Tag Archives: Connecticut

Fairfield, CT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at abandoned building

Patrol officers noticed plywood missing from the doors Tuesday night.
Police say they heard a fire alarm coming from the building. Upon entering, they say the interior of the building had been badly vandalized.
They say a fire was put out on the second floor by the building’s sprinkler system.
Authorities say the vandalism is under investigation.

Suffield, CT – Sprinkler system activated for electrical fire at academy

A private school in Suffield was evacuated because of what a small fire that triggered its sprinkler system.

Emergency crews were called for an electrical fire at the Suffield Academy on North Main Street on Tuesday morning.

It was caused by a faulty power strip, school officials said.

Chief Financial Officer Patrick Booth told Channel 3 that it was minor and that everyone was evacuated and safe.

New London, CT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

Nov. 19—NEW LONDON — A fire at an apartment complex on Jefferson Avenue displaced a family of five Sunday.

At 11:41 a.m., New London firefighters responded to a call for a kitchen fire in apartment B7 in Jefferson Commons, 432 Jefferson Ave., Battalion Chief Mark Waters said.

When firefighters arrived, they evacuated the family, and cleared smoke and water from the apartment, he said.

The American Red Cross provided assistance to the family and caseworkers will be working with them to come up with a long-term recovery plan.

The fire had been controlled by the apartment’s sprinkler system, he said. Crews were at the scene for about half-an-hour.

The fire caused damage to the stove, cabinets and range hood, as well as smoke damage to the ceiling, Waters said, adding that repairs will have to be made.

Waters said the cause of the fire is being investigated by the fire marshal’s office.

Manchester, CT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at restaurant; No injuries reported

A Manchester restaurant will be closed for repairs after a fire broke out early Saturday morning.

Firefighters responded to La Plazita de Mofongo, located at 425 Broad St., about 12:18 a.m Saturday and found fire and smoke throughout the restaurant, according to the Manchester Fire Department.

Firefighters found that a sprinkler system had partially extinguished a blaze in the kitchen. The rest of the fire was quickly brought under control and no injuries were reported, the fire department said.

The restaurant, billed as “a little part of Puerto Rico located in the heart of Manchester” on its social media pages, will be closed until repairs can be made.

“Dear customers, I regret to inform you that we will be closed at the moment for reasons beyond our control,” the restaurant team said in a statement on their Facebook page.

“Thank you for your support and we will work hard to open and provide you with the service and quality you deserve,” the statement said.

The fire marshal’s office was investigating the fire.

Fairfield, CT – Sprinkler system activated for car fire in bowling alley parking garage; No injuries reported

Today’s vehicle fire was located at Nutmeg Bowl at 802 Villa Avenue. The car owner of the Nissan Altima said his son was inside when the engine compartment began to catch fire. There were no injuries and firefighters had the fire out quickly. The sprinkler system above kept the fire from extending to cars parked nearby.

Groton, CT – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at hotel

A fire broke out at the Super 8 Hotel in Groton on Monday afternoon, according to The New London Day. The fire led to evacuation of the hotel and water damage to some of its units.

The fire appears to have started shortly after 3 p.m. in an unoccupied third-floor unit that was used for storage. The sprinkler system extinguished the fire and led to water streaming in to the floors below, according to The New London Day.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

New Haven, CT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at senior apartment building; No injuries reported

Two fires in four days broke out on the 10th floor of the McQueeney Towers public housing complex—the first in an empty office space, the second outdoors on a residential balcony.

No tenants were hurt or displaced as city firefighters quickly put out both blazes.

Both of those fires took place at the 83-unit Charles T. McQueeney Towers Apartments at 358 Orange St. downtown. The public housing authority property is home to low-income seniors and people with disabilities. It also hosts on its groundfloor the headquarters of the Housing Authority of New Haven.

The first fire took place at around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday. The second took place at around 7:58 p.m. on Tuesday. Both occurred on the high-rise’s 10th floor.

Here’s what happened, according to city Fire Chief John Alston.

On Saturday, he said, the fire took place in a non-residential office space on the 10th floor.

The fire was consistent with an overloaded electrical outlet and extension cord, he said. The extension cord was not Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certified.

“It overheated and caused a fire in that area,” Alston said.

Because that 10th-floor office space was empty at the time, Alston said, “the fire burned undetected until it activated the sprinkler system and the alarm system.”

Firefighters contained the blaze, he said, but there was “a lot of water damage” due to the activation of the sprinklers. A lot of the water got into the building’s elevator shaft, he said, leading to the elevator being taken out of service for a few hours.

Thanks to the hard work of an elevator tech and firefighters who “dewatered” and dried the elevator shaft and checked all of the apartments below the fire, the elevator was brought back online within a few hours and no tenants were displaced. (McQueeney Towers has two elevators but, at the time of the fire on Saturday, one elevator was already out of service and awaiting repairs.)

The Tuesday evening fire at McQueeney also took place on the building’s 10th floor, Alston said.

This time, the blaze occurred on a residential apartment’s outdoor balcony.

“A large amount of materials were burned,” he said. “Fortunately, because it was outside, the fire was contained to the outside.”

There was “minor water intrusion” into the unit, he said. Again, no injuries, and no displacements.

This second fire is still under investigation, Alston said. It appears to have taken place in a large, plastic storage container on the outdoor balcony. Firefighters did not find any grill on the balcony, he said.

While the department is not yet sure whether the fire was intentional or accidental, Alston said, the cause appears to be “by human hand.”

Does the fire department think these two 10th-floor fires were related?

“At this time, it’s inconclusive” whether or not they are related, he said.

While the department is confident that the “ignition source” of Saturday’s fire was electrical, he said, the department is still investigating what exactly was the ignition source of Tuesday’s balcony blaze.

How would he describe city firefighter responses to both fires?

“In both instances, tremendous responses,” he said. “Quick response. Quick knock down [of both fires]. I’m very proud.”

Asked for comment on both McQueeney fires, Housing Authority of New Haven Interim Director Shenae Draughn told the Independent: “The fire yesterday was contained to a balcony and was extinguished quickly.  The fire on Saturday activated our sprinkler system that extinguished the fire. Both are under investigation.

“Once the investigation is completed, we’ll implement mitigating procedures. Our team, police and fire did an exceptional job with ensuring resident’s safety and that their subsequent needs were taken care of.”

Willimantic, CT – Sprinkler system extinguishes sixth floor apartment fire

Willimantic police have arrested a man accused of running a methamphetamine operation that caused a fire at his apartment Monday morning.

According to police this morning, 23- year- old Ali Alyodawi was arrested Monday and charged with operation of a drug factory, first- degree reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance or more than a half ounce of cannabis.

While the arrest was Monday, police did not release information about the arrest until this morning.

Alyodawi is due to appear in Danielson Superior Court Aug. 18 and was issued a $ 10,000 bond, according to local police.

Police said Alyodawi lives on the sixth floor of the 560 on Main apartment building.

Willimantic Police Lt. Matthew Solak said Alyodawi is not expected to receive any more charges at this time.

According to Windham Town Manager Jim Rivers, there are 85 units in the building.

Willimantic Fire Department Chief Marc Scrivener said the department got a call about the fire alarm at the apartment building at 10: 59 a. m. Monday.

He said the fire was extinguished by a sprinkler system.

The scene was turned over to Willimantic Police Monday afternoon, according to Solak.

The incident caused quite a scene, shutting down the road in the area of Main and Jackson streets for many hours.

In addition to police and firefighters, personnel from the human services office responded to the scene, as well as Rivers and Windham Fire Marshal/ Emergency Management Director Mike Licata.

Danbury, CT – Fire at Starbucks contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a Mill Plain café on Friday.

The Danbury Fire Department was called to the Starbucks at 115 Mill Plain Road for the report of fire coming from an outlet.

First responders found a small fire that was being contained by the active sprinkler system, but still required one hose line to be stretched before it could be extinguished.

Smoke made its way into adjacent areas but was quickly ventilated and the fire damage was held to Starbucks. No injuries were reported.

The Health Department was requested to the scene, and the Danbury Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.

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