Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Apartment Building, Other - School / University, Residential

Greeley, CO – Off-campus apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

Four students were displaced from their homes Tuesday after a fire in one apartment touched off the sprinklers at the Arlington Park Apartments. Greeley firefighters were called around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday to a fire at the Arlington Park Apartments, Building No. 3, 2315 9th Ave.

Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke showing. The fire was contained to one apartment and was put out by the building’s sprinkler system. But students living in two rooms would be displaced because of smoke and water damage, said University of Northern Colorado spokesman Nate Haas.

Students were evacuated and there were no injuries, reported Greeley Firefighter Battalion Chief Rick Hinchcliffe.  Firefighters were clearing the building as of 8:30 p.m., and the fire was out minutes later. Custodians were called in to clear the water.

The immediate damage was contained to the apartment with a fire, with water damage to the apartment immediately below, Hinchcliffe said.  Haas said university residence officials were working Tuesday to find temporary housing for the students in the college’s residence halls.

Hinchcliffe said three fire trucks, one ladder truck and one heavy rescue truck responded, with a total of 15 firefighters on scene. There is no word yet on a cause or a damage estimate.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Johnstown, CO – Restaurant fire at truck stop held in check by sprinkler system

A gas leak and small fire temporarily shut down the restaurant portion of Johnson’s Corner Sunday night through Monday morning.  Front Range Operations Chief Bernie Covillo said crews from both his department and Loveland Fire Rescue Authority responded to a small kitchen fire at the restaurant around 6:40 p.m. Sunday.

“Loveland Engine 6 was the first arriving unit,” he said. “They discovered a small fire that was being kept in check in the kitchen. The fire was quickly extinguished and there was minimal damage.” Covillo said the restaurant was shut down because the sprinkler system had been activated. Johnson’s Corner employees had to clean the restaurant to pass an inspection from the Larimer County Department of Health.

The restaurant, which never closes, is located at 2842 SE Frontage Road just off Interstate 25. Employees were stationed at the front of the restaurant Monday morning turning customers away and offering them complimentary cinnamon rolls and cookies.

“This is a really bad thing,” Christy Hall, a Johnson’s Corner cashier said. “So many people come here. I know another month we had a tiny fire — but (the restaurant) was definitely not closed for this long.”

Employees confirmed later on Monday that the restaurant reopened at 12:30 p.m. However, they directed further questions to the restaurant’s corporate office, TravelCenters of America. Requests for comment were not returned.

“It just so happens there was a fire the same day they are remodeling,” Hall said.  Covillo said that Johnson’s Corner officials and their insurance agency would be investigating the cause of the fire.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

South Lake Tahoe, CA – Fire at refuse center confined to garbage truck by sprinkler system

Fire agencies responded to a fire at South Tahoe Refuse on Ruth Avenue earlier Tuesday  evening.  According to South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston, the fire started at approximately 6:30 p.m.

The city called in assistance from Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, Fallen Leaf Fire Department and CalFire.

“The fire was controlled by fire suppression sprinkler system and we were able to confine it to the garbage truck itself,” Meston said.

The department suspects the fire was caused an accumulation of materials between the truck’s cab and body.

 

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Palm Beach, FL – Fire at Bath & Tennis Club quickly extinguished by sprinkler system

Traffic was rerouted this evening around the Bath & Tennis Club in the 1100 block of South Ocean Boulevard due to a small fire from a garbage can in the paint shop that was extinguished quickly, said Palm Beach Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Sean Baker. The road was open again by 7:15.

“Some paper products caught fire and the sprinkler system held the fire in check,” Baker said. “It was out pretty quickly.” Baker said there was no smoke damage, only water damage

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Troy, MI – Sprinkler system extinguishes kitchen fire at preschool; no injuries

The Troy Fire Department was dispatched to the School Bell Early Childhood Education Center on Troy’s northeast side Saturday evening in response to a fire alarm that was activated at the school.

Upon arrival around 6:15 p.m., firefighters observed water from the sprinkler system coming out from around a closed window, the report said. After entering the building, which was unoccupied at the time, firefighters could see smoke coming from the school’s kitchen. The fire had already been extinguished by the sprinkler system, so firefighters shut the water off to the sprinklers and ventilated the smoke from the building, the report said.

Preliminary investigation showed that the fire occurred after the stove was accidentally turned on when produce items were delivered and placed on top of it several hours earlier.

Fire damage was limited to the stove top and cabinets above, and the preschool was able to open for classes on Monday. Fire personnel were on the scene for about 45 minutes.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pasadena, TX – Apartment cooking fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Potentially devastating fire averted

(Fire Department Reported – NO MEDIA COVERAGE. Courtesy of City of Pasadena (Texas) Fire Marshal’s Office)

On Sunday, October 11, 2015, at approximately 1815 hours, the Pasadena Fire Department was dispatched to 2907 Red Bluff Road, #309 for reports of a structure fire. This location is known as Palm Bluff Apartments. A small cooking fire was ignited on the stove top while the occupants were cooking French fries. The fire sprinkler head located in the kitchen above the stove top was subsequently activated due to the fire. The fire was promptly extinguished by the single operating fire sprinkler. Fire damage was contained to the stove top, cooking pan and vent hood above the cooking range. No injuries were reported. The fire sprinkler and alarm system functioned as designed notifying the occupants of the building who evacuated without any reported injuries.

This incident shows the importance of an automatic fire sprinkler system and demonstrates that if the building did not have an automatic sprinkler system, the outcome could have been completely different.

Furthermore there is no doubt whatsoever that at the very least the presence of a sprinkler system saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the building owners and potentially prevented citizens and firefighters from being injured or killed.

Automatic fire sprinkler systems have over 100 years of proven performance in protecting life and property.

For further information contact: Chief David Brannon, Fire Marshal 713-475-5556.

 

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Other - Residential

South Williamsport, PA – Sprinkler system quickly suppresses fire at care home; No injuries reported

Insinger’s Personal Care Home, 6 E. Central Ave. in South Williamsport, was safely evacuated when a small fire broke out in a second-floor bedroom about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday. The home’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the fire, which involved some linen, fire officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The home’s estimated 30 residents were placed with relatives, friends or were spending the night at the First Ward Fire house because the electrical system has to be inspected before the home resumes operation, officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charleston, IL – Grease fire at University Court Apartments put out by sprinklers

A grease fire was reported at 7:02 p.m. Sunday in the Cooper Building of University Court Apartments. Assistant Fire Chief Steven Bennett of the Charleston Fire Department said the residents in apartment 23 were cooking when the grease got too hot and started to catch fire.

“The sprinklers had activated and put the fire out, so the sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do,” Bennett said.

There was minimal fire damage and little water damage in other apartments.

“The sprinkler was activated so it was putting the water out on the fire, so some of that water finds cracks and goes down into the apartment(s) below,” Bennett said

“Right now the fire alarm is now activated until the electrician can come and reset it,” Bennett said. “Because it activated when the sprinkler went off and right now the sprinkler system’s down until the plumber can change out the sprinkler head that activated.”

The fire alarm has been reset in Cooper.

The electricians and plumber were called and notified, and building service workers had already started cleaning up the water.

Residents were able to return to their apartments at 7:50 p.m. unless they were in the apartment affected by the fire.

Kelly Miller, associate director of housing and dining, said the people who had to leave Cooper because of the grease fire were staying with friends.

Miller said there was not a lot of physical damage, and the sprinklers went off as they were supposed to.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Kilgore, TX – Sprinkler system contains fire at packaging manufacturer; Facility fully operational

All employees in the Pak-Sher facility Sunday night were out of the building in less than one minute after fire alarms alerted the 30 to 35 people inside to the danger.

“I actually do two fire drills a year because you never know what’s going to happen, just like what happened to us Sunday night, and the training paid off,” Pak-Sher Safety Coordinator Jeremy Spier said Tuesday morning, adding the company’s emergency response team was able to get everyone out of the building “promptly and safely.”

The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, began in the building’s sample room between 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday night. Kilgore Fire Department responded, along with mutual aid from Sabine Volunteer Fire Department and Longview Fire Department, Assistant Kilgore Fire Chief Mike Simmons said.

“Heavy smoke was coming out of the west side of the building,” he said. By the time the fire crews responded, though, Pak-Sher President Troy Fischer said, the sprinkler systems had extinguished the majority of the fire.

The employees returned to work in the facility within two hours of the fire once they were cleared to do so by KFD, Fischer said. “We’re fully operational,” Spier said. “We’re good to go.”

With the sprinkler system and the firewalls, he said, the fire was contained to the sample room and did not affect the connected training room. “We do have some minor fire damage, some smoke and water damage as well,” Fischer wrote in an e-mail Monday night.

Even with 18 years of experience as a firefighter, Spier said, there is no way to truly prepare for an emergency, such as a fire.

“You can bring safety measures. You can do anything you can imagine and you think is 100 percent safe, but then again, in the safety business, it’s always ‘what if?’,” Spier said. “We were prepared as much as we can be prepared – our sprinkler systems were there, fire alarm went off. Everything worked like it was supposed to, so we were prepared that way. Absolutely. Everybody knew their emergency exits. Everybody got out like they were supposed to and in a very timely manner.”

Fischer explained the sample room is in a remote area of the building away from production space.

Although it has not been decided, Spier expected another room to be set up as the sample room because the current room will require more work, including new ceiling tiles, sheetrock and insulation.

“Thankfully it was not a bigger situation, and thankfully no employees were in any imminent danger,” Fischer said.

Kilgore Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Amanda Nobles said she and others at Kilgore EDC were grateful for the fire departments’ work.

“Pak-Sher is a valuable and primary employer in our community, and we hope that everything works out for them, and we’re glad there certainly was not more loss of property and absolutely no loss of life or injuries,” she said.