Tag Archives: Michigan

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Gaylord, MI – Overnight fire at plastic parts manufacturer controlled by sprinkler system

The Otsego County Fire Department responded to a fire at a business in Gaylord. Crews were called to Mayfair Plastics on Dickerson Road at 11:57 p.m. Sunday. The fire was contained to an area of plastic car parts near an electrical panel on the equipment. The fire was detected by an automatic alarm. The sprinkler system controlled the fire until the fire department arrived. No one was hurt and the fire was contained to a small area. According to someone who works at Mayfair Plastics, business is operating as normal.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Royal Oak, MI – Sprinkler system helps minimize fire damage at recycling center

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at Royal Oak Recycling after officials say a fire broke out there Wednesday afternoon and workers were evacuated.

Royal Oak firefighters were called to the recycling facility about 12:50 p.m.

“They had a fire inside one of the machines,” said Fire Chief Dave Cummins. “It doesn’t look as though there was any structural damage from the fire.”

Cummins said firefighters were screening workers at the facility at 414 E. Hudson to see whether any of them needed to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation they may have suffered while they were in the building.

Other than possible smoke inhalation there were no reported injuries.

The fire reportedly broke out on a conveyor machine at the recycling plant.

Though smoke spread and a sprinkler system about the machine was activated, Cummins said it was a relatively small fire.

“We’ve had similar fires at the building in the past,” he said.

Less than a year ago, about 20 people at Royal Oak Recycling were evacuated and the plant closed for the day after a machine caught fire in November 2016. No one was injured.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Kalamazoo, MI – (No Media Coverage) Fire damage minimized at paper plant thanks to sprinkler system

***No Media Coverage – Fire Department Reported*** On Friday October 6, 2017 a sprinkler activated and successfully kept a paper manufacturing plant operational.

Paper from recycling collection points had been compacted into bales. The bales were awaiting to be made into pulp and were in transitional storage. A fire started within the bales. The sprinkler system activated and kept the fire minimized while employees of the Fire Brigade and Kalamazoo Public Safety arrived and overhauled the bales.

Due to the sprinkler system the plant remained in operation and the employees are still working making paper.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Clinton Township, MI – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at manufacturing plant

An Aug. 9 oil spill in Clinton Township was caused by a recent fire at a nearby business, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality determined after a weeklong investigation.

Clinton Township homeowners noticed a funny smell and an unusual sheen on the Teske Drain on Aug. 9 and reported it to emergency responders. Environmental Protection Agency employees spent much of Thursday at the site near Maybury Street, directing the cleanup.

The documentation provided to the DEQ from the environmental cleanup company indicated that the spill consisted of hydraulic oil, said Melinda Steffler, Michigan DEQ senior environmental quality analyst.

The source of the oil is believed to be from Complete Prototype Services, a Fraser company working with fixtures, metals and plastics that reported a fire on Aug. 4.

During the fire, the water from the indoor sprinkler system filled a machine pit inside the building, which overflowed and made its way outdoors, where it entered a storm sewer catch basin, Steffler said.

“The water carried with it oil from the machine pit, which then made its way through the storm sewer system and out into the Teske Drain,” Steffler said.

A representative from Complete Prototype Services told The Detroit News the company was unable to comment on what caused the fire.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said none of the 6,000 gallons of oil flowed into the Clinton River or the lake, but was contained in the drain. “We have a zero tolerance for contaminants in our drains … and we are very appreciative of the citizens alerting us,” Miller said. “The company is a great corporate citizen and cares deeply about our waterways. The fire was not their fault.”

Miller said a local company vacuumed the area to remove the oil for nearly a week. As of Wednesday, Miller said, “I think we’ve got it all. We’re in good shape.”

Ryan Schwarb, senior environmental quality analyst at the southeast Michigan DEQ, said the oil traveled in the Teske Drain about 1,000 feet north of 15 Mile.

“Macomb County has been overseeing the cleanup activities but it was reported to me (Wednesday) that the bulk of the cleanup appears to be complete,” Steffler said.

The monitoring booms will continue to capture any remaining oil in the enclosed portion of the drain.

Tom Tailford and Ingrid Horodko, who live on the Clinton River, notified emergency officials Wednesday night after they smelled oil.

Tailford collected a sample and found it was nearly clear.

“The crew I talked to said it was a significant amount of oil they pumped,” Tailford said on Friday. “I also found out that the Coast Guard also had shown up here to evaluate the risk of the oil entering Lake St. Clair.”

Residents along the Teske Drain were advised to refrain from pumping surface water for lawn irrigation or other uses while cleanup had been ongoing.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Marquette, MI – Storage room fire in university science building extinguished with help from sprinkler system

The Marquette Fire Department was on scene at Northern Michigan University for about 3.5 hours today after being dispatched to a report of a fire on the third floor of the West Science Building. On arrival, NMU Public Safety confirmed a small fire in a third-floor storage room. The Marquette Fire Department supplemented the building standpipe system that had one sprinkler head activated. The fire suppression team made entry to office and quickly extinguished container involved. A third alarm page was called for manpower, and efforts to minimize water damage in the building started. After the scene was stabilized, NMU Public Safety and Maintenance Staff could enter the building to continue the work. The cause is under investigation.

MARQUETTE — Due to a fire that started in a chemistry storage room, the NMU New Science Building was evacuated, and has been shut down until further notice.

Around 8:30 this morning, a fire alarm located near the chemistry storage room went off. Though the Marquette Fire Department responded promptly, NMU spokesperson Derek Hall says that the fire suppression system installed in the building put out the fire very quickly.

Hall estimated between 50-60 students, staff, and faculty in the building at the time of the fire. Thankfully, everyone was evacuated safely.

Currently, fire officials are still securing the building before they can turn it back over to begin cleanup.

The fire department believes that the fire started in a garbage can in the chemical storage room.

Hall says that they have not yet been able to assess the damages, but are hoping to have the building back open by tomorrow.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Greenville, MI – Fire service credits sprinkler system in helping to control fire at plastics plant

An industrial fire at West Michigan Compounding’s (WMC) reclamation center Sunday morning was quickly extinguished by firefighters before it could spread to do additional damage. At approximately 9:15 a.m., the Greenville Department of Public Safety was dispatched to the WMC reclamation center, located at 634 Greenville West Dr. at the former Electrolux property, to the report of a structure fire at the building. According to Public Safety Officer Jamie Sorsen, no one was in the building at the time a water flow alarm was triggered.

“The alarm went off, and when employees arrived on scene, they found smoke,” he said. Sorsen said he requested assistance from the Belding Fire Department for additional manpower and equipment, and together, the departments sent in teams of two and three firefighters at a time to locate and extinguish the fire within the large industrial building.

“We knew that we had a lot of smoke and we knew the area it was coming from, but we didn’t know what was on fire,” he said. “But within minutes they located it.” Sorsen said there were a number of boxes containing plastic that were discovered to be burning about “100 to 200 feet” south of the northeastern corner of the building.

“We were able to locate it quickly, which allowed us to put it out quickly,” he said. It becomes a problem when you can’t locate the fire quickly.” The fire was contained within about one hour after the initial time of call.

“It did not burn through the roof and it was contained to a 30 by 30-foot area,” Sorsen said. “I credit the sprinkler system that was activated and all of the manpower, everybody responding quickly, both part-paid and full time firefighters from here and Belding, as well as the first responders here assisting us.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Middleville, MI – Fire in dust collector at water heater manufacturer knocked down by sprinkler system

No one was hurt and there was minimal damage to a Middleville water heater manufacturer following a weekend fire. Thornapple Township Fire Chief Randy Eaton said the fire at Bradford White Corporation wound up not being as severe as initial calls suggested. His department remained on scene for about an hour last Sunday, June 4.  Fire crews were dispatched around 4:50 p.m. Sunday to the facility at 200 Lafayette St.   On scene, Thornapple Township firefighters located a fire, which was primarily confined to a dust collector. An overhead sprinkler system kept the flames from expanding to the roof and causing any structural damage.  Maintenance crews were working on the system at the time of the fire, and no production was underway. Eaton said less than a dozen maintenance workers were inside the facility but none were injured.  Crews from Caledonia Township and Wayland responded as backup, but weren’t needed to knock down the fire.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Battle Creek, MI – Early morning fire in shopping cart storage area at Meijer store extinguished by sprinkler system

The Meijer Inc. store in Battle Creek has reopened after an evacuation and fire early Monday. Battle Creek firefighters were called to 2191 W. Columbia Ave. at 2:17 a.m. for a structure fire, according to Battalion Chief Matt Beauchamp.  He said when the first firefighters arrived they found smoke in the northwest corner of the building where shopping carts were stored.

“There was a decent amount of smoke,” Beauchamp said. He said a sprinkler had activated in the cart storage area and had extinguished the fire. “The sprinklers kept it in check,” Beauchamp said. Store employees, firefighters and Battle Creek police searched the building several times and evacuated everyone inside. No injuries were reported. Beauchamp said the fire appears to originated in an electric cart  stored with other shopping carts.

He said maintenance crews from the store were called to ensure the fire alarm and sprinkler system were functioning properly and the Calhoun County Health Department was notified because of the perishable food in the building. The health department inspected the store and determined it could be opened, firefighters said later Monday morning.  Firefighters left the scene about 4 a.m. They estimated damage at $3,000.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory

Flint Twp, MI – Fire at Baker College residence hall put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

All 46 residents have been cleared to move back into their rooms at Baker Hall East, except for three who live in the fire-damaged room. According to Baker College, they were the only students with property damage after the Wednesday evening incident and they’ve since been relocated.  The Flint Township fire department says it was a small cooking fire in their suite that was put out quickly when the sprinkler system activated, which caused water damage.  Baker College plans to cover the cost of their lost items.

(02/15/17) – A small cooking fire forces a Baker College dorm to be completely evacuated Wednesday night. The Flint Township fire department says the fire activated the sprinkler system at Baker Hall knocking out the flames pretty quickly. The unit was on the second floor, causing water damage on the first and second floor.  Crews had to evacuate everyone in the three story building for the night.  Power was also cut to the first two floors.  No one was hurt.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Kalamazoo, MI – Fire at aluminum alloy plant contained with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters rushed to put out a fire in the basement of a Kalamazoo county business over the weekend. The Comstock fire chief says a hydraulic press caught fire at Kaiser Aluminum Sunday morning.  That is part of the Mid-Link complex on Cork Street.  The fire caused a leak in the hydraulic line, which lead to fluid leaking on hot aluminum and catching fire.  A sprinkler system went off, which helped to keep the fire under control.  One piece of equipment was affected but no one was hurt.