Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Killeen, TX – Dryer vent fire at substance abuse center extinguished by sprinkler system

The Killeen Fire Department responded to a small structure fire on the corner of Avenue B and Gray Street just after 8 a.m. today. The fire started in the laundry room of the Word of Life building in downtown Killeen, according to Battalion Chief Clay Brooks, most likely caused by lent in the dryer vent.

“Lent accumulates, and it’s very combustible,” Brooks said.  Brooks said the facility’s sprinklers put out most of the flames. “The sprinkler head did its job,” he said.  No one in the building was injured, and there is no permanent damage to the structure.

Apartment Building, Residential

San Francisco, CA – Arson fire at multi-tenant residential building contained by sprinkler system

An unidentified man set a fire at the Crown Hotel and SRO at 16th and Valencia late Monday morning. According to witnesses, the man broke the glass of a fire extinguisher case inside the building and used it to attempt to break into a resident’s room, and then reportedly spread gasoline on the hotel’s walls and floors. The man was taken into custody by police, witnesses said, and by noon a manager informed residents they would have to wait about another hour for water used to extinguish the fire to be cleaned up from the building.

Samantha Helstrom, a resident of the Crown Hotel for about a year and a half, said she came out of her room after she heard glass breaking. She saw a man banging on a resident’s door, apparently trying to break in and possibly manipulating a gasoline can. Shortly after, she saw smoke coming from the resident’s room and the man running downstairs.

Helstrom said she ran back inside to get water to put out the fire and managed to get a few buckets on the flames before the sprinkler system turned on and the building was evacuated. “The fire was pretty contained at that point between the sprinklers and me being a crazy fool,” Helstrom said, referring to her efforts to extinguish the flames.

Benji Francois, who has been in the building less than a week, said he usually ignores yelling and commotion since they’re so common, but when water started coming into his room from the sprinkler system, he knew something serious had happened. He said he opened his door to see flames, and then ran out of the building. “Not a good way to wake up,” Francois said.

Government Office, Government/Military

Concord, NH – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at Merrimack County Courthouse

A sprinkler system helped put out a fire and save county property at the Merrimack County Superior Courthouse in Concord Sunday. The fire is believed to have started in a vending machine on the first floor of the building. A preliminary investigation by the Concord Fire Department, the state fire marshal’s office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the fire to have been accidental, according to a press release issued yesterday by the state fire marshal’s office.

The Concord Fire Department was called to 163 N. Main St. at 10:13 a.m. after receiving an alert from an automatic fire alarm. Firefighters arrived on scene at 10:18 a.m. to find smoke in the building and an active sprinkler in a room of vending machines. The building was closed and secure at the time of the fire. Fire Marshal J. William Degnan said the sprinkler system “prevented a much larger fire and loss of county property, as well as reduced the danger to firefighters.”

The fire came two days after another one in a similarly unattended public building, in that case owned by the town of Henniker. The Henniker Highway Department garage, which wasn’t outfitted with a sprinkler system, and several town vehicles were destroyed in that fire, with damage estimated to be about $1 million.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Boiling Springs, SC – Sprinkler system limits spread of restaurant fire

Fire crews responded to fire at Copper River restaurant on Boiling Springs Road, Friday morning.  The North Spartanburg Fire Department also arrived on to scene and they say the sprinkler system prevented the spread of the fire.

When crews arrived they noticed the fire inside the kitchen-hood system, according to the Boiling Springs Fire Department. The restaurant was not heavily damaged; there was a moderate amount of smoke and water damage, according to fire officials.

Fire crews say the employees had just closed up for the night before the fire was reported and no one was injured.  Copper River says they do not expect to be open Friday until dinner time.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Langley, BC, Canada – Fire in dorm at Trinity Western University stopped by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system installed in the dorms at Trinity Western University a few years ago is being credited for stopping a fire from spreading last Wednesday morning. Township firefighters were called out to one of the dormitories on campus, after a couch erupted in flames around 7:30 a.m.

The couch was in one of the common areas and so far, fire investigators don’t know what caused it to catch on fire. “It’s still under investigation,” said Assistant Fire Chief Pat Walker. The sprinklers put out the fire as firefighters arrived.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Sarasota, FL – Fire at Lido Beach Holiday Inn controlled with help from sprinkler system

Daniel Sperry was walking along Lido Beach Tuesday morning when he heard a “bang” and turned around to see smoke billowing from a sixth floor room at the Holiday Inn on Ben Franklin Drive.  Sarasota County fire officials said they couldn’t determine the cause of the fire – the state fire marshall will investigate – but no injuries were reported.

Sarsota County Fire Dept. Capt. Jerry Jensen said the department had the fire out in nine minutes.  “The initial stop was done by the sprinkler system within the building itself. Our crews were in there quickly and finished off the work the sprinkler system did start. So we had the fire out rather quickly.”

Power was initially out on the sixth floor but was later restored. Three rooms were vacated on the sixth floor. The Fire Department reported minor smoke damage to the hallway.

A hotel employee said there was a meeting for the International Association of Police Chiefs on the seventh floor of the building above the reported explosion. Members of the association were seen exiting the hotel with other residents during the initial evacuation.

Department Store, Retail

Glen Burnie, MD – Fire at Toys ‘R’ Us impeded by sprinkler system

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Las Cruces, NM – Sprinklers keep fire in check at manufacturing facility

Firefighters were dispatched just after 10:00 a.m. to Alaska Structures located in the 300-block of Rea Boulevard. Calls to 911 reported a fire inside the large manufacturing facility.

The first arriving fire unit reported heavy smoke coming from the building and an active fire in an oven used for molding plastics. Firefighters were able to attack the fire and quickly extinguish it within minutes. The fire crews contained the blaze to the oven and minimized damage to the building’s interior. Investigators also credit the facilities sprinkler system for keeping the fire in check prior to the arrival of the fire department.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Mountain Grove, MO – Fire sprinkler system saves small business from further fire damage

The Mountain Grove Fire Dept. responded to a fire at 3-G Processing on the south side of the city. The fire was reported about 10 a.m. at the business on Industrial Park Drive. The company makes animal feed and products for biodiesel.

At first, firefighters didn’t think they were fighting a big fire, but were hampered when the fire moved to the ceilings and interior walls of the building. Mountain Grove’s fire chief says the company’s sprinkler system may have saved the building. Nobody was hurt.

By noon, fire crews were cleaning up and leaving the scene. Last October, another fire damaged a building at nearby Grisham Farms, which is a sister company to 3-G.