Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Bozeman, MT – Electrical equipment fire at Target store held in check by sprinkler system April 3, 2017 viking210 Target had an unexpected mid-day closure yesterday afternoon, after a small fire started from malfunctioning electrical equipment. An electrical problem, also affecting other stores in the area, may have occurred as a result of the Baxter Lane rollover. There were no injuries and the sprinkler system clicked on immediately. It was contained to the entrance of the store.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Battle Creek, MI – Early morning fire in shopping cart storage area at Meijer store extinguished by sprinkler system March 20, 2017 viking210 The Meijer Inc. store in Battle Creek has reopened after an evacuation and fire early Monday. Battle Creek firefighters were called to 2191 W. Columbia Ave. at 2:17 a.m. for a structure fire, according to Battalion Chief Matt Beauchamp. He said when the first firefighters arrived they found smoke in the northwest corner of the building where shopping carts were stored. “There was a decent amount of smoke,” Beauchamp said. He said a sprinkler had activated in the cart storage area and had extinguished the fire. “The sprinklers kept it in check,” Beauchamp said. Store employees, firefighters and Battle Creek police searched the building several times and evacuated everyone inside. No injuries were reported. Beauchamp said the fire appears to originated in an electric cart stored with other shopping carts. He said maintenance crews from the store were called to ensure the fire alarm and sprinkler system were functioning properly and the Calhoun County Health Department was notified because of the perishable food in the building. The health department inspected the store and determined it could be opened, firefighters said later Monday morning. Firefighters left the scene about 4 a.m. They estimated damage at $3,000.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Endicott, NY – Sprinkler system puts out fire at Weis Market; Suspect arrested and charged with arson March 15, 2017 viking210 A Johnson City man has been charged with arson after officials say he intentionally set a fire in the Weis Market in West Corners. The West Corners Fire Department responded to the Weis, located at 412 Day Hollow Road in the Town of Union, around 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 16th for a report of a small fire inside the store. Officials say the store was occupied by both employees and shoppers at the time, and that the fire was extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system. They say the fire caused almost $10,000 in damages and lost income.An investigation by the Broome County Bureau of Fire Investigation found that the fire was intentionally set in a coat room at the rear of the store. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. As a result of the investigation, Zachary Constable, 22, of Johnson City, was arrested and charged with arson in the 2nd degree and criminal mischief in the 2nd degree, both felonies. He was arraigned in the Town of Union Court and was taken to the Broome County Jail.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Reidsville, NC – Arson fire at Food Lion grocery store suppressed by sprinkler system February 24, 2017 viking210 Two fires ignited in Reidsville businesses on Saturday, Feb. 18, but officials say there is no connection … Less than 22 hours later, at 11:24 p.m., Reidsville Police, Reidsville Fire and the Rockingham County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to Food Lion in reference to a fire. Inside, officials found a man actively damaging property. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to Annie Penn Hospital, according to a news release. Harris said a suspect broke a window, entered the store, caused damage and used a lighter to ignite paper products on aisle eight, including toilet paper and paper towels. This set off two overhead sprinklers which suppressed the fire. There was limited fire damage to the building. The officials arrived at 11:28 p.m. and the situation was under control by 11:37 p.m.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Yakima, WA – Sprinkler system contains suspected arson fire at Bi-Mart store January 18, 2017 viking210 Authorities say a fire that caused an estimated $1 million damage at the Bi-Mart store on North 40th Avenue early Tuesday morning was deliberately set and may have stemmed from a burglary. Evidence suggests it was arson, said Capt. Jeff Pfaff, spokesman for the Yakima Fire Department, which is working with police to determine the exact cause of the fire and where it started. Firefighters were called to the store, 1207 N. 40th Ave., at 2:15 a.m. on a report that water was flowing in the building’s sprinkler system. Arriving crews found smoke coming from the back of the building and cardboard boxes burning in a second-story storage area, Pfaff said. The building’s back doors were open, suggesting someone entered after the store closed for the night, said police spokesman Mike Bastinelli. A search of the area with a police dog was not successful. It is unknown if anything was taken from the store, Bastinelli said. Twenty-four firefighters worked to put out the fire, which Pfaff said was confined to the upper storage room due to the sprinkler system. However, smoke went through the building and water pooled in the storage area damaging merchandise, Pfaff said. Fire officials estimate damage at $1,005,000. Officials said it is unknown how much of the store’s stock, including food, can be salvaged. The store will close for an indefinite time while it is cleaned up and the merchandise is assessed, said Don Leber, Bi-Mart’s vice president of advertising and marketing. Leber said the store, which opened in November 1959, employs about 55 people. Some of them will be transferred temporarily to the Bi-Mart on South Fifth Avenue to help with the additional shoppers expected there, while the rest will be assisting with the cleanup at the North 40th Avenue store. Bi-Mart is also transferring prescriptions for customers of the North 40th Avenue store to its other Yakima location, Leber said. He said the company hopes to reopen the pharmacy in the next couple of days, but people will have to use the outside window. Bastinelli said Bi-Mart was one of four reported burglaries within a 3-mile radius that police were investigating Tuesday. However, he said Bi-Mart does not appear to be related to the other cases. Detectives are investigating break-ins at the Conoco gas station at 4708 Tieton Drive; Tom-Tom Espresso, 412 S. 40th Ave.; and the Sunshine Mart, 6712 Tieton Drive, Bastinelli said.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail South Lake Tahoe, CA – Fire in attic mechanical room at Target store contained by sprinkler system January 8, 2017 viking210 A fire broke out in a furnace room at the South Lake Tahoe TJ Maxx store just before 7:00 p.m. Monday night, resulting in the store filling up with smoke and water. South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue personnel responded, and found the store’s sprinkler system was able to keep the fire from spreading and it was contained to the one room. The furnace was located above the store’s dressing rooms. With all of the water used to put out the fire, the ceiling collapsed and created quite a mess in that portion of the store. “Much of the floor is very wet,” said SLTFR Battalion Chief Tim Spencer. “There was light smoke inside so there may be some smokey clothing.” With the freezing temperatures in South Lake Tahoe, Spencer said they had concern about frozen water. As of 8:45 p.m., they are in clean-up mode and making sure the scene is safe. “We are ready to turn the store back to manager,” said Spencer. “It’s now up to the insurance and restoration companies.” Firefighters from Lake Valley Fire also responded to the store which is located at the Y.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Marietta, OH – Sprinklers activate to help fight fire at supermarket bakery November 15, 2016 viking210 An afternoon fire leaves the Giant Eagle in Marietta closed until further notice. According to the Marietta Fire Department, the oven in the bakery caught on fire shortly after 1:00 PM. The employees say the oven had a sudden spike in temperature, so they shut it off. Then, there was a minor explosion. The sprinkler system was activated and the fire department arrived on scene.The store was evacuated and is closed until further notice to assess the damage. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Dillingham, AK – Arson fire at grocery market knocked down by sprinkler system October 12, 2016 viking210 An automatic sprinkler system kept early morning fires set inside the N&N Market down, but not out, and the Dillingham Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene before 8:00 a.m. “When we made entry, the building was full of smoke, pretty heavy smoke,” said Assistant Fire Chief Malcolm Wright. “There were fires in several different places, and they’d been knocked down by the sprinkler system. The sprinklers did their job, but there was still a lot of smoke, and [we] had to overhaul the materials that had burned.” Wright said there appeared to be two spots fires were started in the store. One was back in the clothing section near the footwear, and another was where bulk paper towels are sold on an aisle end cap, next to the produce section and the freezers. Those were areas firefighters focused on pulling apart materials to stamp out the fire. Wright, a veteran firefighter, had no doubt the fires had been set intentionally. “Yeah, there is no way I could waffle on that. But I want to leave it to police to say more when they’re ready,” he said. As to the extent of the damage, Wright said it was “pretty heavy” inside, but credited the sprinklers with preventing the fire from spreading further. “There was a bunch of stuff [damaged] on the shelves, some shelving, some lights, but probably much more water damage I would think. Took us a while to get the sprinklers turned back off,” he said. Two Dillingham police officers were inside collecting evidence immediately after the firefighters cleared the building. Chief Dan Pasquariello could not be reached for comment Sunday morning. A witness at the scene, who asked not to be named, told police that noises were heard and the power was out at N&N around 3:30 a.m., and not long after a vehicle sped quickly from behind the store and drove a ways down the road before turning its lights on. Other store employees at the scene said the perpetrator or perpetrators had broken a window in the rear of the building to gain entrance. No injuries were reported. The N&N Market was closed for business Sunday. There are city cameras around the port entrance, and in the past N&N Market has operated cameras in the store which have helped lead to the arrest of other burglars. So far Dillingham Police have not said what evidence was collected, what if anything was stolen, or if they are looking for any suspects. The volunteer crash rescue squad also responded to a vehicle accident north on Lake Road earlier in the morning, and the fire department was pulled away from the scene of the N&N fire after a report of a fire in HUD housing was called in. That turned out to be a false alarm; smoke from fireworks shot into the woodline to scare off a bear had been mistaken for a fire. Update, 12:45 p.m.: Dillingham Police Chief Dan Pasquariello issued a press release, confirming an arson and burglary investigation is underway, though no suspects have been named. “Investigation revealed that person(s) had broken into the building, stole numerous items from the store, and deliberately set the store on fire,” he wrote. Pasquariello said the ATM had been targeted, but did not want to comment on other items stolen. He did not say how many people had been involved, or if the Department has suspects in mind. The chief said the police are in the early stages of their investigation, and has asked anyone with information regarding burglary and arson at N&N early Sunday morning to contact DPD at 842-5354.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Phoenix, AZ – Sprinklers extinguish blaze after fireworks set on fire at Walmart; No injuries June 17, 2016 viking210 The Phoenix Fire Department is asking for the public’s help identifying three people — two males and a female — who are seen on surveillance video leaving the scene of a fireworks display that was set on fire inside a Walmart store Wednesday night. Firefighters responded to the Walmart store at 5250 W. Indian School Road on Wednesday night after the fire started. The fire department received numerous 911 calls and when they arrived at the store, there was a lot of smoke. The fireworks can be seen on video burning in a large flame as the trio walk away. According to Phoenix Fire, the sprinkler system helped to quickly extinguish the blaze. Firefighters said several people suffered from smoke-related complaints but no one was taken to a hospital or injured in the incident. Authorities are looking for the three people believed responsible for the incident. Anyone with information about them is asked to call the Phoenix Police Department at 480-WIT-NESS.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Marshall Town, IA – Freezer fire at grocery store controlled with help from sprinkler system May 20, 2016 viking210 Firefighters were sent to a grocery store on a report of a fire in a freezer Thursday. Crews were sent to the Aldi’s store at 2405 South Center Street at 9:20 a.m. The store was evacuated as workers tried to track down which freezer the burning smell was coming from. The fire was seen coming from the back side of a freezer. By the time fire crews arrived, moderate smoke has filled the entire store, but no fire was visible from the entrance. As they started work, firefighters reported the sprinkler system activated. No injuries were reported. The investigation found the cause of the fire to be electrical and damage is estimated at $75,000.
