Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse Austin, TX – Fire in 18-wheeler extends into warehouse; Sprinklers extinguish blaze April 23, 2016 viking210 A fire that began in an 18-wheeler and spread to a warehouse in southeast Austin late Thursday night has caused about $100,000 worth of damage. Crews with the Austin Fire Department responded around 11:30 p.m. to the fire that started in the 18-wheeler full of cardboard on Freidrich Lane. Officials said the fire extended to a nearby warehouse, but a sprinkler system quickly put out the flames. Crews were able to put out the fire inside the 18-wheeler shortly after arriving at the scene. No injuries were reported in the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Houston, TX – Fire at assisted living center extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries April 21, 2016 viking210 Residents at an assisted-living facility were evacuated Tuesday night when fire damaged portions of the building in southeast Houston. The fire broke out about 9 p.m. at the Paul Chase Commons in the 16400 block of Moon Rock Drive, said District Chief Tim Lockwood of the Houston Fire Department. Lockwood said the 26-room, two-story facility was evacuated after fire was sparked in one of the rooms. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, with the help of the facility’s sprinkler system. No injuries were reported. The fire, Lockwood said, appeared to begin in the unit’s air conditioner. Six to eight units were damaged, and smoke billowed throughout the building. After the smoke was cleared and firefighters determined the facility was safe, residents were allowed back inside. Those living in the damaged units were relocated. The fire remained under investigation.
Apartment Building, Residential Richmond, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system knocks down apartment fire possibly caused by Molotov cocktail April 20, 2016 viking210 Richmond RCMP is investigating a suspicious fire late on Sunday evening in City Centre which is thought to have displaced up to eight families. Shortly after 11 p.m. the Mounties were called to the 5800 block of No. 3 Road to assist Richmond Fire-Rescue with a fire on the sixth floor of an apartment building. Fire crews had arrived earlier to find heavy smoke coming from the sixth floor. The Richmond News understands a Molotov device had been thrown on the floor and the fire was knocked down by the sprinkler system. Residents of the apartment claim this is the second time in a week that the building has been targeted, adding that a smoke bomb was let off and offensive graffiti was found. However, according to the RCMP, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but is being treated as suspicious. “We are greatly relieved no one was injured,” said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang. “We are currently reviewing surveillance footage and conducting interviews with witnesses. “One of our specially trained fire investigators is working with our counterparts from Richmond Fire-Rescue.” Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Cpl. Kevin Lin immediately at 604-278-1212. To leave a tip, email Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). No injuries were reported, but several families were unable to return to their homes due to water damage.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University West Palm Beach, FL – Fire at high school is kept from spreading by sprinkler system; Fire started in an appliance April 19, 2016 viking210 A “small” fire at Forest Hill High School Sunday night triggered the sprinkler system and prompted West Palm Beach Fire Department to dispatch crews to the campus. In the end, some classrooms in one building suffered water damage, according to a call that went to parents this morning. Classes will be shuffled to other rooms on the West Palm Beach campus, but school will continue as scheduled. According to the call, a water mitigation company began the clean up work at midnight and will be there for the coming days. Sounds like the school’s band, chorus and drama classes will be feeling the pinch. The call reports that band and chorus classes will meet instead in the school auditorium. “Drama will be located in our lobby.” Imagining that’s a reference to the class. Update: Principal Mary Stratos says that it appears an appliance was the source of the fire that happened Sunday night. That small fire triggered the school’s sprinkler system and also brought out the fire department – and this morning she is singing their praises. “What an unbelievable group,” Stratos said. “They went far and beyond.” Authorities aren’t sure how or why the appliance caught fire (no detail yet on which appliance, but think coffee machine, microwave or such), but they are reviewing school video for clues, Stratos said. Most of the damage is water damage that is in a couple of rooms including the band room, where a wall must be removed. Mitigation crews had removed the water by Monday morning, but the smell of smoke and burned plastic still hung in the air, prompted Stratos to close the building for now and relocate classes. “We’ve put in new charcoal filters and air cleaners, so I just have to wait for those things to do what they’re supposed to do,” Stratos said. Meanwhile, the school schedule is moving forward including students taking the computer-based Florida Standards Assessments for Engli
Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Eugene, OR – Fire at Weyerhaeuser lumber products plant contained by sprinkler system April 15, 2016 viking210 A fire that caused minor damage to a Weyerhaeuser plant Saturday night in west Eugene started accidentally, officials said Monday. Eugene Springfield fire investigators say the blaze at the plant on North Bertelsen Road sparked in a piece of normally operating equipment. The fire was contained by the plant’s sprinkler system and later extinguished by firefighters. The fire was reported at 10:39 p.m. A number of the plant’s employees were evacuated, but no injuries were reported, fire officials said. A Weyerhaeuser spokesman said Sunday that crews were making repairs but that the fire did not cause long-term damage to the plant, which is expected to reopen in the near future. The plant employs about 170 workers, the company spokesman said. Lumber products including joists and beams are made at the west Eugene plant
Other - Retail, Retail Las Vegas, NV – Sprinklers keep pawn store fire that started on roof from spreading inside April 14, 2016 viking210 A Super Pawn caught fire Monday night. The fire was reported around 10 p.m. in the 5900 block of West Lake Mead Boulevard, near Jones Boulevard. When firefighters arrived, there was a fire on the roof and smoke inside the building. The sprinkler system inside was preventing the fire was spreading further. There were no reports of injuries. The cause is under investigation.
Apartment Building, Residential Roseburg, OR – Wheelchair-bound resident OK after sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire April 12, 2016 viking210 Around midnight on April 8, the Roseburg Fire Department was dispatched to a fire in apartment #204 in the Grand Apartments at 730 SE Cass Ave. Fire officials say it was contained to the studio apartment and extinguished by the building’s automatic fire sprinkler system. The wheelchair-bound resident was found sitting on the floor when firefighters entered the room, the report said. He was evaluated for smoke inhalation and transported to Mercy Medical Center where he was released later Friday morning. Investigators say the fire was most likely caused by the apartment’s 60-year-old resident, who discarded a cigarette in a paper-filled trash can near a kitchen cabinet. The building’s automatic sprinkler system activated within three minutes, extinguishing the flames, which had begun climbing to the ceiling of the apartment.
Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise Windsor, ON, Canada – Fire at senior high-rise apartment building controlled by sprinkler system April 9, 2016 viking210 Fire broke out late Wednesday night in a unit in a high-rise apartment building across from Coventry Gardens in Windsor. John Lee, with Windsor Fire and Rescue, says no one was injured. “We got a call about 10:15 p.m. to the Amica building. It is a vulnerable occupancy [building]. It’s a nursing [and] rest home, senior’s living. There was a fire on the second floor in one of the units. The sprinkler system activated. The resident got out safely,” he said. Windsor Fire and Rescue says because the sprinklers activated and kept the fire under control. An investigator will look into what started the fire on Riverside Drive, near Pillette Road.
Other - Retail, Retail Auburn, AL – Overnight fire at retail store contained by sprinkler system April 7, 2016 viking210 A fire early Saturday night at Kinnucan’s on Donahue Drive has temporarily closed the Auburn location as store personnel work to assess damage. According to Auburn Fire Division Chief John Lankford, Kinnucan’s suffered a “small fire” Saturday around 2 a.m. “When we arrived on scene, smoke and flames were visible on the College Street side of the complex,” Lankford said. “The fire was contained near the origin because the building’s sprinkler system activated. There was very little fire damage, but the water from the sprinkler got some of the merchandise wet. The fire originated near the sign that was mounted on the wall, and the fire cause is still under investigation.” Kinnucan’s president and CEO Bobby Lake said he estimates the Auburn store will be closed about two to four weeks. “We did have a small fire in the attic area of the store, which the fire department did an incredible job getting put out rather quickly,” Lake said. “Unfortunately with fire comes a lot of water and a lot of smoke, so that’s the problem we’re dealing with now.” Lake added that the volume of merchandise affected by the fire will prove a bigger problem than cleanup and building repairs. “The most difficult will be the loss of the product in the store because even though the fire didn’t get to it, the smoke and the water in some cases did, so most of the stuff we carry, you can’t necessarily order in time,” Lake said. “It’s seasonal, so a lot of the spring products had come in, and so the opportunity to replace it, we’re just going to have to see what that is.” Kinnucan’s has moved its annual A-Day player signing scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday to its Tiger Town store in Opelika. Auburn players Cassanova McKinzy, Ricardo Louis, Shon Coleman and Peyton Barber will be signing autographs and interacting with the public. The event is free to the public and will also feature food and inflatables. “We’re open in Tiger Town, and thankfully it (the fire) happened in the middle of the night, so nobody got hurt and again, what a great job the fire department did at getting the fire put out quickly,” Lake said.
Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Smithers, BC, Canada – Arson fire at sawmill controlled by sprinkler system April 7, 2016 viking210 A 49-year-old man is reportedly in police custody, in connection with two fires at the Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers. RCMP and the Smithers Fire Department were called to the mill shortly after 10pm last night. Fire chief Keith Stecko says mill employees activated fire supression systems quickly. “PIR has a sprinkler system in its building so the system quickly detected the fire and was able to control it; when we arrived we put out some spot fires, but the sprinklers largely did the work,” he said. Stecko says it appears some sort of accelerant was used — and there was considerable damage. “We’re estimating between $50,000 to perhaps $100,000; we are currently investigating what was used to start the fire, so we’re not sure at this point what it was,” he said.
