Other - Retail, Retail

Marston Mills, MA – Sprinkler system holds fire in check at auto restoration business

Fire broke out in a strip mall building in Marstons Mills shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday.  Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills firefighters responded to an alarm activation at 40 Industrial Road and discovered the fire.  Only one business was open and everyone there safely evacuated.  A sprinkler system kept the fire in check and crews quickly got it under control.  Firefighters used a metal-cutting saw to gain entry to the unit. A sign identified the business as Euro-Restoration, a car repair company.  Mutual aid from Cotuit and West Barnstable assisted at the scene.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Pine Grove, PA – Machine fire at textiles plant controlled by sprinkler system

Firefighters raced to Guilford Performance Textiles on Saturday afternoon when a machine in the production area caught fire.  “An oil separator on the side of a machine apparently broke a coupler and created a fire. For the most part, the sprinkler system did take over but, we had fire in the machine,” Pine Grove Fire Chief Dave A. Sattizahn said.

The firm makes and dyes fabric for products ranging from military helmet liners to graduation gowns. The fire was reported to Schuylkill County Communications Center, Pottsville, at 3:11 p.m. Saturday. Area firefighters were dispatched to the factory at 1 Penn Dye St.

“It came in as an automatic fire alarm and it was upgraded to a working fire,” Sattizahn said. The fire occurred on the east side of the building.  “It was in the last part of their processing area. The plant was on shut down. There was no production going on at the time. But there was a maintenance crew on,” Sattizahn said.

Responders included firefighters from Pine Grove, Ravine, Schuylkill Haven and Friedensburg. “It was a machine that’s used for plant production. It’s a machine they run the material through. I think it dries the material. It has a big, hydraulic oil tank on it. And, apparently, one of the couplers broke,” Sattizahn said. “So when the coupler broke, it caught on fire right away. The fire got up above the machine and the sprinkler system kicked in. The sprinkler system did it’s job. But when we got there we got the rest of it out.”

Sattizahn said when he entered the building, he saw the machine was on fire. The firefighters managed to keep the fire contained to the building on the far east end of the complex.  One of the issues firefighters faced was smoke.

“That big building filled up with smoke pretty quick,” Sattizahn said. And the firefighters used draw fans and the operation’s exhaust system to deal with it. The machine sustained fire damage and the building sustained smoke and water damage, the fire chief said.

He wasn’t sure exactly why the coupling broke, but said “that oil stays hot all the time in that unit.” And he believe the fire was accidental. The fire was out by 4:30 p.m., he said.

Apartment Building, Residential, School / University

Lynchburg, VA – Fire at off-campus apartment complex at Liberty University put out by sprinkler system

A small grease fire interrupted move-in day for local college students Saturday afternoon. Multiple fire and public safety crews responded to The Oasis, a student-only apartment complex off Candlers Mountain Road, about 4:30 p.m. The apartment complex is less than a mile from Liberty University’s main campus.

Crews responding included Lynchburg Fire Department, Lyn-Dan Heights Volunteer Fire Department, Rustburg Volunteer Fire Department and Campbell County Public Safety. Lynchburg Battalion Chief Mike Reeves said Lynchburg was called in to assist Campbell County.

Reeves said the fire started on the fourth floor of the building. The sprinkler system was able to put out the fire, but Reeves said apartments directly below had heavy water damage. Firefighters worked to clean the apartments with brooms and squeegees as students were forced to wait outside with their belongings. Some students didn’t wait for the scene to clear and continued moving into their apartments.

Campbell County Fire Marshal Randall Johnson said a private contractor was called in to clean.  An apartment complex manager did not provide an exact number of students displaced but said most affected students were staying with friends in the same complex.  Liberty University officials could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Brockton, MA – Apartment arson fire contained by sprinkler system

… The incident is the second arson fire in the city in a week. On Aug. 19, someone set a fire inside an apartment in a 16-unit apartment building at 119 Newbury St., Williams said.

The apartment was unoccupied, however, there were other people in the building at the time. No one was injured.

The building’s sprinkler activated and helped keep the fire from spreading inside the four-story wood-frame building until firefighters arrived, Williams said.

Anyone with information on these two arson cases is asked to call the Arson Watch Reward Program at 1-800-682-9229. A reward of up to $5,000 has been offered for pertinent information.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Bradenton, FL – Generator fire at high school contained to room of origin by sprinkler system

No injuries were reported Friday during a fire in a generator at Braden River High School, according to the East Manatee Fire Rescue.

“It was contained to the room of origin,” said East Manatee Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stacey Bailey. “The fire sprinkler put out the fire, so it did exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

About 20 firefighters were dispatched at 4:41 p.m. to the school located at 6545 State Road 70 E., Bradenton. Bailey said the fire took place in an electrical room that is part of the main school building.

“There were no students present,” Bailey said. “The staff did an outstanding job. The high school staff did exactly what they were supposed to do. They followed their emergency protocols.”

There was extensive water damage as a result of the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to fire officials.

Other - Residential, Residential

Durham, NC – Fire at family shelter extinguished by sprinkler system

A grease fire at a family shelter in Durham caused the shelter and staff offices to be evacuated and displaced two families Friday morning, the development director at Families Moving Forward said.

Fire crews were called to the shelter located in the 300 block of North Queen Street just after 8 a.m. in response to a structure fire. Crews arriving on scene reported a two-story residential structure fire with no flames or smoke visible, officials said.

According to Durham fire officials, the fire occurred in the kitchen was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. Two of the shelter’s rooms suffered water damage and the families in those rooms were moved to new rooms, Shana Carignan with FMF said.

Families in the shelter will not have access to the kitchen for the time being and the electricity is off on that side of the building.

At least 12 families no longer have power for their refrigerators and Carignan asked the community to consider making grocery store gift card donations for the families impacted.

The organization said that RISE Biscuits and Donuts, Domino’s Pizza and Urban Ministries of Durham have all donated food to the shelter.  Carignan said they’re still learning the full extent of the damage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Petersborough, ON, Canada – Garbage chute fire at apartment building kept in check by sprinkler system

A fire in a garbage bin at an apartment building caused $500 damage and prompted an evacuation of the building.

Peterborough Fire service responded quickly to alarm bells ringing at a high-rise building at 909 Clonsilla Ave. this afternoon.

Upon arrival it was determined that a garbage bin  under the building’s garbage chute was on fire. This activated the  sprinkler system which controlled the  fire until fire crews extinguished the fire.

Smoke had spread throughout the  building and crews were able to remove it.

The building tenants had evacuated the  building upon hearing the  alarms ringing.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, said acting platoon chief Lloyd Dozois.

Apartment Building, Residential

Chesterfield County, VA – Sprinkler system helps put out dryer fire in apartment building

Nearly a dozen residents were forced from their apartments overnight after a dryer fire in Chesterfield County.

The fire happened in a second-floor unit at the Grand Oak Forest apartments.

Firefighters said the sprinkler system helped put out the fire, but there is some water damage to three of those units.

No one was hurt in the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Olympia, WA – No injuries in apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

Olympia firefighters responded to a fire alarm about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at a west Olympia apartment complex.  When they arrived at the Fern Street Southwest building, they found fire inside one of the second-floor apartments. The small fire was being kept under control by the automatic sprinkler system. Fire crews finished extinguishing the fire and ensured all occupants had gotten out of the building.

Damage was limited to a corner of the living room and was estimated at $45,000.  Olympia Fire Department responded; McLane Fire District 9 provided assistance by responding to an unrelated call for medical aid within the city.  No one was injured. On Thursday, the cause of the fire was undetermined.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Bend, OR – Early morning fire at hospital held in check by sprinkler system

A fire broke out in a washer for surgical instruments at St. Charles Bend early Wednesday, but a fire sprinkler kept the damage from being far more severe, officials said.  The blaze prompted closure of some areas of the hospital for a time, as well as the cancellation of all elective surgeries for the day.

Shortly before 6 a.m., Bend fire crews responded to the reported fire at the hospital on Northeast Neff Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy Kettering. They arrived to find light smoke coming from the lower level of the facility.  A machine used to clean surgical tools caught fire, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Goodman.

A single sprinkler head activated in the area and held the fire in check until crews arrived, Kettering said. There was some smoke and water damage to the lower level of the facility, and fire crews helped clear remaining smoke from the building.  Investigators determined a heating element within the unit had overheated and failed, causing the fire, Kettering said.

As with any alarm at the hospital, numerous Bend firefighters responded to the scene, clearing the area of smoke and water by about 6:40 a.m. No one was injured, Goodman said.  As a result of the fire in the hospital’s central processing area, elective surgeries were canceled for the day, with only emergency procedures to be performed.

The hospital’s lower-level floor, including the in-patient pharmacy, was closed for a time but had reopened by 7:30 a.m. Goodman said the hospital had resumed normal operations and that all scheduled caregivers should report to work as usual.

Kettering said the fire was a clear example of the value of fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems,” which helped to isolate the fire area and quickly move to protect staff and patients. The sprinkler system minimized damage and will allow operations to resume in a timely manner.

“Without a properly maintained and operational fire sprinkler system, the damage from today’s fire would have undoubtedly been far more severe,” Kettering wrote in a news release.

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