Apartment Building, Residential

Stamford, CT – Fire started by unattended space heater contained by sprinkler system

A fire caused by an unattended space heater in a Pequot Drive apartment early Friday afternoon was mostly contained by an overhead sprinkler system.

The sprinkler system brought the fire completely under control by the time firefighters arrived at the Southwood Square Apartments about 2 p.m. Friday, fire Capt. Paul Newman said.

Newman said no one was in the apartment at the time and there were no reported injuries. Newman said because of the sprinkler system, most of the damage was contained to the bedroom with smoke damage to a hallway.

Chief Fire Marshall Charles Spaulding said just before the fire was reported, a man using a space heater in the apartment went to the grocery store.

While he was gone, the space heater caught an adjacent chair on fire, Spaulding said.

The man has declined help from the American Red Cross and Spaulding said he could be back into his apartment as early as Monday.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Omaha, NE – Sprinkler system extinguishes overnight fire at furniture warehouse

Omaha firefighters found lots of smoke Friday morning while investigating reports of a fire inside a furniture warehouse.

An alarm company alerted the fire department to the situation around 2:30 a.m., said firefighters, letting crews know an alarm was going off inside a building near 31st and Spaulding streets.

Fire investigators said a plastic container inside a box caught fire. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the flames before crews arrived at at the scene.

It’s unclear what caused the box to catch fire.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Sacramento, CA – Sprinkler system slows spread of fire that started in electric player piano

A fire that is believed to have begun in an electric player piano at a senior assisted living center in south Sacramento led to four residents being taken to the hospital.

The fire suppression sprinkler system slowed the spread of the small blaze, but smoke filled parts of the Regency Place assisted living center, 8190 Arroyo Vista Drive, about 1 a.m. Thursday. Residents had to be helped from the smoky center in the Valley Hi neighborhood.

“The fire stayed confined to the piano and the general area around it,” said Sacramento fire Capt. Dave Lauchner. “It was controlled by the fire sprinkler and extinguished by the first crews.”

The piano was in the front area of the assisted living center, Lauchner said.

“The main problem was not so much fire, but the smoke that filled the place up, including the hallways,” Lauchner said. “After putting out the fire, we had to get people out. I believe four went to the hospital. There were different injuries. All minor.”

Lauchner said the fire eventually went to two alarms to bring enough firefighters to help with building evacuation.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Oxnard, CA – Overnight fire at golf course clubhouse contained with help from sprinkler system

Thanks to the quick response of the Oxnard Fire Department and the help of fire units from the city of Ventura, Ventura County and Santa Paula, River Ridge Golf Course was spared any serious damage from a fire that broke out in the early morning hours last Thursday.

The fire, which was initially reported at 2:35 a.m., was located on the exterior portion of the west side of the clubhouse building which is on the opposite side of the pro shop.

Fire crews had the flames basically out by 3:12 a.m.

“We got lucky,” River Ridge General Manager Otto Kanny said. “The pictures looked pretty spectacular but we’re fine. We got a great response from the fire crews so the fire was contained on the west side exterior of the building.

“We had a lot of cleanup and patching up, tedious stuff like that and trying to get the stink out. But we got really lucky.”

When Kanny arrived that morning he said there were at least 20 firetrucks battling the blaze. It started on the farthest corner of the outside railing of the building and the flames worked their way up the pillars on the outside of the patio on that side of the building.

But thanks to the firewalls on the outside of the building, the sprinkler system and the quick work of the firefighters, the area the fire got into was minimized.

“The fire got within four feet of getting to the drapes in the banquet room,” Kanny said. “Had that happened, the fire would have climbed into the attic and that point we would have lost half of the clubhouse. We were very fortunate.”

The last of the fire crews left at 6 a.m. and Kanny said the first golfers started arriving at 6:30.

They had no power until 11 a.m., but Kanny said the pro shop staff and the rest of the River Ridge crew did yeoman’s work in making sure customers were taken care of and that golfers were able to play Thursday.

Because of the water used to put out the blaze, the banquet facility is not operational. As word got out about the fire, people in the golf business, such as Eric Burton at the city of Ventura and Saticoy Country Club general manager Phil Lopez called and offered any help they could provide.

“It was amazing to see the outreach from people in the community,” Kanny said. “With the help of others in the community we were able to hold all of the functions that were scheduled this weekend.”

Kanny said there is no word yet on what caused the fire and there is a good chance the exact cause will never be determined.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lansdale, PA – No injuries as sprinkler system contains third-floor apartment fire

A kitchen fire inside 536 Station Square Blvd. in the Station Square Apartment Homes in Upper Gwynedd was knocked down in five minutes, but it has left two apartments uninhabitable.

Upper Gwynedd Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Sharkey said the kitchen fire started in a third-floor apartment in the 500 building.

“The fire marshal is still investigating the cause,” Sharkey said.

He said the fire was isolated to the corner kitchen island.

“The sprinkler system did a good job in containing the fire,” he said.

Three windows were broken out to ventilate the fire and smoke.

“Smoke had banked down to about a foot off the ground,” he said.

The fire was knocked down within five minutes, he said.

“The neighbor called it in,” he said.

The entire 500 building — 18 apartments in all — were evacuated.

Both the third-floor apartment and the second-floor apartment are inhabitable; the former due to water and smoke damage and the latter, 526 Station Square Blvd., due to water damage.

No one was home at the time of the fire. The elderly female renter was called to the scene, consoled by Station Square management and Upper Gwynedd Township Police Officer Ted Caiola.

There were no injuries.

Assisting Upper Gwynedd Fire Department at the scene were Fairmount Fire Co., North Penn Vol. Fire Co., Hatfield Vol. Fire Co. and Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Oxford, ME – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in knocking down fire at wood products manufacturer

Firefighters quickly knocked down flames at National Wood Products of Maine on Route 26 on Wednesday morning, Oxford Fire Chief Wayne Jones said. The fire was accidental, he said. No one was injured.  “The fire began in the area where the employees do the painting of their products,” Jones said. “They were doing some maintenance on the paint booth when the fire started.”  The fire was reported at 7:46 a.m.

The chief said the woodworking plant has a sprinkler system that “kept the fire intact” while the firefighters drove to the scene. “When you have a paint booth, there’s always the potential for an accidental fire, which is why businesses make sure those areas are explosion-proof,” Jones said. “It’s to prevent those types of fires from occurring or getting out of control, due to paint fumes or something else.”

National Wood Products of Maine supplies elaborate and simple furniture components and a wide variety of wood species, and produces finished furniture, ranging from juvenile furniture to adult lawn chairs. Jones praised the work for firefighters from Oxford, Norway, Paris, Mechanic Falls and Poland.

“All of the crews did a heck of a job of getting that fire knocked down as fast as possible,” Jones said.  Route 26 was closed while the departments extinguished the fire.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Wellford, SC – Fire at chemical plant suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries

Firefighters said Hazmat was initially called in after a fire broke out at a chemical plant in Spartanburg County Tuesday morning.  The fire broke out in a loading room at StarChem on Greenville Highway in Wellford, according to Startex Fire Chief Barry Ward.

The fire happened when a truck opened an equipment door and fumes from an open valve ignited.  The building was evacuated and the facility’s sprinkler system put out the fire.

Hazmat crews were called in to make sure no dangerous chemicals were involved and the water from the sprinkler system had not been contaminated.  Ward said Hazmat crews quickly determines there fire was not caused by a hazardous chemical.

No one was hurt in the fire.  Click here to read more about the StarChem plant’s manufacturing capabilities.

Apartment Building, Residential

Indiana, PA – Kitchen fire at off-campus apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

Damage was confined to a first-floor apartment in a student housing complex near downtown Indiana early Monday afternoon when a fire started in a kitchen and set off a sprinkler, a fire official said. (Jamie Empfield/Gazette photo)

The Indiana Fire Association responded at 12:15 p.m. to a general alarm call at a Philadelphia Square property on the southeast corner of Philadelphia and 10th streets.

The fire began in some grease on a stove then flashed up to the ceiling when a tenant threw water on the fire, said Assistant Chief Ron Moreau of the Indiana Fire Association.

The flame scorched the wall and activated the fire suppression sprinkler, which extinguished the flames, Moreau said.

Indiana officials canceled the calls for backup help from the Homer City, Black Lick and Marion Center fire departments.

Moreau said no one was hurt.

Other - Retail, Retail

McKinney, TX – Electrical fire at Sherwin Williams paint store controlled by sprinkler system

McKinney Fire Department (MFD) responded to an incident Oct. 28 at Sherwin Williams, 310 N. Central Expressway, and discovered a fire sprinkler system had activated and was controlling an electrical fire in the rear of the store. Two sprinkler heads are credited for the minimal damage and reinforced the value of fire sprinkler systems. No injuries were reported from the fire.

“This successful sprinkler save demonstrates the effectiveness of an automatic fire sprinkler systems in a commercial environment. Had the sprinkler system not been present, the outcome could have been very different,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Andrew Barr.

Approximately 36 MFD personnel and investigators from the Fire Marshal’s office responded to the fire and mutual aid from Allen, Fairview and Frisco fire departments was requested. The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

For additional information on fire protection systems, code requirements or other fire prevention topics, visit www.mckinneyfire.org or call 972-547-2879.

 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Ottumwa, IA – Fourth floor hotel fire held in check by sprinkler system

At approximately 12:15 a.m. Sunday morning, October 30th, the Ottumwa Fire Department responded to a report of a room on fire at the Hotel Ottumwa. Upon arrival, fire fighters discovered a fourth floor room on fire. Two sprinkler heads had activated, keeping the fire from growing and spreading. An employee of the Hotel Ottumwa, Trevor Medina, heard the fire alarm activation and went to the fourth floor. Medina kicked in the door and pulled a female occupant to safety. The occupant was immediately transferred to the Ottumwa Regional Health Center for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Ottumwa Police Department personnel assisted with the safe evacuation of the upper floors of the hotel. Ottumwa Fire Chief Tony Miller credits the courageous action of Medina with preventing a tragic ending. 

The hotel sustained smoke and water damage; mostly limited to the original floor of origin with minor smoke damage on the fifth floor. Tenants and guests were allowed to return their rooms shortly after the fire was extinguished and the smoke was removed. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ottumwa Fire Department. 

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