Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Montreal, QC, Canada – Arson fire at medical clinic performing gender change surgeries is extinguished by sprinkler system May 9, 2016 viking210 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
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Port Alberni, BC, Canada – Sprinklers limit spread of fire that started outside elementary school May 6, 2016 viking210 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.”
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Lee’s Summit, MO – Fire in ductwork at semi-conductor facility controlled by sprinkler system May 3, 2016 viking210 On Saturday, April 30, 2016, at 8:02 p.m., the Lee’s Summit Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire at Diodes/Fabtech, 777 NW Blue Parkway, in the north building of the Summit Technology Campus. An employee called 911 to report a fire on the roof and smoke in their chemical/gas storage room. When the fire department arrived, a small fire was visible on the roof of the 540,000 square foot, mixed use facility. The building was in the process of being evacuated. The fire was located on the roof and in the gas scrubber room, on the north side of the building. The gasses are used for the manufacturing of semi-conductors for the electronics industry and the scrubbers process the gasses after they have been used. After consulting with facility staff to determine the types of hazardous materials involved, crews made an initial investigation inside of the scrubber room and found a piece of ductwork from a scrubber unit burning in a pipe chase near the deck of the roof. A sprinkler head near the fire had activated and controlled the fire in the chase. Fire crews finished extinguishing that fire as other crews attacked the fire involving the ductwork on the roof. On the roof, a portion of the ductwork going to an exhaust fan had burned and fallen away leaving burning gasses coming from two scrubber exhaust pipes. Fire crews applied foam and water from the ladder truck to control the fires and protect the exposures around them as the fire department worked with Diodes staff to shut down all of the gasses going into the scrubber. After the gasses were shut off, both of the fires were extinguished. The fire was under control at 9:37 p.m. Crews monitored the air around area for hazardous materials throughout the incident. Fire damage was contained to the exhaust duct on the roof and in the pipe chase from the scrubber room to the roof. After the fire was out and air monitoring was complete, all of the buildings tenants were allowed to reoccupy the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Irvine, CA – Fire at uniform rental business contained by sprinkler system May 2, 2016 viking210 A fire damaged Irvine business Prudential Overall Supply Saturday night, Orange County Fire Authority Captain Carlos Huerta said. Firefighters responded to the blaze on Aston Avenue at 7:09 p.m. “Fortunately, the building had a sprinkler system that kept the fire in check,” Huerta said. “The fire was under control within 30 minutes.” Damage to the one-story building was minimal, Huerta said. “It was a contents fire that was contained to the rear of the structure,” he said. Prudential Overall Supply provides uniform rentals to employers, according to its website. Huerta said there were no injuries, but he did not know if the building was vacant at the time the fire started. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential Berkeley, CA – Fire in on-campus housing unit extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries April 28, 2016 viking210 At approximately 6:50 p.m. Berkeley Fire Department responded to a small fire at the Berk, a residential housing unit for students on the south side of the UC Berkeley campus. The fire originated in a room on the third floor, activating a sprinkler response system that put out the fire, according to BFD Captain Kevin White, who said the cause of the fire had not been determined and that there were no reported injuries. As of 7:15 p.m. firefighters attempted to redirect water from the sprinklers into the stairwell to avoid water damage to rooms on the third floor. Within minutes of the alarm, four fire trucks and two police cars surrounded the building, sectioning off the first block of College Avenue. Fire alarms leading to sudden evacuations are a frequent occurrence at the Berk, according to residents. “It’s happened seven times this semester,” said Henry Guan, a UC Berkeley freshman who lives in the Berk. “This happens all the time, but this time, it was for real.”
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Fayetteville, NC – Single sprinkler contains fire at Hilton Garden Inn April 26, 2016 viking210 A fire in a laundry area at a Fayetteville hotel injured two people and shut down the hotel on Sunday evening, officials say. The incident happened at 6:38 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 4025 Sycamore Dairy Road in Fayetteville. Upon arrival, fire crews found that the automatic sprinkler system had extinguished a fire that had started in the commercial dryer in the hotel’s the first floor laundry room, Fayetteville Battalion Chief/Fire Marshal Michael L. Martin said in a press release. One sprinkler head activated as a result of the fire in the four-story building. The fire was contained to the laundry room. An employee and a hotel guest suffered smoke inhalation, Martin said. The guest was transported by ambulance to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center for evaluation. The building sustained minor smoke and water damage. At the decision of the hotel management, the approximately 30 guests staying in the hotel were transferred to a nearby Embassy Suites for Sunday night, according to Martin. The hotel is expected to re-open Monday. The cause of dryer fire is undetermined at this time, Martin said.
Apartment Building, Residential Juneau, AK – Sprinklers activate in apartment blaze; fire damage limited to one unit April 14, 2016 viking210 Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a fire at the Channel View Apartments on Gastineau Avenue Sunday afternoon. Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto said only one unit was burned. Quinto said he didn’t know if there was any damage to the building’s roof, but the unit’s front-facing windows were broken. A woman and two children who are presumed to have been in the unit when the fire happened went to the emergency room at Bartlett Regional Hospital because of smoke inhalation. As of 8:30 p.m., the woman was in stable condition and the two children were being evaluated. The cause of the fire is still unknown. While residents suffered few physical injuries, most of the low-income apartments have severe water damage. Will Noel does maintenance for the apartments. He said 17 of the building’s 22 units have water damage from the sprinkler system that went off during the fire. Noel said he saw the woman who lives in the burned apartment as she was leaving for the hospital and that she said her outlet had caught on fire. The fire marshal hasn’t identified a cause yet.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Athol, MA – Fire at casket factory extinguished by sprinkler system April 13, 2016 viking210 A fire that broke out at an Athol casket factory Sunday evening is considered suspicious. Athol firefighters received a call around 5:34 p.m. reporting possible smoke and flames at the Cambium Corp. casket factory at 339 Main St. The department responded with two engines, a ladder truck and a command vehicle, and found a smoky odor on arrival, according to a department press release. Smoke was seen on the first floor, but the fire was found to have been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. MedStar Ambulance assisted with evacuating one person from the neighboring building as a precaution. Police Lt. Kevin Heath said the fire is being considered suspicious because it started outside the building in a pile of sawdust. Athol police and fire personnel continue to investigate, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey R. Parker. Orange and Royalston firefighters responded to assist, while Templeton Fire covered the Athol station
Apartment Building, Residential Orlando, FL – Hoverboard fire at apartment building limited by sprinkler system April 11, 2016 viking210 A hoverboard set out to charge burst into flames inside an Orange County apartment Thursday, displacing three families, according to Orange County Fire Rescue. More than a dozen firefighters responded after the fire broke out in a third-floor apartment on Avalon Reserve Boulevard just before 8 p.m. Officials said the hoverboard went up in flames while it was charging. A dog was removed from the home after residents were evacuated. “There was one child who apparently ran in there to get the dog,” Battalion Chief Carollee Burrell said. The child was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. The mother of the child, who asked not to be identified, said she was at work when she got the frantic call. The hoverboard was a Christmas gift for her son. The son, who also was not identified, said the hoverboard started to shake before bursting into flames. The flames did not spread throughout the apartment but sprinklers went off inside of it and two neighboring units. Orange County Fire Rescue said three families were displaced due to water damage from the sprinkler. The Red Cross is helping those residents find a place to stay.
Apartment Building, Residential High Rise Hackensack, NJ – Kitchen fire in high-rise apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system April 2, 2016 viking210 Grease on a stovetop caught fire Wednesday evening, spreading flames to an apartment’s microwave and cabinets before firefighters put it out. The single-alarm blaze at 140 Prospect Ave. was reported at 7:11 p.m., Fire Lt. Justin Derevyanik said. Firefighters found smoke on the 14th floor of the apartment building and discovered that the fire had been partially extinguished by the sprinkler system in apartment 14A. Several other apartments suffered water damage. Firefighters put out the flames within 10 minutes, Derevyanik said. Three residents suffered smoke inhalation as they were getting out of the building; a man and a woman were treated at the scene while another man was taken to Holy Name Medical Center. Twenty-six firefighters from Hackensack and Teaneck responded, as well as Hackensack EMTs..
