Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Apartment Building, Residential

Westfield, MA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

Two families are left without a home following a fire in a Westfield apartment complex Tuesday night.

Fire officials told Western Mass News that this was not the first fire in that same apartment building.

Back in 2018, a fire in Building 5 of the Powder Mill Village displaced everyone living there. On Tuesday, another fire in that same building displaced two families.

The Fire Department credited a new sprinkler system for saving lives and stopping the flames.

“I laughed and thought it was somebody that just over cooked their supper,” said Sheila Elmer.

Elmer’s family is now without a home after a fire broke out in the apartment above hers, also leaving her handicapped husband and autistic son with just the clothes on their backs.

“We’ve lost most of everything,” she told us. “Everything has a very bad burnt plastic smell.”

Westfield Fire officials told Western Mass News that they responded to the fire in Building 5 of Powder Mill Village around 6 p.m. on Tuesday night and that the cause has been identified as an unattended candle.

Deputy Fire Chief Seth Ellis said that a fire in the same building close to 4 years ago displaced the entire building. It has since been rebuilt, and because of new laws, a sprinkler system had to be installed, which he said ultimately saved lives.

“The sprinkler system that was installed in the building after a serious fire in 2018 extinguished the fire for the most part prior to the fire department arrival and prevented this from being a much worse incident,” Deputy Chief Ellis explained.

Elmer said that if it was not for the sprinkler system, her family may not have gotten out in time.

“If the sprinkler wasn’t there, it would’ve caught on fire and burnt multiple, again like last time,” she told us.

She said that her husband is in the hospital after having difficulty breathing and her son’s therapy cat is missing, but she is glad everyone is safe and is hopeful her family will be able to find a handicapped accessible apartment quickly.

“We have a lot of support,” said Elmer. “The immediate need is just getting us a place to live. I have fourteen dollars in the bank. I’m not going to get anywhere with that. It’s too cold to be in the car; my husband and son can’t be in the car. I can, but not them.”

The fire department said that some of the other buildings in the complex have partial sprinkler systems in place but Building 5 is the only building with a full system. They also recommended using electronic candles instead of an open flame. No injuries were reported.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Hopkinton, MA – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire inside painting business; No injuries reported

Sprinklers helped prevent a vehicle fire inside a Hopkinton vehicle painting business from spreading through the building, which had fire trucks parked inside, officials said.

Firefighters were called at 1:30 a.m. to the building at 17 Winter Street.

“Upon their arrival, they entered the building and found heavy smoke conditions in the building. Upon further investigation, they found a motor vehicle fire in the paint booth at this location,” Hopkinton Fire Department Chief William Miller said. “A sprinkler had activated and held the fire in check.”

There were no employees in the building at the time, and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Quincy, MA – Apartment balcony fire kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A woman and her two dogs were kept safe from harm Monday morning after a pile of trash on her apartment’s third-floor balcony caught fire.

Quincy firefighters responded to a fire alarm Monday morning in Building F of the apartment complex at 500 Falls Blvd. A fire sprinkler was right above where the fire started and kept it under control until firefighters arrived, officials said. 

“They were storing some rubbish out on the deck on the third floor and it caught fire,” Quincy Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Gorman said. “They don’t know what was in there that could have caught, they don’t smoke or anything, but it just caught fire.”

Gorman said the woman was home with her pets when she smelled the smoke. She immediately left the building with her dogs and called the fire department. Firefighters were already on their way when she called because an alarm had come into the station, Gorman said. 

The building was evacuated, nobody was injured and damage was minimal. 

“There was very little damage. … The cards all lined up and everything came out right. Nobody got hurt and there was no damage, it was a best-case scenario,” Gorman said. 

The deputy chief said those living in the apartment were lucky for the outcome.

“It was the exact same scenario as the building across the street a few years ago that actually burned down,” he said. “It was the same thing. … They were very lucky.”

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Holyoke, MA – Sprinkler system contains warehouse fire until fire crews arrive; No injuries reported

The Holyoke Fire Department have put out a fire at a warehouse Tuesday night that damaged two vehicles.

According to Captain Kevin Cavagnac, firefighters received a call around 10:00 p.m. Tuesday night of fire and smoke on Winter St. at the ‘A Royal Flush’ warehouse, which stores portable restrooms. Cavagnac said the sprinkler system in the building was able to contained the fire and minimized the damage on the property.

No one was inside the warehouse at the time of the fire but two trucks inside were damaged. No injuries were reported.

The Holyoke Fire Department will continue to investigated what caused the fire.

Other - Retail, Retail

Methuen, MA – Sprinkler system activated for late night fire at retail store; No injuries reported

A late-night fire Sunday ignited in a store at The Loop, fire officials said. 

An electrical fire occurred near a register at Olympia in the retail center located at 90 Pleasant Valley St. 

The fire triggered the store’s sprinkler system, which worked exactly as it’s supposed to, officials said.

“The sprinklers knocked down the majority of it,” said Fire Chief Timothy Sheehy of the blaze. 

No injuries were reported. 

There was smoke and water damage to Olympia, another store nearby, The Loft, as well as a vacant storefront which was last used as an area to administer COVID-19 vaccine. 

Firefighters responded at 10:55 p.m. and there for about two hours. 

Lawrence and Salem, N.H., firefighters responded to Methuen as mutual aid coverage. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, MA – Sprinkler system quickly extinguishes arson fire in apartment building; No injuries reported

The fire Tuesday morning at the former Indian Motorcycle building on State Street in Springfield was intentionally set, fire officials report. 

According to Captain Drew Piemonte, with the Springfield Fire Department, the fire was called in at 10:45 a.m. 

Piemonte tells Western Mass News the sprinkler system in the building quickly extinguished the flames.

“Sprinklers kept the fire in check,” Piemonte explained.

No injuries have been reported.

Firefighters were on scene checking for any extension of the fire to make sure there were no flare ups.

Piemonte confirms damage was contained to the room of origin…” it was a bedroom,” he noted. 

The Springfield Arson And Bomb Squad has been investigating this fire.

“..(the) Squad has determined that there was two separate fires in the apartment that were intentionally set,” Piemonte told us. 

The building, which was once part of the Indian Motorcycle Company, now houses apartments. 

At this time no arrests have been made and the investigation continues.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Brockton, MA – (no media coverage) Laundromat fire caused by greasy dish towel confined by sprinkler system

A greasy dish towel overheated inside a laundry bag at an industrial laundromat Friday night, starting a fire that spread from a drying rack suspended along the ceiling to a folding machine below. Brockton fire officials said there were no employees at Churchill Linen Services on Evans Street when they responded to an alarm around 10:15 p.m. Friday. The building’s sprinkler system managed to confine the flames to a small area before firefighters arrived at the laundromat, located in a large facility near the Campello commuter rail station. Deputy Fire Chief Edward Williams investigated the cause of the fire. “What happens is they wash the product, then they dry the product, then they stick the product in these big bags five feet in diameter that hang from the ceiling,” Williams said. ”  

Apartment Building, Residential

Falmouth, MA – Sprinkler system puts out apartment fire before fire crews arrive; No injuries reported

A small fire in an apartment displaced one person Wednesday morning, according to Falmouth fire Acting Deputy Chief Chad Absten. 

Fire crews were dispatched to 138 Teaticket Highway at 10:35 a.m., Absten said. The sprinkler system had extinguished the fire by the time they arrived, he said. 

Crews checked for any fire extension, but there was none, Absten said. There was damage from the fire and water damage from the sprinkler system, he said.

There were no injuries, Absten said. 

The Falmouth Housing Authority is seeking a place for the displaced resident to stay, Absten said. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, he said.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Fitchburg, MA – Fire sprinklers stop fire from spreading after pipe organ catches fire in church; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system and the hard work of firefighters and a very large fan spared much of a Fitchburg church Monday afternoon when an electrical issue in a pipe organ sparked a fire, according to firefighters.

Deputy Chief Chad Courtemanche said crews were called to the Emanuel Lutheran Church a little after 3 p.m., on an alarm call after the alarm system detected sprinkler flow.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke in the building and soon learned the fire in the pipe organ was being held in check by sprinklers, Courtemanche said.

As a result of the sprinklers, “the fire was burning slow and creating a lot of smoke, so we vented the smoke and put out the fire,” Courtemanche said.

There were no reported injuries.

Crews used a large, truck-mounted ventilation fan designed for large buildings to vent a large amount of smoke from the church. Courtemanche said damage appeared to be light, under the circumstances, with fire damage confined mostly to the organ, and mostly just smoke and water damage elsewhere.

He said much of the wooden church, and even some books not far from the blaze, appeared to have suffered minimal damage.

Pastor Daniel W. Spigelmyer Jr., said the pipe organ is about 150 years old, and is a major sentimental and historical loss for the church.

Crews remained at the scene for about two hours.