Tag Archives: Minnesota

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Rochester, MN – Cooktop fire in hotel room extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A cooktop fire in a hotel room Wednesday morning caused fire and water damage from the sprinkler system.

At 6:48 a.m., the Rochester Fire Department responded to a structure fire call at the Days Inn Hotel at 3595 Commercial Drive Southwest. Firefighters on scene found smoke coming from a third story window in the back of the building.

The hotel has an automatic fire sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire in the third floor hotel room by the time firefighters arrived, according to the fire department’s press release. No occupants were found in the room or adjacent rooms.

The sprinkler system limited the fire damage to only the room of origin. An investigation determined that the fire started on a cooktop range. The department said the occupant of the room left the hotel and possibly left a burner on the stove.

Guests were evacuated from the hotel when crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service and Rochester Police Department also responded to the fire.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

St. Louis Park, MN – Sprinkler system activated for early morning arson fire at fitness center; No injuries reported

Members of the St. Louis Park Fire Department are investigating a fire at an LA Fitness early Monday morning, a city spokesperson says.

A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS photographer saw several units at the scene and the building’s sprinkler system running.

Authorities say St. Louis Park firefighters were called to the location at around 4:15 a.m. and found multiple sources of fire inside. Firefighters extinguished the flames, which the sprinklers kept at bay, and no injuries were reported.

The fitness center, located at 3555 Highway 100, will be closed for the day.

The city says no arrests were made but the fire is being investigated as arson.

Anyone with information is asked to call the St. Louis Park Police Department at 952-924-2600.

It is unknown at this time if the location foresees any impact beyond Monday.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at church; No injuries reported

An early Monday fire in the basement of a Rochester church caused considerable damage, but an alarm system and sprinklers kept things from becoming worse.

Alerted to a blaze at Peace United Church of Christ just after 2 a.m., firefighters arrived to find thick black smoke filling the building at 1503 2nd Av. NE., Fire Department spokesman K.C. Clark said.

The fire broke out in the church’s lower level between the sanctuary and an attached preschool. A portable water extinguisher was used to put out the main fire. An overhead sprinkler that had activated before firefighters arrived helped keep the fire from spreading, Clark said.

Damage was mainly confined to the area of the blaze, but there was a significant smoke on the main and lower levels, Clark said.

“Nearly all parts of the church will need remediation due to the smoke,” Clark said. “Things might have been much worse had the church not had an automatic smoke and fire alarm. Had the building not been protected by an alarm system, it is likely the building would have sustained significant fire damage.”

No one was in the building at the time, and no firefighters were hurt, Clark said.

A damage estimate was not immediately available. Officials have not determined a cause.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Marshall, MN – Sprinkler system extinguished fire at high school; No injuries reported

On Tuesday, April 11, 2022 around 4:00 pm there was a fire reported in a science classroom at Marshall High School.

The sprinkler system was activated and immediately extinguished the fire.  Superintendent Williams shared, “we are fortunate that no staff members were hurt and that the water damage is contained to one classroom”.  The fire Chief has allowed re-entry into the building.

School and activities will continue as normally planned.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at UPS warehouse; No injuries reported

A Rochester UPS warehouse and UPS trucks were damaged by fire late Saturday night.

No one was injured, but it will be sometime before an estimate of damages to the packages and their contents, trucks and the building can be tallied.

Firefighters were called to the warehouse at the 1600 block of Opportunity Road NW just before 11 p.m.

An automatic alarm showed sprinkler system flow and smoke in different parts of the warehouse. Witnesses reported to dispatch that they saw flames shortly before firefighters arrived.

Fire crews found fire with smoke coming from the building in a loading dock area on the north end of the building where UPS trucks were parked.

Firefighters called for a ladder truck to help fight the fire from above. Firefighters also cut into some of the trucks that were on fire to put out the fire in the cargo areas of the trucks.

Pulver Towing helped move some of the trucks away from the warehouse in case of fire rekindling from one of the trucks.

Rochester Police Department, Rochester Public Utilities, Minnesota Energy, Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service, Stewartville Fire Department and Byron Fire Department all assisted at the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Duluth, MN – Sprinkler system activated for second-floor apartment fire; No injuries reported

All tenants at the Burke Apartments in Duluth are temporarily displaced due to water damage from a sprinkler system responding to the fire. The apartment building provides affordable housing to adults with disabilities.

A fire was reported around 9:30 a.m. Monday in a second-floor unit at Burke Apartments, 720 Maple Grove Road, Duluth. It triggered a sprinkler system to activate, causing water damage to nearly all 21 units in the building. A news release from the Duluth Fire Department said the sprinkler system kept the flames in check and no one was injured.

Of the 21 units in the two-story apartment building, 16 were occupied at the time of the fire. Tenants evacuated the building prior to the firefighters’ arrival. According to the Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office, the cause of the fire was accidental.

All tenants are temporarily displaced due to the water damage. Fire and water damage is estimated at $55,000, according to the Duluth Police Department. Property manager Accessible Space is providing tenants with assistance until they can return to the building. The Burke Apartments provide affordable housing for adults with disabilities.

Fire crews from Duluth Heights, Spirit Valley and Duluth Fire Headquarters used vacuums and other equipment to attempt to remove water from the affected units. A local damage mitigation company will assist in the cleanup.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – fire at apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Rochester Fire Department is crediting an automatic sprinkler system for preventing a fire at a Rochester apartment building from spreading.

The fire was reported at 3731 Technology Drive Northwest. A Fire Department news release says the initial call was made by the building’s alarm system and was followed by multiple 911 calls that confirmed flames and smoke were present. When firefighters arrived at the scene just before 2 PM they found smoke, fire, and water spray from the sprinkler system coming from a window on the fourth floor of the building.

The responding firefighters rushed to the fourth floor while a firefighter on an aerial ladder inspected the roof for signs of a fire extension. They discovered the sprinkler system had done its job and extinguished the fire after confining it to a single apartment unit. Fans were then deployed to remove the smoke and other equipment was brought in to remove the water from the sprinkler system.

No injuries were reported and a dollar estimate of the damage is not yet available. The fire department also did not list a cause for the fire but it appears it started on the stovetop.

Apartment Building, Residential

Robbinsdale, MN – Sprinkler system activated for second floor apartment fire

It was a long night and morning for residents of a Robbinsdale apartment complex. They were awakened by fire alarms due to an apartment fire early Tuesday morning. The fire temporarily displaced at least 30 people.

Crews were called around midnight at Clare Terrace, located at 36th and France. Clare Terrace offers affordable housing for people living with HIV/AIDS who are experiencing poverty or homelessness.

Investigators say the fire was contained to one unit on the second floor. The cause remains under investigation.

Firefighters had to temporarily turn off gas and electricity to the building. The building had some water damage from sprinklers.

“It was isolated to a very small area within the apartment. It wasn’t like a blaze that gutted the apartment at all,” said Johnny Rios, regional property manager for Project For Pride In Living, Inc., which oversees the complex. “The fire set off the sprinklers system, and so, when our sprinkler system goes off, it floods the entire system into whatever affected area there is.”

Tenants were able to move back into their units Tuesday, except the resident of the unit where the fire started, officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

St. Cloud, MN – Apartment fire contained and extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

No one was injured but thousands of dollars in damage occurred in an apartment fire Sunday evening in St. Cloud.

The St. Cloud Fire Department responded to a call for a kitchen fire around 8 p.m. Sunday. When firefighters arrived at the apartment building in the 1100 block of 7th Street Southeast, they found that the building’s sprinkler system had contained and extinguished the fire.

There were no injuries reported, but the department says it is investigating the cause of the fire that left $14,000 in damage. It is not suspicious in nature. Two adults and three children were displaced from the apartment and are receiving help from the Red Cross.

Office Building, Other Business

Hutchinson, MN – Lone sprinkler contains large blaze at commercial business complex

A lone sprinkler head may have been the difference between a small, contained fire and a large blaze Sunday night.

According to Hutchinson Fire Chief Mike Schumann, a fire broke out in one of the units at the city-owned Enterprise Center commercial business complex at 1164 Benjamin Ave. S.E. A utility cart with flammable paint supplies on it ignited in the building at approximately 6:45 p.m.

The fire activated a sprinkler head, which contained the fire until firefighters arrived and were able to extinguish and set up ventilation to clear out the smoke. Firefighters also assisted with removing water on the floor and salvaging other items.

Schumann said it was a great example of how valuable sprinkler systems can be.

“If it were not for the early warning and activation of the automatic fire sprinkler system, this could easily have been a multimillion dollar loss with a catastrophic impact on the operation of multiple local businesses.”