Tag Archives: Colorado

Denver, CO – Sprinkler system activated for car fire in tunnel; No injuries reported

A vehicle fire inside the covered section of the Central 70 project in Denver Saturday forced the closure of westbound Interstate 70.

All lanes were reponed to traffic about a half-hour after the fire, which was first reported at 3:25 p.m. The closure caused traffic to back up in the area.

There were no reports of injuries and there was no damage done to the structure.

The 1,000-foot covered structure was completed last year and is part of the Central 70 project.

The tunnel is equipped with fans to pump out the exhaust and a sprinkler system to mitigate fires. And CDOT spokesperson Stacia Sellers said the system “worked as intended.”

“At 15:21 flames became visible from the car. 15:22 Fire Detection Activated and Jet Fans kicked in. At 15:23 the deluge system for zone 7 was activated and Denver Fire Department notified. 15:25 deluge was at full open position and suppressed the fire,” Sellers wrote in an email to Denver7.

Colorado Springs, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire at hotel; No injuries reported

Monday, September 5th, the Colorado Springs Fire Department responded to a fire at Intown Suites located off I-25 at 6210 Corporate Dr.

The fire was called in at approximately 12:00 PM and CSFD responded with a limited amount of units to the scene.

CSFD was able to get the fire under control and quickly put it out due to the building’s sprinkler system keeping the fire in check until firefighters got there.

There were no injuries reported and the reason for the fire is still being investigated at this time.

Denver, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Denver Broncos stadium; No injuries reported

A fire that broke out in the home stadium of the NFL’s Denver Broncos destroyed rows of seats and damaged a suite area on Thursday, authorities said.

The Denver Fire Department responded to Empower Field at Mile High at about 2:15 p.m. MDT, Capt. Greg Pixley told The Denver Post. The fire was extinguished approximately 30 minutes later as firefighters and the stadium’s sprinkler system brought the blaze under control.

“This fire burned very hot. We’re lucky the sprinkler system started to hold the fire in check,” Pixley told the newspaper. “This was a significant fire.”

Stadium officials said in a statement on Twitter that the fire occurred in a construction zone near the East Club Lounge. Pixley said the fire ignited on the fourth level of the stadium and spread to the third-level seats, KDVR-TV reported. Smoke interrupted an event on the second floor that had about 100 people in attendance, but there are no reports of injuries, the television station reported.

Pixley said the sprinkler system was activated in the indoor seating area, but there was no sprinkler system over the exposed stadium seats, according to the Post.

That exposed the stadium’s plastic seats to the blaze.

“This type of plastic that the seats are composed of burns with not only significant ferocity, very large flames, but also produces a tremendous amount of black smoke,” Pixley told reporters.

Six rows of seats in two sections near the suites were destroyed, KCNC-TV reported.

Loveland, CO – Sprinkler system activated for commercial business fire; No injuries reported

An indoor sprinkler system helped Loveland firefighters contain a commercial fire at The Forge Campus at the former Hewlett-Packard campus in southwest Loveland early Monday morning.

According to a Facebook post from the Loveland Rescue Authority, crews responded to a fire alarm at a building at 815 14th St. SW just after 4 a.m. Monday. Once on scene crews found a fire in the building that was being controlled by a sprinkler. The fire sprinklers, according to the post, contained the fire to the area of origin in the manufacturing portion of the business.

The incident was upgraded to a commercial structure fire, calling in additional LFRA resources as well as a Thompson Valley EMS ambulance to the scene. The post added crews quickly extinguished the fire, which involved hazardous materials, and hazmat personnel worked to identify the materials involved as well as necessary mitigating actions.

Tim Smith, who was recently promoted to operations division chief, said that the fire was still under investigation and no injuries were reported.

Colorado Springs, CO – Fire at strip mall controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Colorado Springs firefighters responded to a fire in a strip mall near the southeastern side of the city Thursday morning, firefighters tweeted.

Sprinklers controlled the “small” fire inside a storefront at 1720 South Circle Drive shortly before 11:20 a.m., the agency tweeted.

Crews arrived to control the sprinkler flow, firefighters said.

Firefighters reported no injuries. No other stores were damaged, firefighters said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Montrose, CO – Sprinkler system slows fire at saw mill; No injuries reported

Montrose Forest Products is operating at a temporarily diminished capacity, as repairs are made to electrical components that were damaged in a fire late Friday at the timber mill.

“It wasn’t catastrophic, but it wasn’t good, nonetheless,” Mike Kusar, general manager, said Monday.

“We had mainly electrical damage to our de-barker area. We are running production today, but it is at less than full capacity. We are still making repairs. No one was injured. The fire district did a great job, getting right out there and getting it out,” Kusar said.

A fire alarm summoned the Montrose Fire Protection District and deputies to the timber mill on 65.30 Road at about 10:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.

Crews found fire showing in and around manufacturing equipment in an open area of the building. The sprinkler system activated, slowing the fire, which firefighters extinguished. With plant employees, they were able to shut down power to the system and machinery.

The fire district’s report says one of the areas of fire was at a hydraulic fluid tank and electric pumps, where rubber piping had burned through and was leaking. Containers of hydraulic oil had burned and above them, was wiring that had been exposed when the insulation burned off.

The fire also burned around and under a conveyor belt motor, and around a large saw in the metal building.

The amount of sawdust made it difficult to determine distinct burn patterns; per the report, workers said welding might have been done near the saw earlier in the day.

The fire district surmised the blaze was heading south and the sprinkler heads activated after crews arrived.

“I think our sprinkler system paid for itself this weekend,” Kusar said Monday.

As firefighters began clearing the scene Friday, employees used hoses to keep wetting the sawdust and worked to replace sprinkler heads to reactivate the system.

According to the report, dust, fiber, lint, sawdust and excelsior caught fire first, due to “failure of equipment or heat source.” It listed “heat source too close to combustibles” as a contributing factor. There were no human contributing factors.

Preliminary damages were estimated at $25,000. The involved property was valued at $5 million and the contents at $1million.

Montrose Forest Products is having the electrical damage repaired so it can resume full-capacity operations, Kusar said.

“It was obviously a very big deal, but we’re back running today. We worked all weekend to get her going,” he said.

The mill hopes to be at full operation again in about a week.

Big Springs, CO – Residential explosion suppressed by sprinkler system

On Friday, July 3, 2020, at 7 p.m., there was a small explosion within a residence in the 200 block of Alpine Drive. Specific cause of the explosion is unknown. The fire was suppressed by the sprinkler system of the home. One party was transported to the hospital with burns. Nederland is working with multiple agencies to secure a search warrant to complete a further investigation. At this time, the situation is stabilized and there is no immediate threat to the area. We will provide additional information as it comes available.

On Sunday, July 5, 2020, the Nederland Fire Department released an evening update. “The investigation and safety operations will be continuing tomorrow on the 200 block of Alpine Drive”.

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020, Nederland Fire Department will see another full day of investigation, medical standby and fire suppression on the 200 block of Alpine Drive. Nederland Fire is supporting the various agencies involved by ensuring crew safety and support to operations. Firefighters have indicated that between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. there will be a controlled detention at the home on Alpine Drive. Neighboring homes have been notified if they need to evacuate. If you have not been notified, there is no need to evacuate but we strongly encourage that you remain in your homes during this time.

At 4:15 p.m. a new reverse 911 went out to the public stating that the detonations would continue throughout the night and into tomorrow. During this time the bomb squad is detonating small amounts of materials that are unstable and cannot be removed from the property. The Nederland Fire Department remains on scene to watch for fire and keep the area safe during the ongoing operation.

The Mountain-Ear will continue to share information about this story as it is made available to us.

Durango, CO – Single fire sprinkler puts out grease fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

A Durango family was displaced Wednesday after a fire at their apartment complex, but fire officials say the blaze could have been much worse.

Karola Hanks, fire marshal for Durango Fire Protection District, said there was a report of a structure fire Wednesday afternoon at an apartment complex on Primrose Circle in Three Springs.

But by the time emergency responders arrived, a single fire sprinkler had put out the blaze. No one was injured, but the family in the unit is temporarily displaced and is being assisted by Red Cross, which is providing temporary housing.

Hanks stressed, however, how destructive the fire could have been, if not for a single sprinkler.

The apartment where the fire originated was the center unit in the complex, which has 12 units in total, plus there are adjacent apartment buildings that make up one large facility for affordable housing.

The family had been cooking in oil when a grease fire broke out, spreading onto the cabinets and then the ceiling. The sprinkler, which activates at temperatures around 155 degrees, went off and extinguished it.

“It was one of those situations where everything that was supposed to go right all fell into place,” Hanks said. “It was an awesome day.”

In the city of Durango, there’s no requirement for sprinkler systems in single-family homes, though more than 500 homes are equipped in the fire district’s jurisdiction, Hanks said.

Newly adopted codes, however, require apartment complexes with more than 16 units to have sprinkler systems. The complex in question had only 12 units, but because it’s used for affordable housing, it falls under different regulations.

“This was good news,” Hanks said. “It all worked like it was supposed to.”

Colorado Springs, CO – Sprinklers extinguish electrical fire at Walmart that started in a meat cooler

The Walmart on 8th St. in Colorado Springs was evacuated around 8:00 Sunday night for a fire.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesman said there was a small fire in a meat cooler. The fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler.

Walmart was later reopened according to a tweet from the CSFD PIO’s Twitter at 9:22 p.m.

The accidental fire was a mechanical fire, according to CSFD Capt. Mike Smaldino.

Loveland, CO – Sprinkler system saves 40 year old apartment building from complete loss; No injuries reported

Residents escaped uninjured from a fire at the Lovelander Hotel Apartments on Monday night after an evaporative cooler on the building’s north side caught fire.

The fire in the historic three-story building at 111 E. Fourth St. started around 10 p.m. between the building’s first and second floors, according to an email sent Tuesday morning by Loveland Fire Rescue Authority division chief and fire marshal Ned Sparks.

About 45 to 50 residents were either asleep or getting ready to go to bed, according to Sparks and the building’s owner, Astrid, who goes by one name. Fire Chief Mark Miller said no residents or firefighters were harmed.

Those residents have been displaced and won’t be able to return for one or two days, said Astrid, who was working through the channels to get electricity restored and have the building declared inhabitable again.

Sparks and Astrid said the fire sprinkler system that she had installed four months ago in the 40-apartment building saved many lives.

“I am convinced this fire would have had a huge loss of life and most likely the building would have been lost (quite probable the Elks Club and Cactus Grille too),” Sparks said in his email.

“Seeing firsthand how many of the people survived who would have perished in a catastrophic fire, I am reminded why we do what we do,” Sparks said.

In recent years, the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority has worked with the owners of the Lovelander  and two other historic buildings downtown to have sprinkler systems installed.

Historic buildings are quick to burn, and the fires are difficult to fight once they start, Sparks said.

“Once it got going, we couldn’t have stopped it,” Sparks said. “The interstitial space in this area is massive and had the fire not been suppressed would have run through this space unchecked.”

But because of the sprinklers, the fire never really took off.

Two residents who saw the fire and helped evacuate their neighbors said a swamp cooler, which wasn’t running, caught fire.

“I was just about to go to bed when I smelled something funny,” said Jamie Bridgeman, the resident manager who lives on the second floor directly above the cooler with her husband. “Then I started seeing smoke.”

“One of my residents had gotten off work and pulled up behind the building. She started screaming ‘fire!’ I looked out my window, and my swamp cooler was engulfed in flames,” said Bridgeman, who said her hair was singed by the fire. “I just started screaming ‘fire’ and came down here and pulled the alarm.

“Then I went back up and stood in the middle and screamed, ‘Fire! Everybody get out,” she said.

Two residents got fire extinguishers from the hallway and stood outside the building, spraying onto the fire, she said.

Steve Dupont, a resident of the first floor, said most residents used the metal fire escapes on the back side of the building.

“Everybody was coming out like they were supposed to,” he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, he was standing outside the Lovelander, waiting to go inside to help retrieve the belongings of a friend whose nearby apartment was damaged by a sprinkler head that activated. Astrid said the ceiling fell in that apartment because of the water damage.

Astrid was busy on the phone Tuesday, talking with an electrical contractor about getting the power restored. He told her that she would need an engineer to verify that the structure still was sound, even though she said the fire was mostly confined to the exterior cooler unit.

“Let’s get this underway right now,” she said.

Astrid expressed concern for her residents, whom she described as normally just a few hundred dollars away from homelessness — the working poor, elderly people and students.

“We really could use a little help,” she said, breaking down in tears under her coronavirus face mask when asked what kind of help.

“They’re all law-abiding, very decent citizens of Loveland,” she said. “I wish they could come back this afternoon, but it sounds like 24 to 48 hours.”

Bridgeman, the manager, said Sparks gave residents vouchers for motel rooms Monday night, and eight people were able to take rooms. The rest, such as herself and her husband, either stayed with friends or paid for motel rooms themselves, although they couldn’t really afford it.

Bridgeman said she had been talking with the American Red Cross about getting more vouchers to house the displaced residents until they could move back in.

Astrid was busy on the phone Tuesday, talking with an electrical contractor about getting the power restored. He told her that she would need an engineer to verify that the structure still was sound, even though she said the fire was mostly confined to the exterior cooler unit.

“Let’s get this underway right now,” she said.

Astrid expressed concern for her residents, whom she described as normally just a few hundred dollars away from homelessness — the working poor, elderly people and students.

“We really could use a little help,” she said, breaking down in tears under her coronavirus face mask when asked what kind of help.

“They’re all law-abiding, very decent citizens of Loveland,” she said. “I wish they could come back this afternoon, but it sounds like 24 to 48 hours.”

Bridgeman, the manager, said Sparks gave residents vouchers for motel rooms Monday night, and eight people were able to take rooms. The rest, such as herself and her husband, either stayed with friends or paid for motel rooms themselves, although they couldn’t really afford it.

Bridgeman said she had been talking with the American Red Cross about getting more vouchers to house the displaced residents until they could move back in.