Tag Archives: Indiana

Fort Wayne, IN – Sprinkler system saves church from significant damage in late evening fire

A small fire at Love Church on East Berry Street Wednesday night was largely put out by the building’s sprinkler system. Fort Wayne firefighters were dispatched shortly before 11 p.m. to 1331 East Berry Street, when the fire alarm activated.  Fire officials said the building’s fire suppression united put out most of the flames. Once firefighters got into the building they located a small fire in a storage area. Officials said a pile of items on the floor caught fire and put out a lot of smoke.  The fire was quickly contained by crews and the building was ventilated. Officials said had the sprinkler system not activated there could have been major damage to the church.  No one was inside at the time of the fire.  No injuries were reported.  It’s unclear how the fire started.

Shelbyville, IN – Paint booth fire at 118 year old furniture factory contained with help from sprinkler system

A fire at a 118-year old factory in Shelbyville is being investigated. The Shelbyville Fire Department responded to a call at 12:16 p.m. of the fire at Old Hickory Furniture, 403 S. Noble St. The fire was under control at 1:06 p.m., Fire Chief Tony Logan said.  There were no injuries reported and the company’s employees were evacuated safely.  The fire started around a paint booth. No additional details were available as the investigation had just begun.  Logan said the sprinkler system was working properly, which helped control the fire.

“Sprinkler systems are designed to keep the fire in check,” he said. “Our responsibility is to maintain or support that.” He said it is “imperative” for places of business to have a functioning sprinkler system. “Like I said, sprinkler systems are designed to keep the fire in check,” he said. “It’s not necessarily designed to put it out, but if you keep it in a small, incipient stage where it produces damage, in this case, this facility will be back up and running a lot quicker, employees will be back to work, they’ll be producing their product, with no loss of revenue to them or to the city tax-wise.”

More than 20 firefighters responded to the scene. “If this had happened at 3 in the morning, it could have been a different outcome,” Logan said. “We’re fortunate it happened during the day.”  Most of the damage was inside the building, but there was some roof damage as well.  As the fire department finished putting out the fire, Logan said the investigation was just starting and the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office may be called to the scene.   “Hopefully we’ll get some answers soon,” he said. “It’s hard to tell with some of these older structures.”  Old Hickory has been in business since 1899. It handcrafts a variety of furniture pieces, including tables, rockers, mirrors and frames, bathroom wall cabinets and bookcases.

Greencastle, IN – Fire in new dining hall building at DePauw University suppressed by sprinkler system

A small fire early Saturday morning at Hoover Hall on the DePauw University campus occurred in a storage room on the lower level of the new dining hall in the center of campus.  The fire was extinguished very quickly, DePauw officials said.  The fire began at about 5:45 a.m. while no one was in the building but the safety system did its job, DPU spokesman Ken Owen told the Banner Graphic.

Two sprinklers put out the bulk of the fire, he said, and a fire extinguisher was used once the Greencastle Fire Department arrived on the scene to fully put it out. No fire hoses were necessary in the incident.  No damage estimate was available Saturday morning, however, damage was deemed “minimal” by DePauw officials.

The fire created smoke and there was water left by the sprinklers, necessitating clean-up and the closing of the dining hall at least for Saturday breakfast. The sprinkler system must be recharged, Owen said.  Because of that clean-up work, along with the need for the fire marshal to do his work to determine the cause of the fire, breakfast was not being served at Hoover but instead breakfast items were available at the convenience store in the Union Building.

At 10 a.m., the Health Department gave DePauw clearance to reopen Hoover Hall. The plan at that time was to open Hoover Hall with a limited menu at noon Saturday.

“All of us — the DePauw administration and our friends from the fire department and public safety — thank you and all students for their patience and understanding as we proceed today,” Owen said in a statement for the university. “I can’t say enough about the good work many people have performed in the early hours of a Saturday to make the process of recovering from this incident as quick and seamless as possible.”

Hoover Hall is the DePauw’s new 48,600 square-foot dining hall which sits in the shadow of historic East College in the center of campus. It was formally dedicated last October.  The $32 million project took 29 months to complete after ground was broken on May 17, 2014. The lead gift came from R. David and Suzanne A. Hoover, both 1967 graduates of DePauw.

West Lafayette, IN – Fire in Purdue University laboratory extinguished with help from sprinkler system

Purdue firefighters rushed to Wetherill Hall on Oval Drive about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of a fire, which was extinguished within minutes after the fire department arrived.

Purdue fire Capt. Shane Jones said the fire caused moderate damage, which was contained to the fire hood area in the second-floor laboratory. The fire activated the sprinkler system, so there also was some water damage in the area.

The facility was evacuated when the alarm went off, and people were directed to the nearby Stewart Center and Purdue Memorial Union, Jones said.  Building services staff assisted in the clean up, and people were allowed back into the building about 2:15 p.m. However, the room where the fire  happened and the room directly below it remained closed, Jones said.

 

Bloomington, IN – Sprinkler system extinguishes cooking fire at apartment complex

Some apartments had water damage after the sprinkler system extinguished a small cooking fire at Smallwood Plaza Apartments on College Avenue. The fire was reported at 8:45 p.m. Sunday night.  According to Bloomington Fire Department Sgt. Danny Gillespie, the fire started in an apartment on the sixth floor but was put out after the sprinkling system activated.  When firefighters arrived, the shut off the sprinklers and were on the scene for about two hours helping to clear out the water and smoke.  Sgt. Gillespie says there was water damage to the the apartment where the fire started and several units below it.

Brownsburg, IN – Sprinkler system activates to protect bowling alley from fire on smoker’s patio

Fire caused minor damage to a Brownsburg bowling alley and sports bar early Monday morning.

Firefighters found a small fire in a smoker’s patio at the front of the building around 12:30 a.m.

The fire activated a sprinkler in the external room, but the rest of the building was not damaged by water or flames, according to the fire department.

The business was closed at the time, and no one was hurt.

Plymouth, IN – Sprinkler system helps prevent damage from fire at fiberglass shop

Employees at a manufacturing business in Plymouth are cleaning up after a fire in the fiberglass shop.

Firefighters aren’t sure exactly what started it but employees at AK Industries say it was probably the chemicals used to make resin for the fiberglass. Those chemicals made for some thick, black smoke.

Employees won’t be able to go back to work till the building is aired out. The fire chief says a sprinkler system prevented worse damage.

“The fire was not out all the way. We went in and finished up with the sprinkler system could not get. So you know in a tight corners and crevices and things that we can’t reach we had to go in and dig it out,” said Plymouth Fire Chief, Rod Miller.

“I thought the whole building was going to catch on fire. You know, this is where we work and it’s almost Christmas,” said steel grinder, Guadalupe Sanzhez. The building is in pretty good shape. Employees say they think they’ll be back to work soon.

Greencastle, IN – Early morning fire at DePauw University residence hall extinguish by sprinkler system; No injuries

No students were injured in a small early-morning Tuesday fire at a DePauw University residence hall.  At 3:12 a.m., the Greencastle Fire Department was dispatched to Mason Hall at 402 E. Anderson St. on the report of a fire alarm.

Fire crews arrived two minutes later and began a search of the building. They discovered light smoke in Room 310, with the sprinkler system having already extinguished a small fire.

Greencastle Fire Chief John Burgess reported the fire appears to have originated from a piece of electrical equipment, but the case remains under investigation. The fire and sprinkler activation were contained to a single room, with an estimated $20,000 in damage occurring due to water.

Burgess reported no structural damage, noting that the sprinkler system performed its function of containing and extinguishing the fire. “Everything worked like it should,” he said.

The alarm led to the evacuation of the building. In an early morning email to faculty and staff, university president Mark McCoy reported that many students went to the Memorial Student Union Building or other campus structures.

McCoy further stated that a total of 140 students are housed in Mason but many had already left campus for Thanksgiving.

“As a campus, let’s give thanks for the fact that everyone is safe,” McCoy wrote to the staff, “and that is in large part to the great work of the Greencastle Fire Department, campus police and our caring and capable student life staff.”

Firefighters remained on the scene until 6:14 a.m. The building was reopened to students later Tuesday morning.

Mason Hall is a four-story structure situated on the Ubben Quad of the DePauw campus.

While false alarms are common in DePauw structures, longtime members of the campus community know they are not something to be taken lightly.

In April 2002 Rector Hall, which had been adjacent to Mason Hall, was destroyed by fire.

Although all students escaped safely, a pair of firefighters were injured in the large blaze that required 12 departments to combat.

The Rector Hall fire was caused by an electrical problem.

West Lafayette, IN – Fire in computer lab at Purdue University extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A fire occurred at Purdue University’s Hampton Civil Engineering building this morning. The entire building was evacuated after smoke alarms detected the fire at roughly 11:30 a.m. Aaron Bukowski is a Junior in the College of Department of Physics and Astronomy.  He was in the building when the fire began.

“We were working in our lab and we smelled something burning and the fire alarms ended up going off,” said Bukowski. “They evacuated the whole building and by the time we got out was maybe two minutes before the fire department showed up. Then we saw them go in then they came back out, put their gear on, and went back in. Now their squeegeeing water off the floor.”

By roughly 12:15 p.m. three marked police vehicles were present on the scene, as well as three possible unmarked vehicles. Other safety vehicles present included one fire engine, one ambulance, one fire command, as well as at least seven Purdue University vehicles.

Kevin M. Ply is a fire chief for the Purdue University Fire Department. He was among those that responded to the call. “The fire department was dispatched here on an active fire alarm for Hampton at 11:14 a.m,” said Ply. “One of our ambulances was out on campus. They arrived at 11:15 a.m. so a minute later. When they arrived the building was being evacuated.” Ply said, “the fire alarm panel indicated an active sprinkler head in room 1268. When they proceeded to that area they encountered smoke and water coming from out of the door.”

After informing the rest of the first responders, they forced entry to the room, put out the fire, and confirmed that it had not spread to the rest of the building. There was “minimal damage” according to Ply.  Room 1268 is a computer lab in Hampton. Ply said the fire only affected a limited portion of the room. He confirmed there were no occupants in the room at the time and the room was secured.

“The fire was extinguished pretty quickly, we got to sprinklers shut down pretty quickly,” said Ply. “We’re working with the police department to determine the cause. Right now, it doesn’t appear to be anything suspicious but we’re going to try to determine exactly what the cause was.”

The old section of Hampton has been reopened, as well as parts of the new section where the fire occurred. The room is expected to reopen after the police department concludes its investigation.

“The key thing is we had a quick response, the sprinkler system did its job and contained the fire from spreading,” said Ply. “So everything worked the way it should.”

Fort Wayne, IN – No injuries as sprinkler system extinguishes fire at nursing home

About 50 people at a Parnell Avenue nursing home had to be evacuated after a fire sparked in a patient’s room late Tuesday morning.

Shortly after 11 a.m., crews were called to 3811 Parnell Ave. at the Glenbrook Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center.

When crews arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from a patient’s room and an exterior door.

Crews said the sprinkler system had put out the fire.

All residents were evacuated, and they have all been moved back into the building.

Around 11:17 p.m., firefighters were able to get the fire under control.

No one was injured.

A representative with American Senior communities released a statement:

This morning at Glenbrook Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center there was a small fire isolated to one room. We are proud of the staff who reacted quickly, and as a result, there were no injuries. All residents are safe and were able to return to the building within 30 minutes after evacuation.

We are working with the Ft. Wayne Fire Department to determine the cause.”