Apartment Building, Residential

Little Rock, AR – Fire at low income housing building controlled with help from sprinkler system

One person was injured in an apartment fire early Thursday at the Albert Pike Hotel in downtown Little Rock. The injuries were not considered life-threatening.  The fire was contained to one apartment on the eighth floor, but it triggered the building’s sprinkler system which flooded some residents’ apartments, according to the Little Rock Fire Department.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was still underway, a Fire Department spokesman said Thursday. Residents of the Albert Pike Hotel have lately raised concerns about the frequency with which false alarms are triggered in the building.  City data show that the Fire Department responded to 500 alarms there since 2015, and more than 50 percent of them were because of unintentional smoke detector activation. “We don’t think twice about [the alarms] anymore,” Brown said.  Brown has lived in the residential high-rise since 2014, and in that time, Thursday’s fire was only the second time the alarms signaled an “actual emergency,” he said.

He and other residents have said they no longer bother to evacuate their apartments when the alarms sound. “My right leg ain’t going to be able to go down eight flights of stairs every time the fire alarm goes off,” Brown said.  Constructed in 1929, the Albert Pike Hotel is a low-income housing complex that allows tenants to use Section 8 vouchers for federally subsidized rent. Residents typically pay about 30 percent of their incomes toward their rent. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department pays the rest.

 

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Atlanta, GA – Fire in suite area of Georgia Dome during Monster Truck rally extinguished by sprinkler system

A small grease fire in a kitchen at the Georgia Dome forced a brief evacuation during Saturday’s Monster Truck rally, according to the Atlanta Fire Department. The fire occurred in the kitchen on one of the suite levels. The evacuation happened because of the smoke.   By the time firefighters arrived, the fire was out.  The sprinkler system put out the blaze.

Apartment Building, Residential

Racine, WI – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire after magazine fell on unattended candle

At least two tenants were displaced from the Lincoln School Apartments after a fire Thursday evening. The fire at 1130 Carlisle Avenue was reported at 6:27 p.m., according to a news release from the Racine Fire Department.  The fire was reportedly caused by a magazine falling onto a candle.  A resident was reportedly sitting in her recliner when the magazine fell from her chair onto the candle that she had sitting on a metal tray on the floor next to her.  The paper from the magazine ignited, setting the chair on fire. The woman was able to evacuate without injury, alarms notified the other residents of the building and the sprinkler system contained the fire until the Fire Department could extinguish it, according to the release.  The residents had to wait to return to their apartments until the alarm and sprinkler system were back in service.

Apartment Building, Residential

Everett, WA – Sprinkler systems limits spread of early morning apartment fire; No injuries

A sprinkler took care of a small fire in a fourth floor apartment at the Camelot Apartments in south Everett this morning. Crews from Everett Fire with assistance from Mukilteo and District 1 were called to an alarm at about 3:30 AM. A sprinkler in an apartment on the 4th floor activated and stopped the fire but left significant water damage to multiple apartments within the building. The Red Cross is being contacted to provide assistance to several families. No word at this time on the cause of the fire. There were no injuries. Crews are on the scene mopping up.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Athens, OH – Fire at popular microbrewery controlled by sprinkler system; Fire started in attached carport

Jackie O’s Production Brewery and Taproom remains standing after a fire broke out adjacent to the main building Wednesday afternoon. The fire, which was contained within a carport attached to the taproom, was started by a truck, said Deputy Service Safety Director Ron Lucas, who added that the facility’s sprinkler system had the fire “pretty much under control” by the time crews arrived on scene.  Due to the potential magnitude of the fire, the Athens Fire Department called in every firefighter on its 22-member roster. Although nobody was hurt, the possibility of the blaze spreading called for an increased firefighter presence.

“Being inside the structure, we worry that it could spread to the whole structure,” AFD Chief Rob Rymer said. “So we put out an all-call, we bring everybody in off duty to make sure it’s under control.”

As crews began to exit the scene at 25 Campbell St., Rymer was unclear as to how the truck, which is used to transport grain to local farmers, had caught fire. “It’s always difficult for vehicles to determine how it started,” Rymer said. “Sometimes you’re driving and you hear a backfire, it could be electrical.”  A group of about five patrons remained on the Jackie O’s patio as fire trucks began clearing the scene.  “We didn’t really see anything,” Kayce Carrick, one of the people on the patio, said. “We were inside, and we just smelled smoke and that was it. So we just left.” The group planned to enjoy the warm weather and finish their beers on the patio.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Yakima, WA – Car fire in parking garage prevented from spreading by overhead sprinkler

A car fire in a garage above the former downtown Yakima mall was prevented from spreading by an overhead sprinkler that activated before firefighters arrived Tuesday afternoon.

Yakima firefighters responded to the fire around 2:30 p.m. on the second level of the garage. The sprinkler confined the fire to a single car before firefighters moved in with hoses, the fire department said.

Shift commander Mitch Cole said the fire was accidental. The car’s driver said she heard a pop while leaving the garage and saw smoke coming from the engine compartment, Cole said in news release.

The car and its contents were destroyed. The fire department estimates the loss to be $1,800.

The fire department said there was no damage to the parking garage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Arlington, TX – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported

Residents of the Centennial Court apartments complex were evacuated when a small cooking fire occurred at about 1 p.m. Tuesday at 717 W. Mitchell Circle on the second floor.

The sprinkler system extinguished the kitchen fire prior to Arlington Fire Department’s arrival, Fire Lt. David Tyler said.

Tyler said there was one person in the apartment at the time, and she escaped without injury.

The apartments experienced minimal fire damage, but also sustained water damage from the sprinkler system that extends to the first floor, Tyler said.

Residents were let back into their apartments at about 1:40 p.m. after the firefighters finished their inspection. Cost of repair for damages is currently unknown.

Centennial Court apartments staff didn’t get back to The Shorthorn before publish time.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Fairfax, VA – Sprinkler system assist firefighters in controlling recycling center fire

Firefighters from Fire Station 30 in Fairfax County responded to the report of a fire early Sunday morning, at the Merrifield Recycling Center, according to the Fairfax County Fire & Police Department. 

Units arrived to find water and smoke coming out of the indoor recycling facility, prompting a request for a second alarm. Additional units from Fairfax and the Arlington County Fire Department arrived soon after. 

No injuries were reported from the scene. Fire damage was limited to recyclable materials. The fire sprinkler system and use of firefighting foam limited the damage to $1,000.

Investigators determined the fire started from an exothermic reaction in one of the recyclable material piles, which caused the materials to catch on fire.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fargo, ND – Kitchen fire at senior living center extinguished by sprinkler system

 A kitchen fire in a senior living center unit caused an estimated $18,000 of damage Saturday, Feb. 25.  Fire crews responded just after 5 p.m. to a possible fire at the Touchmark by Harwood Groves complex, 1200 Harwood Drive S. They found smoke in the hallways, but an in-unit sprinkler system had already extinguished the fire.

No one was in the unit at the time of the fire, and most tenants in the three story building had already evacuated before firefighters got there, according to the Fargo Fire Department. A small dog was in the unit and uninjured. A Saturday news release said the fire was accidental and started from combustible materials that were left on the stove. There was minor fire damage.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Barrie, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling nursing home fire

Barrie Fire says Barrie Police and the Ontario Fire Marshal are investigating a fire at Woods Park Care Centre. Firefighters, police and paramedics were called to the retirement and long-term care facility on Lillian Cres. around 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.  The fire started in a resident’s room on the third floor.

“The resident got out of the room. The sprinkler activated. The affected area was evacuated to a safe zone,” said Barrie Fire’s Samantha Hoffmann. Hoffmann reports that 35 out of the 180 residents were removed from the third floor to a smoke free zone.  Firefighters vented the building and Hoffmann says there’s smoke and water damage.  About 20 residents were unable to return to their rooms and were being housed in another part of the building.

“Because it is a care facility with vulnerable people it’s automatically going to get more response,” Hoffmann said. The building was inspected in October and they did their fire drill in November and they passed, she added.  Sprinklers and staff training were instrumental in the success of the call, according to Barrie Fire.  The cause of the blaze and damage estimate are not yet known.

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