Tag Archives: Georgia

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Madison, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire in restaurant kitchen

One of Madison’s most popular restaurants, Ricardo’s Kouzzina, is closed temporarily after a kitchen fire broke out on Tuesday, Nov. 1, damaging floors and essential equipment necessary to operate the upscale eatery.

According to Owner Ricardo Casillas, a gas hose connected to one of the stoves combusted and burst into flames during the end of the lunch rush on Nov. 1.

“It was around 1:30 p.m. when the fire broke out. It got bad but we were able to evacuate all of our customers and employees quickly,” said Casillas.

According to Casillas, the restaurant’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire before it spread too far beyond the kitchen. However, there is also water damage to parts of the kitchen and dining areas due to the sprinklers.

“The fire mostly damaged flooring and kitchen equipment,” said Casillas. “There was also some damage to the floors in the dining area where servers prepare drinks.”

Casillas is hoping to reopen the restaurant to the public by Nov. 17, but is not certain if that is possible.

“That’s the hope, it could be sooner or longer. It’s not really up to me,” said Casillas. “We are working with different contractors on the repairs and replacing equipment. It’s just such a busy time and a lot of contractors are behind. But we are doing everything we can and working hard to reopen to the public as soon as possible.”

Ricardo’s Kouzzina is located at 271 West Washington St. in Madison. The downtown restaurant is known for its seafood cuisine, Italian dishes, and family-friendly atmosphere.

Casillas moved to the United States from Mexico in the 1980s, first to California and eventually finding his way to Georgia in the mid-1990s. He has been a long-time chef in Athens and Madison, operating different restaurant ventures before opening Ricardo’s Kouzzina in 2013. 

Casillas said he is thankful for the community support and patience as he and his staff work to repair the restaurant after the fire.

“We look forward to opening again and getting back to what we do best,” said Casillas.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Peachtree City, GA – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at Walmart

A 14-year-old girl in Georgia was charged with arson after being accused of setting a fire inside Walmart.

The Peachtree City Police Department believes the teen intentionally started a fire in the paper goods aisle of the store, WGCL reports.

According to police, officers executed a search warrant at the 14-year-old’s home, where they said she admitted to starting the fire.

Investigators said the girl stated no motive behind setting the fire. It was said to be her impulsive decision.

Authorities said the fire was set around 7:20 p.m. Aug. 24. It took firefighters throughout the night to get the fire under control. It was finally extinguished around 4 a.m. the following day.

Although the store’s sprinkler system functioned as designed, the store suffered extensive damage to the interior and the roof.

Three Peachtree City police officers who evacuated the store had to be treated for smoke inhalation, but no one was seriously injured.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Appling, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Amazon plant; No injuries reported

Fire crews were dispatched to the local Amazon plant located at 2150 Discovery Drive at 11:59 p.m. Monday night.

En route, they were advised that there was a water flow alarm.

When crews arrived, evacuation had already taken place.

Smoke conditions were encountered when entering Division 2 of the building. Crews made their way to the source of the fire and determined that there were 2 sprinkler heads activated.

Crews found some bins that had been damaged by fire and several others with water damage.

Fire was extinguished and water flow from sprinklers reduced.

Power was terminated to the area by Amazon and crews removed as much water as they could.

No injuries reported.

Residential, Single Family Home

Alpharetta, GA – Sprinkler system extinguishes house fire; No injuries reported

A Monday morning house fire in Alpharetta was caused by a power strip that was placed on top of a blanket, firefighters say.

Fortunately, the home was equipped with a sprinkler system and the fire was extinguished before fire crews arrived.

According to the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety at about 11:45 a.m. Monday, Alpharetta firefighters responded to reports of a structure fire on Calypso Drive. As crews arrived on scene and made contact with the homeowner, they found that one of the residents had placed a power strip on top of a blanket on the couch, located on the second level of the townhome.

The resident had then gone downstairs to check on the food in the oven and, in the time that they were gone, the blanket and then the couch caught on fire.

The heat from the flames activated the fire sprinklers directly above the couch and extinguished the fire before fire crews arrived on scene.

Firefighters confirmed that the fire was out and made sure that the fire had not extended to other areas.

No injuries were reported from the incident. Smoke was evacuated from the structure and firefighters performed salvage and overhaul to reduce water damage from the fire sprinkler activation.

According to the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety, in homes equipped with fire sprinkler systems, 97% of house fires never leave the room of origin.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Cornelia, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at processing plant

An in-house sprinkler system, backed up by efforts from local firefighters, pevented a potentially disastrous situation for Habersham County’s largest employer. A fire broke out early Sunday inside Fieldale Farm’s main processing plant on Industrial Boulevard in Cornelia.

Around 4:39 a.m. on May 8, firefighters from Cornelia, Demorest, and Baldwin responded to the report of an alarm sounding and smoke coming from inside the plant. Habersham County Emergency Services also responded to the commercial fire.

When firefighters arrived, they found light smoke coming from inside the main plant. No one was working inside the plant at the time of the fire, says Cornelia Fire Marshal Josh Hazle.

A four-person crew of firefighters entered the plant from the main parking lot side to begin locating the source of the smoke as other firefighters looked around the outside of the building. Within approximately five minutes, Hazel says the inside crew found a small fire on a conveyor belt in the plant’s poultry processing area.

“Five sprinkler heads had activated and most of the fire was out,” says Hazle.

After Fieldale maintenance arrived and turned off the sprinkler system and electricity, fire personnel finished the job. They extinguished the small remaining fire with an extinguisher.

“Damage was contained to the one piece of equipment and the control wires above it thanks to the sprinkler system,” says Hazle. “The smoke dissipated quickly after the fire was extinguished, and no ventilation was needed.”

Fieldale maintenance and sub-contractors immediately began working to repair the damage so that normal plant operations could resume Monday.

Firefighters determined the fire was caused by a short in a light fixture located about the conveyor belt.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Macon, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at business; No injuries reported

Macon-Bibb fire crews responded to a blaze at a South Macon business on Monday.

Fire Chief Shane Edwards says it happened at Down River Load Solutions on Joe Tamplin Blvd.

Firefighters were dispatched around 10:40 a.m.

The first units to get to the scene were told that a machine had caught fire but the building’s sprinkler system extinguished most of it.

Firefighters executed fireground operations and no injuries were reported. The business took minimal damage.

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.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at school; No injuries reported

Students at Lovett school were promptly evacuated Monday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen of the Lower School building.

No injuries were reported and sprinkler systems deployed automatically, helping to bring down the flames. 

Lower School students and teachers have since been relocated to the Hendrix-Chenault Theater as fire officials work to identify the cause of the fire.

Atlanta Fire Rescue says they have extinguished a fire in the kitchen of The Lovett School.

In a tweet, they say they are staying on scene for further investigation.

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department tweeted Monday morning that it was responding to The Lovett School because of “heavy smoke coming from the structure.”

Details are very limited at this time, but Atlanta Fire Rescue says all children at the school have been evacuated as of 9:17 a.m.

CBS46 has a crew on the way to the scene and will provide new information as soon as we get it.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Savannah, GA – Sprinkler system activated for overnight kitchen fire at restaurant

The Savannah Fire Department (SFD) responded to a kitchen fire at a local restaurant overnight.

SFD says the fire happened around 3:30 a.m. Thursday in the 200 block of Stephenson.

Officials say a fire in the kitchen of Ole Times Country Buffet set off the fire alarm and the building’s sprinkler system.

Crews arrived to fully extinguish the fire and ventilate the building.

SFD says the business was closed and no one was in the building at the time of the fire.

WSAV is told the Chatham County Environmental Health inspected the restaurant Thursday. Ole Times Country Buffet is now back open for business.

The cause of the fire has not been released at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire; No injuries reported

Firefighters have put out a blaze at a building on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.

Officials say crews found a small fire inside the roof of an apartment building on the 30 block of Peachtree Street around 6:30 Thursday morning.

They say a sprinkler system contained the fire and kept it from spreading.

No one was hurt in the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.