Tag Archives: Early AM (5am-7am)

Apartment Building, Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Somerville, MA – Sprinkler systems activated for two separate fires

Sprinkler systems in two Somerville buildings prevented serious fires this past week during the early morning hours while occupants were asleep, accoding to Somerville Fire Department’s Chief Engineer Charles Breen Jr.

On Friday, Oct. 28t at 4:25 a.m. the Somerville Fire Department was notified of a fire alarm activation via a building alarm system which was directly connected to the city fire alarm box system.

Firefighters were dispatched to 32 Kent Street, a 40 unit, four story wood frame apartment building. Firefighters encountered smoke on the fourth floor and forced entry into a 4th floor apartment. They found a man on the floor inside and removed him to safety. He was taken to the hospital.

Sprinklers confined the fire to one room in the apartment and firefighters completed extinguishment. Due to water damage, the building was evacuated and all occupants were temporarily displaced. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to smoking.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, the department was notified of a fire alarm activation from an alarm monitoring company at 4:09 a.m.

Firefighters were dispatched to an address on Lake Street and arrived to find a sprinkler head operating in a ground level garage in a row of three story town houses.

One sprinkler head confined the fire to a very limited area in the garage and, after verifying that the fire was out, crews were able to clear the scene in 15 minutes.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended candle that had ignited nearby combustible items.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Wilbraham, MA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at nursing home; No injuries reported

Emergency crews were called to a fire at a Wilbraham nursing home Monday morning.

Wilbraham Fire Chief Michael Andrews said that a 911 calls came in around 6:10 a.m. Monday for a kitchen fire at Vantage Nursing Home on Maple Street.

Firefighters arrived four minutes later and found heavy smoke coming from the kitchen area and that the facility’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire.

Residents of the nursing home were told to shelter-in-place while crews worked to ventilate the smoke from that area of the building.

Mutual aid from Ludlow, Palmer, Hampden, and Westover was called in to assist.

Andrews noted that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it is not considered suspicious.

No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Summerville, SC – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at restaurant; No injuries reported

Summerville Fire officials say a local restaurant sustained extensive heat and water damage Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen.

No injuries were reported.

Crews were dispatched to Mad Fish restaurant at 1580 Trolley Rd. around 5:30 a.m. for reports of smoke in the area.

Upon arrival, smoke was observed coming from the restaurant and crews upgraded the call to a structure fire.

Firefighters forced entry into the building and found fire in the kitchen had activated the sprinkler system.

In addition to damage to Mad Fish, smoke spread to adjoining businesses.

Fire crews are expected to be on scene Tuesday morning with one lane of Trolley Road closed.

The cause will be investigated, fire officials said.

Mad Fish is located in the Ridgeway Plaza.

Office Building, Other Business

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler system extinguished early morning laboratory fire; No injuries reported

A fire early Wednesday in a second-floor laboratory in a Qualcomm building in Sorrento Valley was put out by sprinklers before firefighters arrived, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials said.

The fire was reported around 6:40 a.m. in a four-story building on McKellar Court off Pacific Center Boulevard called the Qualcomm Pacific Center Campus. When crews arrived, they didn’t see any smoke or fire showing from the outside the building but when they got inside, they found a fire that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

After searching the building to check for any spread of the fire, crews worked to ensure the fire didn’t reignite. Just under 50 firefighters from San Diego and Chula Vista had responded to the fire.

No injuries were reported. No damage estimate was immediately available. A cause of the fire also wasn’t reported.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Rochester, MN – Cooktop fire in hotel room extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A cooktop fire in a hotel room Wednesday morning caused fire and water damage from the sprinkler system.

At 6:48 a.m., the Rochester Fire Department responded to a structure fire call at the Days Inn Hotel at 3595 Commercial Drive Southwest. Firefighters on scene found smoke coming from a third story window in the back of the building.

The hotel has an automatic fire sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire in the third floor hotel room by the time firefighters arrived, according to the fire department’s press release. No occupants were found in the room or adjacent rooms.

The sprinkler system limited the fire damage to only the room of origin. An investigation determined that the fire started on a cooktop range. The department said the occupant of the room left the hotel and possibly left a burner on the stove.

Guests were evacuated from the hotel when crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service and Rochester Police Department also responded to the fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Spring Lake, MI – Small school fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Emergency crews responded to a fire alarm at Holmes Elementary School in Spring Lake Thursday morning.

The Spring Lake Fire Department (SLFD) says units arrived at the school after 6 a.m. to find no signs of fire from the outside. Subsequent investigations revealed a small fire that had been put out by a sprinkler inside one of the classrooms, officials explain.

We’re told firefighters remained on scene to help clear out smoke and assist with the school’s cleanup efforts.

SLFD says the incident is an example of how sprinkler systems minimize fire damage and overall risks to public safety.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Vancouver, WA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at former restaurant

The Vancouver Fire Department battled a fire at the former Joe’s Crab Shack along the waterfront early Monday morning.

At about 5:41 a.m., crews were called out to a fire at the former seafood restaurant, located at 101 East Columbia Way. The restaurant closed for good in May 2020.

Crews arrived to the scene and found fire outside of the building, spreading to the inside. Vancouver Fire said the flames were initially knocked down in about 10 minutes, but the fire wasn’t fully under control until 50 minutes into the operation.

The building’s sprinkler system was activated which helped firefighters control the fire, according to Vancouver Fire.

In total, 20 firefighters were on scene, along with the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Columbia Way was shut down due to the response. People were asked to avoid the area while fire crews were on scene.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Storage / Warehouse

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system activated for hazmat situation at storage facility; No injuries reported

Fire officials said Tuesday that an early-morning fire call in Marietta actually had been a hazmat situation at a building on Industrial Park Drive that has since been taken care of.

According to Cobb Fire, which assisted the Marietta Fire Department on scene, a sprinkler system went off inside the building around 5:30 a.m.

When they arrived at, they discovered that “a chemical reaction of an organic acid-based compound had generated enough heat to activate the sprinkler system.”

Cobb Fire’s crews and a hazmat response company “assessed the scene and began remediation efforts.”

The fire service said no employees were in the building at the time of the situation, there were no injuries and no surrounding businesses required evacuation.

The incident occurred at 980 Industrial Park Drive, which appears to be an RV storage location ran by the company The RV Loft.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Phoenix, AZ – Sprinkler system extinguishes 10th floor fire in university dorm

Students living in the Taylor Place Residential Community on the Downtown Phoenix campus woke up to an alarm and sprinklers early Saturday morning after a fire broke out in one of the dorm rooms on the 10th floor of tower one.

The fire was caused by an electrical surge in the dorm room, which activated the water sprinkler system, according to an emailed statement from University spokesperson, Jerry Gonzalez. All residents were told to evacuate the towers and wait outside until it was safe to return.

The sprinklers “promptly extinguished the fire” and all residents evacuated the building safely, Gonzalez said.

Mary Neale, a freshman studying sports journalism who lives on the 11th floor, said she heard people running down the hallways knocking on doors, alerting residents to evacuate. Neale said students rushed down the stairs and waited outside Taylor Place while the authorities cleared the fire.

Due to flooding caused by the sprinklers, students living on the 10th floor have been relocated to the Downtown Phoenix Hampton Inn until their rooms have been completely restored. Gonzalez said in the statement there are about 30 students staying in the off-campus lodging. While there is no exact timeline for when students will be able to return to their rooms, University housing will notify them when the rooms are ready.

Gonzalez said the University is currently drying the impacted rooms and will be working with other students who were affected by the water sprinklers and will help them replace items that were damaged.

Michael and Anthony Yero, both freshman sports journalism students, were the occupants of the room that caught on fire. Michael Yero said authorities told him that his electrical razor was plugged into an outlet and caused a surge. One of the sparks fell onto a towel, which ignited and spread to his laundry.

“Its been a couple of days just figuring out what I can do and managing school and work at the same time,” Michael Yero said. “It’s been a busy couple of days trying to get back to normal.”

Michael Yero said the fire from the surge and water from the sprinklers damaged much of his and his brother’s belongings including a laptop, camera, camera lenses and clothes. But even with the damages and having to move, Michael said that throughout the experience he and his brother have “tried to look at the good side of things.”

He said that even when they learned it was their room that was affected by the fire, they were and continue to get through by supporting each other and doing what they can do to move forward. 

“When we first heard it was our room we looked at each other and we said that we are there for each other and have each others’ backs,” Michael said. “We’re supportive of each other throughout the whole way.”

According to Michael Yero, the University provided him and his brother gift cards for essentials and will provide a stipend to replace their damaged items. He said that despite not being in his dorm, living in the Hampton Inn has been a “great time” and it has provided him the opportunity to spend more time with his friends.

“ASU has been been very helpful,” Michael Yero said. “(The University) team did a great job in responding to the situation. They were very kind in giving money to help us out and accompany us and comfort us. They did a great job.