Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Danville, VA – Damage from fire at flooring manufacturer minimized thanks to sprinkler system

Windsor Locks, CT – Laundromat fire contained by sprinkler system

A fire that started in a dryer at Cozy Corner Laundromat injured one patron Tuesday evening before firefighters could douse the blaze.

At 6:35 p.m. firefighters responded to an emergency call from the laundromat, located at 255 Main St., and found heavy smoke when they arrived, Assistant Fire Chief Francis DeBella said.

“The sprinkler system held the fire in check, while we were able to get in there and extinguish it in about an hour,” he said.

The fire originated in a dryer, DeBella said, and burned a female customer who had tried to douse the flames.

The woman’s burns were minor ones, he said, and she was evaluated by the Lions Club ambulance crew.

Firefighters from Bradley International Airport responded to the scene with their ladder truck, and police assisted with traffic control.

The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze.

Elgin, IL – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Sprinkler activates to extinguish apartment kitchen fire

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED **

On Wednesday, June 8th, 2016 at 6:35p.m., members of the Elgin Fire Department responded to 717 West Highland for an automatic fire alarm.

Upon arrival fire companies found a moderate smoke condition on the 4th floor with smoke coming from apartment 405.  It was quickly determined the sprinkler in the apartment had activated and extinguished the fire that was located in the kitchen.

A total of seven Elgin Fire companies responded to the scene and there were no civilian or fire department injuries sustained during the incident.

The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking on a stove using grease. Total damage was estimated to be approximately $5,000.

The Elgin Fire Department would like to remind its citizens to never leave food cooking unattended on a stove.

Barnstable, MA – Kitchen fire at large apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire activated the sprinkler system on the third floor of a large apartment complex in Barnstable around 8 p.m. Monday. The initial reports prompted a second alarm response to the Village Green Apartments at 767 Independence Drive. The fire was out on arrival but crews checked to make sure the fire hadn’t extended to the attic. No injuries were reported. The Red Cross was called to provide temporary housing for the occupants of the apartment.

Houston, TX – High-rise apartment fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system

A high-rise apartment building in southwest Houston was evacuated Tuesday night after a fire erupted in one of the units. The blaze broke out about 7:45 p. m. at the Conquistador apartments at 7575 Bellaire near Fondren, according to the Houston Fire Department.

Officials said the small fire was in an eighth-floor kitchen of the seventeen-story building. The sprinkler system operated well and the fire was quickly extinguished. Firefighters evacuated the building, cleared smoke from the high-rise and inspected electrical equipment to make sure water had not created hazards. Later, residents were allowed back inside their apartments. No injuries were reported.

Newark, NY – Nursing home fire doused by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is being credited with preventing a potentially large fire last Thursday evening at the Newark Manor Nursing Home on West Pearl Street.

Dick Colacino, the Newark Volunteer Fire Department’s public information officer, said firefighters responded to the site following an automatic box alarm and calls to 911. Assistant Chief Kevin Velte, who was first on the scene, reported smoke in the building and Chief Gerald VanDewalle called for mutual aid from Fairville and Lyons to assist with possible evacuation.

The cause was determined to be a portable air conditioner that caught fire. The blaze was doused by a sprinkler in a data closet housing the nursing home computers, preventing more extensive damage.

VanDewalle said a combination of the automatic smoke and fire alarm system, and a working sprinkler, prevented a much more serious incident. There was fire and smoke damage in the data room, as well as damage to computers and other equipment.

VanDewalle commended nursing home staff, firefighters, Newark police and EMS personnel for evacuating and isolating residents. Thirty-five firefighters were at the scene for more than two hours, clearing smoke from the building with fans.

Colacino said the working sprinkler system is a testament of their value, and firefighters are disappointed that the state Legislature has not passed a fire sprinkler law for all new one- and two-family homes.

 

Billings, MT – Fire in storage room of university gymnasium extinguished by sprinkler system

Billing firefighters responded to a fire in a storage room at Montana State University Billings’ Alterowitz Gym, 1500 University Drive, on Thursday evening.  The fire was contained to physical education equipment and the storage room sustained smoke damage, said Deputy Fire Marshal Trever Schilling. The fire was reported at about 6:13 p.m. Electrical wiring failed, igniting nearby combustibles.

A sprinkler system extinguished the fire and minimized damages to the building and contents. The fire was accidental and damages are estimated at $1,000. The property is insured.

 

Boise, ID – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in downtown commercial building

Boise Fire says a small fire that broke out at the Charles Schwab building has been ruled accidental. Firefighters were called to the building, near 9th and Main Streets, just after 6:30 p.m. last Sunday.

While they found smoke inside, crews say the building’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire. A Boise Fire spokeswoman says there was moderate damage to the building.

On Monday, Boise Fire says an employee from the building had taken laundry home to wash. After it was clean, he placed the warm laundry in a crate and brought it back to the business. The heat, mixed with cooking oil remnants, sparked the fire, Boise Fire says.

Montreal, QC, Canada – Arson fire at medical clinic performing gender change surgeries is extinguished by sprinkler system

Police are seeking a male suspect in relation to a suspicious fire that targeted the Centre métropolitain de chirurgie in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough in Montreal, the only medical clinic in Canada that offers gender reassignment surgery.

Firefighters were alerted to a fire at the clinic at 8:44 p.m. Monday. About 20 firefighters rushed to the scene, but the fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system. The fire was in an operating room, according to Montreal Fire Prevention Service spokesperson Mélanie Drouin. There were a few staff members and patients in the building at the time but they got out before firefighters arrived.

Drouin said damages are estimated by fire department officials at about $700,000. Medical equipment was damaged by water and smoke, she said. The clinic provides a variety of plastic surgeries and body surgeries, including breast augmentation or reduction, facelifts, liposuction and gender reassignment surgery (GRS).

The news spread quickly among members of the transgender community in Montreal and across Canada. Some are concerned that the fire will exacerbate the already lengthy waiting periods for gender reassignment surgery at the clinic. There is also speculation as to whether the clinic was targeted because it offers GRS.

“It would certainly seem relevant that the arson targeted the only clinic in Canada that currently provides GRS and other trans-related surgeries — especially at a time when things are becoming increasingly polarized on trans issues,” said Mercedes Allen, an advocate for transsexual and transgender communities in Alberta who writes on equality, human rights, LGBT and sexual minority issues in Canada.

“Something like this is certainly not going to help a community that already feels targeted. I also hope for the sake of the surgeons and staff that they too won’t have to start living in fear of violence. However, I’d also want to be careful not to be too quick to assume that this is hate-motivated,” Allen said.

Constable Manuel Couture, a Montreal police spokesperson, said investigators are aware of the services offered by the clinic, but had not, to his knowledge, classified the fire as a suspected hate crime by Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t have any information right now to indicate that this was some kind of hate crime, but investigators are aware of that and as soon as they have the slightest suspicion that something could be a hate crime, they transfer it to the Hate Crimes Unit,” Couture said.

“This is devastating for trans health care,” Sophia Banks, a Montreal-based photographer and trans-rights advocate told the National Post. “People are freaking out” about wait times and how long the clinic will be closed. She said they’re also concerned about why this happened

Port Alberni, BC, Canada – Sprinklers limit spread of fire that started outside elementary school

A fire that broke out in a motor home parked at E.J. Dunn Elementary School just before 7 p.m. today (May 5) caused only minor smoke and water damage to the school building itself. E.J. Dunn will be open tomorrow (May 5).

“It started at the motor home and spread to another car,” said Port Alberni Fire Department Deputy Chief Wes Patterson. Three Port Alberni trucks and one Beaver Creek Volunteer Fire Department truck responded to the blaze, along with one RCMP car and an ambulance.

“There’s water damage from the sprinkler that’s gone off and a little smoke damage inside and then the front entrance doors [are damaged] but all in all it was very lucky. The building and the controls and the sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do which limited the spread of the fire. Structurally the school is fine.”

Patterson said that the motor home belonged to one of the workers at the school but that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. One person was taken to West Coast General Hospital as a result of the blaze, he added.

“One person was taken to the hospital but not necessarily by B.C. Ambulance. I don’t know the extent of his injuries at this point.”