Tag Archives: Kansas

Manhattan, KS – Dormitory fire at Kansas State University extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at a Kansas State dormitory displaced about two dozen students. University officials say the fire early Friday started on the fourth floor of Wefald Hall. All students were evacuated for about three hours. No injuries were reported. Sprinklers extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived.

Manhattan officials say the fire apparently was caused by a faulty fan. University officials say the fire caused $5,000 of damage to the building and $3,500 of damage to contents. The coeducational dorm houses 540 students. It was built in 2016 on the west side of the Manhattan campus.

UPDATE: Students were allowed to return to their rooms after an early morning fire at Wefald Hall on the K-State Manhattan campus. The fire was first reported at 6:26 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Wefald residence hall, according to K-State Police.

MANHATTAN — No injuries were reported in a Friday morning fire at Wefald Hall on Kansas State University’s Manhattan campus. The fire was extinguished by the hall’s suppression system, according to the K-State Police Department. Students were evacuated from the hall and relocated to Kramer Dining Center. Denison Avenue between Claflin Avenue and Platt Street is closed for emergency vehicles.

Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system keeps senior high rise fire under control until firefighters arrive

Residents of a west Topeka senior high-rise apartment building were awakened by the sound of smoke alarms early Wednesday after a trash fire inside their building, authorities said.  The residents either made it outside safely or sheltered in place as Topeka Fire Department crews extinguished the blaze.

Authorities said the fire was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Plaza West Apartments, a seven-story building at 5620 S.W. 22nd.  Upon their arrival, firefighters found light smoke on the first-floor of the building.  Crews searched and found a small fire in a trash bin. Officials said the bin was located in the trash room of the complex.

Topeka Fire Department officials said the sprinkler system activated properly and kept the fire under control until firefighters could arrive.  Firefighters then removed the trash bin from the building and finished extinguishing the blaze.

Damage was confined to the trash bin and the surrounding trash-chute system. A Topeka Fire Department investigator responded to the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire. A preliminary investigation indicated the cause of the fire was undetermined, pending further investigation.

The estimated dollar loss was $500 to the structure. There was no content loss. Three engine companies, two truck Companies, two battalion chiefs and an investigator responded to the incident. No injuries were reported.

Lawrence, KS – Early morning apartment fire suppressed by sprinkler system

One person was rescued from an apartment that caught fire early Saturday in downtown Lawrence, authorities said. The blaze was reported at 5:16 a.m. Saturday at 800 New Hampshire Street. The first firefighter arrived on the scene at 5:18 a.m. and reported nothing was showing from the five-story apartment building, said Division Chief Justin Temple, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

Crews then located a fire in Apartment 302 of the building. Fire crews located, then rescued, a resident from the apartment. Temple said the building’s fire alarm system activated and alerted all residents. He added that the fire sprinkler system in apartment 302 activated and helped control the fire until crews could extinguish the blaze, which was declared under control by 5:49 a.m. Other residents of the building were displaced and were assisted in a temporary move to 888 New Hampshire by representatives of First Management. All displaced residents were later allowed to return to their apartments.

Temple said the resident from apartment 302 was treated at the scene, then taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The person’s name and condition weren’t immediately available. No other injuries were reported. Fire department investigators were called to the scene to determine the fire’s cause. An estimated dollar loss wasn’t immediately available.

Lawrence, KS – Kitchen fire in loft apartment limited by automatic sprinkler system

Two apartments in the Poehler Lofts, 619 E. Eighth St., were damaged Sunday afternoon as a result of a kitchen fire.  Division Chief Doug Green, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, said the department responded at about 3 p.m. Sunday to a fire at the Poehler Lofts. Additionally, the lofts’ fire suppression sprinkler system activated in the unit where the fire started. 

At the scene about 90 minutes after the fire was reported, Green said he did not yet know if the residents of the two damaged apartments would be able to return to the units on Sunday. The other residents of the Poehler Lofts were able to return their apartments after a temporary evacuation, he said.

Hutchinson, KS – Fire in residential high rise contained to kitchen area by sprinkler system

A Hutchinson man “narrowly escaped the smoky conditions” of a kitchen fire late Friday night on the 11th floor of the Plaza Towers that caused other residents to flee their apartments in the 12-story building, the Hutchinson Fire Department stated.

The man used a stove burner to heat the apartment when other material on the stove ignited, according to a press release. A single sprinkler went off, and the man made his way through the dense smoke and out of the apartment. The sprinkler helped contain the fire to the kitchen area. Firefighters found the blaze spread to the kitchen cabinets when they arrived after 11:45 p.m.

Firefighters used thermal-imaging equipment to locate the fire, the release said, while other firefighters evacuated the 11th and 12th floors of the apartment building at 17 E. Second Ave. Approximately 45 apartments are being rented, the fire department said.

The man was the only one in the apartment at the time, fire Chief Steve Beer said. He was treated on site by Reno County EMS and is being assisted by the American Red Cross. Beer said the man and his son were the only residents displaced by the fire

Hutchinson, KS – Sprinkler system activates to help contain apartment fire; No injuries reported

Dozens of residents at the Tierra Verde Apartments waited for an American Red Cross overnight shelter Wednesday after a third story apartment fire caused the building to be evacuated. Hutchinson Fire Department Deputy Chief Doug Hanen said calls came in at 5:23 p.m. and firefighters were able to contain the fire to the living room of the apartment within 20 minutes of arriving. He didn’t believe anyone was in the apartment when the fire started. Hanen said no one was one was injured, but water damage caused by the sprinkler system and the fire hose affected most apartments in the 28-apartment complex on Avenue A.

“There’s a lot of people going to be displaced tonight,” Hanen said. He did not have a count at the time. The cause of the fire was still under investigation. Hanen said the department responded with six fire engines, two trucks and a total of 28 personnel. “We had everybody,” he said. The Tierra Verde Apartments were built in 2008. The two-bedroom apartments are part of New Beginnings.

Russell, KS – Grain dust fire at gluten plant extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A minor explosion and small fire occurred early Wednesday afternoon at White Energy’s gluten plant in Russell.  Russell City Firefighters responded to the fire at about 12:45 PM Wednesday. The Russell Police Department also responded for traffic control.  According to Fire Chief Shane Preston, the blaze was mostly extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system, but firefighters had to put out a few hot embers.

Preston said the fire started when a piece of equipment in a grain bin overheated. It caught some grain on fire, the fire mixed with grain dust and caused a flash fire, which was the explosion.  The blaze was contained to the grain bin.  The incident is still under investigation.  There were no injuries.

Salina, KS – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at Advance Auto Parts distribution center

Advance Auto Parts Distribution Center, 3633 S. Ninth, was temporarily shut down Tuesday afternoon after a fire that started when a 5-pound bucket of solvent on a pallet dropped from a forklift.

The fire was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Saline County Undersheriff Roger Soldan said there was no damage estimate, but the north side of the building sustained fire, smoke and water damage.

Firefighters from Saline County Rural Fire District No. 2 responded to the fire. Soldan said the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system also activated.

The distribution center was in operation Wednesday.

Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in apartment fire

Topeka Fire Department crews put out a small trash fire early Tuesday at a downtown apartment building.  An automatic alarm was activated shortly after 5 a.m. on the second floor of the Santa Fe Place Apartments, a five-story brick building at 600 S.E. Madison.

Crews arrived to find a small fire on the second floor, where sprinklers had activated.  Fire officials at the scene said there was no major damage associated with the fire, which was believed to have started as a result of improper disposal of smoking materials.

However, water from the sprinkler system ran down the elevator shaft and into at least one apartment. It took about 30 minutes to get the sprinkler system shut off. No injuries were reported.

Wichita, KS – Cooking fire at high-rise hotel extinguished by sprinkler system

The Wichita Fire Department was busy early Tuesday evening. Fire crews were called out to a high-rise building fire at the Value Place Hotel in the 3400 hundred block of N. Great Plains, near K-96 and Oliver around 6:45 p.m.