Category Archives: School / University

NOTE – Residence Hall, Dormitory, and Fraternity-Sorority is included under Residential Category

Minneapolis, MN – Overnight fire in high school chemistry lab contained by sprinkler system

Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis is expected to open again Friday after a fire early Thursday morning caused damage to parts of the building. The fire broke out just after 2 a.m. in a chemistry lab. School district officials say no injuries were reported.

With help from the sprinkler system, the fire was contained to one classroom. The closure affects all Patrick Henry events, including community education classes, athletic events and extracurricular activities. All other district schools will remain open. Officials also asked Patrick Henry staff members not to report to work Thursday. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

North East, MD – Overnight fire at high school contained to mechanical room by sprinkler system

**NO MEDIA COVERAGE – State Fire Marshal Report** — On March 18, 2015 around 2:48 am, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office was requested for a fire at Rising Sun High School. Rising Sun High is a two story, brick educational facility located at 100 Tiger Drive in Rising Sun of Cecil County.  Approximately 30 firefighters from Rising Sun, Northeast and Oxford (PA) responded and extinguished the fire within 20 minutes. Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire to have originated in the mechanical room of the school due to an electrical malfunction. The high school was protected by a working fire alarm which alerted the local fire departments quickly. The sprinkler system was also activated, which contained the fire to the mechanical room. There was no structure damage due to the fire.

Lebanon, OH – Sprinkler activates, extinguishes fire at high school

At 6:51 a.m., Lebanon firefighters were called to the high school, 1916 Drake Road, on reports of a fire in the kitchen, said Capt. Steve Oughterson. A 17-year-old girl was taken to Bethesda Medical Center at Arrow Springs in Lebanon and was released within an hour, said Lebanon Fire Chief Perry Gerome.

The fire happened inside a small appliance in the kitchen as a result of a cooking accident. A sprinkler was activated and the fire was extinguished before crews arrived, the chief said. Gerome said the fire was ruled accidental and caused about $200 in damages.

School officials and the Warren County Health Department were notified and responded to assess the situation, according to Gerome. The small fire caused one event to be canceled and another postponed at the high school until all systems could be reset and placed back in service.

Chesterfield, VA – Sprinklers keep fire in check after stolen van crashes into High School

Fire alarms went off around 1:30 AM, when firefighters arrived at L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield they found a van on fire that had crashed through the front doors.  Officials say the tires were still running and that’s what caused the fire. Chesterfield Police say the van that crashed into the school was stolen.

The fire caused smoke to spread throughout the school and the sprinkler system to go off.  There were no reported injuries and the fire was contained to the area where the van crashed into the building.

“It appears the fire was more than likely caused by the tires continuing to spin as it was inside, and the tires caught fire and spread to the rest of the vehicle,” Lt. Jason Elmore with Chesterfield said. There was no one inside the building at the time of the crash.

The school will be closed through Sunday night. The principal sent a note home to parents saying they hope to reopen on Monday. Police are asking anyone with any information on the driver to contact them immediately. 

Miami, FL – Sprinkler system extinguishes overnight fire at art school

An overnight electrical fire at the New World School of the Arts in downtown Miami sent firefighters to the campus and parts of a class project to the trash. Firefighters responded to the small fire in a gallery at the school around 1 a.m. Tuesday, said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll. “The sprinkler system actually put the fire out,” Carroll said. 

He added that “crews were out there for a little bit” to try to remove all the water from the sprinklers from the building and to get the smoke to clear out. “The water doesn’t stop once the fire is out,” Carroll said.  Firefighters also changed the sprinklers and reset the alarm system, he added.  No one was injured in the fire. Classes were not affected by the fire. “We’re fully operational,” Hodgson said. “There are no classes in that room.”

 

North Vancouver, BC, Canada – Suspected arson fire at Capilano University contained by sprinkler system

North Vancouver RCMP are searching for suspects in a break-in and possible arson at Capilano University this morning.  Emergency crews were called to the university library shortly after midnight.

“On arrival, we noticed smoke in the library,” says Ast. Fire Chief Dave Burgess. “There was a small fire and the sprinkler had it deactivated.  The sprinkler controlled the fire and kept it to the area of origin.”

Investigators aren’t sure what may have been stolen from the library yet. They will examine video surveillance in an effort to identify any potential suspects. The University says they will be assessing the damage, but do not anticipate any class disruptions today.

Battle Ground, WA – Fire in school science lab contained to one room by sprinkler system

A small fire started tonight in a science room at Chief Umtuch Middle School in Battle Ground.   A fire sprinkler had activated in the room, suppressing the fire and keeping it contained to the room, said Clark County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy. The sprinkler activation triggered an alarm to summon firefighters, who finished extinguishing the fire once they arrived.

At 9:20 p.m., firefighters with Clark County Fire & Rescue were dispatched to the school, at 700 N.W. Ninth St. When they arrived, they found a small fire in room 185, a science classroom, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.

The fire is under investigation by the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office, Dawdy said, but it appeared that a heat lamp inside an animal terrarium sparked the fire, and that flames spread to a nearby bookshelf.

Piscataway, NJ – Arson fire at Rutgers University put out by sprinkler system

The investigation determined that a former student set fire to a 30-foot section of the hallway and the adjoining classroom on the second floor of the ARC Building at 1:03 p.m. on Dec. 20. 

The fire was extinguished by an overhead sprinkler, but damaged portions of the hallway and the classroom.  The flash fire also set off an alarm, forcing the evacuation of 210 students who were taking a final exam in a first-floor auditorium located beneath the burning hallway.  No one was injured.

 

Providence, RI – Sprinklers activated properly during Brown University locker room fire

During Thursday’s electrical fire in the men’s track and field locker room in the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center, all fire prevention measures functioned properly, said Stephen Maiorisi, vice president of facilities management. Though several of the athletes present at the time of the fire observed that the sprinkler system did not immediately activate, Stephen Morin, director of environmental health and safety, wrote in an email to The Herald that the heat-activated sprinkler heads did respond to the fire.

The fire was “10 or 15 feet away” from the heat detector, said Luke Muzikowski ’17, a member of the team who was present at the time of the fire. Both the detector and the sprinklers are activated when the room reaches a certain temperature, Devlin said, adding that the alarm and sprinkler systems were therefore not at the threshold temperature to activate the alarm by the time the runners left the locker room and the building was evacuated.

“It worked exactly the way it was supposed to,” Maiorisi said.

Albany, NY – Fire sprinkler activates to control fire at University of Albany

Husted Hall on the University at Albany’s downtown campus, was closed through Wednesday evening after a small fire at about 1:30 p.m., according to an advisory sent to students.

University police said a chair Room B-008 was found on fire but no other damage was reported. At 4:40 p.m., another chair in the same room was set on fire, causing the building’s sprinkler systems to activate, according to the advisory.