryer duct, spread to the attic and ultimately to the roof of the building on Jefferson Street. 

The building had a sprinkler system that activated and helped to extinguish much of the blaze.

Connor said there appears to have been a fire earlier in the day at the facility that crews at the building believed they had put out with fire extinguishers. However, that fire was not extinguished fully and likely caused the fire in the evening, he said.

There was significant damage to a portion of the building to the point where a structural engineer was called in to make sure the building was safe to occupy.

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Nashua, NH – Fire caused by spontaneous combustion held in check by sprinkler system

An early morning fire inside an Industrial Park Drive building was caused by spontaneous combustion of oily rags, according to fire officials. The single-alarm blaze, reported just after 1 a.m. Thursday, happened inside UniFirst Corp., 8 Industrial Park Drive, which is a uniform, maintenance and cleaning supply company.

Firefighters responding to a master fire box alarm, arrived to hear alarms sounding and to find a smoke-filled building and sprinklers operating. The fire was located in three bins filled with tightly packed oily rags. The blaze was held in check by the sprinklers, although firefighters stretched one hose to completely extinguish the fire.  Pressure fans were brought in to air out the building.

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Sprinkler system helps to save commercial laundry business from early morning fire (Grand Junction, CO)

Fire crews responded to a commercial laundry and linen service, about 1:10 a.m. and found an active fire inside a large bin containing clean rags and mop head, Battalion Chief John Williams said.
A fire sprinkler immediately adjacent to the burning bin activated, helping to keep the fire from spreading to other bins and pallets. Williams credited the fire alarm and sprinkler systems for alerting the Fire Department and keeping the fire in check, limiting the damage.

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Damage minimized at cleaning business thanks to fire sprinkler system (Billings, MT)

A fire which began in a cleaning business the evening of September 12 when rags and clothing that were placed in a laundry basket spontaneously combusted. Fire crews arrived and saw fire through the windows of the building. 

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Fire sprinkler system helps contain blaze at dry cleaner (Pleasanton, CA)

A dry-cleaning business at a strip mall caught fire Wednesday, but a sprinkler system inside the building kept the blaze from spreading and causing even more damage to the surrounding stores, a battalion chief said. The blaze began around 5:47 p.m.  Fire crews saw heavy smoke coming from the business when they arrived, but the fire sprinklers inside the store were activated after clothes on the conveyor system caught fire, Neiman-Kimel said. Those sprinklers kept the fire at bay until crews were able to get inside and extinguish it, Neiman-Kimel said.

Apartment Building, Dry Cleaner, Residential, Retail

Two structural fires are controlled by fire sprinklers (McKinney, TX)

Two fires that occurred recently had two items in common — fire sprinklers were in place and minimal structural damage occurred. The first fire, which took place in an apartment kitchen, was contained by a single fire sprinkler. A dry cleaning store sustained the other fire after business hours, and two fire sprinklers helped to control the fire until fire crews came. Fire Marshall Andrew Barr further emphasized fire sprinklers value when he said, “These two successful sprinkler saves demonstrate the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems in two very different environments – an apartment complex and a commercial building. Had a sprinkler system, or automatic fire suppression system, not been present in either building, the outcome may have been very different.”