Tag Archives: Colorado

Johnstown, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire in cardboard compactor at department store; No injuries reported

The Loveland Fire Rescue Authority put out a fire in a cardboard compactor at Scheels in Johnstown Tuesday.

No one was hurt, but the fire resulted in evacuation of the store, which was closed for the rest of the evening.

At 4:48 p.m. Tuesday, LFRA was dispatched to a fire sprinkler water flow alarm at Scheels and, when crews arrived two minutes later, they saw smoke showing from the loading dock area, according to a post on the LFRA Facebook page.

The incident was upgraded to a commercial fire and additional LFRA units were called along with Berthoud Fire Protection, Front Range Fire Rescue, Thompson Valley EMS, Poudre Fire Authority and Johnstown Police Department crews.

Crews from Engine 50, which work out of Station 10 in Johnstown nearby, found a working fire in the cardboard compactor with a fire sprinkler in the compactor loading room “holding the fire from extending into the interior of the structure,” according to the post.

Once the fire was under control, crews used a wildland fire engine to pull the compactor away from the building

Crews also used electric ventilation fans to clear the smoke from the interior of the store, though the majority of the smoke was contained to the interior areas near the loading dock, the post said. Scheels staff assisted the incident commander with technical knowledge of the building’s ventilation system to help with this process.

The post added the store closed for the rest of the evening.

Battalion Chief Kevin Hessler said no injuries were reported in the incident. He added that the cause of the fire is unknown.

He also added that the Scheels team did a great job getting evacuating everyone once the fire alarm sounded.

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.