Other Business, Place of Worship Church Hill, TN – Sprinkler system extinguishes arson fire at Baptist church March 26, 2016 viking210 Six thousand dollars in reward money is being offered by the First Baptist Church of Church Hill ($5,000) and the Church Hill Police Department ($1,000) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for an early Wednesday burglary and fire at the First Baptist Church of Church Hill on East Main Boulevard. The church sustained fire, smoke and water damage early Wednesday apparently after burglars started two fires in the sanctuary. On Wednesday afternoon, Church Hill Police Chief Mark Johnson issued a news release on Wednesday afternoon about the incident in which he asked that anyone with knowledge of the crime call police. “On March 23rd at approximately 2:50 a.m., officers with the Church Hill Police Department responded to a fire alarm at the First Baptist Church of Church Hill located at 202 E. Main Blvd.,” Chief Johnson wrote in the news release. “Church Hill Officers observed flames inside the sanctuary. The Church Hill Fire Department was paged out and responded to the scene. The fire was quickly extinguished by a combination of the sprinkler system and responding firefighters. However, the church was heavily damaged by smoke and water from the sprinkler system.” The fire chief noted that by the time firefighters entered the church sanctuary, the church’s fire sprinklers had discharged, extinguishing the two fires in the altar area of the church. “We didn’t have to use any water to put out the fires,” Chief Wood said. “But the sanctuary was filled with smoke and we used fans to get as much of it out as possible.” Firefighters quickly determined that the two sanctuary fires had been intentionally set, Chief Wood said. He noted that the fires remain under investigation by the Church Hill Police Department. A police spokesperson said this morning that a report about the fire was not yet on file and that Police Chief Mark Johnson was not available for comment. The police chief noted in the news release that a CHPD investigation revealed that someone (likely more than one) gained entry to the church by an unknown means. “There is a possibility that the suspect(s) had access to one or more keys to the church,” Chief Johnson wrote. However they entered the church, the suspect(s) committed petty vandalism by pouring toilet bowl cleaner onto the floor, the chief noted in news release. The suspect(s) also committed theft by removing multiple miscellaneous items from the locked music room, then placing the items in a pile outside (the church) before abandoning them, the chief wrote. “The suspect(s) deliberately set two fires near the stage/altar,” Chief Johnson wrote. “One in the middle. The other on the left side on the steps leading to the altar. we are estimating the fire, smoke, and water damage will end up exceeding a million dollars. We are excluding no one as a suspect, however, this may have crime may have been committed by young people.” The chief also noted that Church Hill police are in possession of items the suspect(s) handled and will be forwarding them to the TBI crime lab with a request to detect latent fingerprints. “We have also made a request to obtain video footage of a nearby business with surveillance equipment,” Chief Johnson wrote. The chief noted that First Baptist Church of Church Hill is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the damage while the Church Hill Police Department is offering a separate $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible. “I am asking anyone with any information on this despicable crime to contact us immediately by calling (423) 357-7181 or (423) 357-3487,” Chief Johnson wrote.
Apartment Building, Residential Moncton, NB, Canada – Sprinklers keep overnight kitchen fire from spreading at high-rise apartment building; No injuries March 25, 2016 viking210 About 100 people were displaced from their apartments in a Moncton building overnight after a relatively minor fire in the kitchen area of one unit on Tuesday at around midnight. The fire in one unit of six-storey building triggered the sprinkler system in the building to go off and smoke spread to other units. “There was a small grease fire on the stovetop on one of the apartment units on the third floor,” said fire prevention officer Steve Richardson. “There was minimal damage from the fire and smoke but the heat activated three sprinkler heads. So there was heavy water damage to the apartment and the two floors below the fire floor. “It extinguished the fire really quickly but until the crews were able to get there and plug those sprinkler heads, there was a lot of water that ran through the building and the floors below from where the fire was.” Michael R. LeBlanc, who lives in the building, said the events were “a little foggy for me.” “I have health issues, so it takes a while to get going. It took me a while to put warm clothes on.” LeBlanc said he saw water on some floors, but none on his, so he went back to bed. At 4 a.m he was awakened by a firefighter in his bedroom. “I was quite startled by that. He told that you have to pack up,” he said. Red Cross found lodging, food for 60 people The 50-unit Belmar Plaza building at 460 Mountain Rd. is owned by Killam Properties, which was able to provide furnished apartments in some of its other Moncton properties for the tenants of five units. The Canadian Red Cross arranged for hotel lodging and food for 51 adults and nine children from 23 units. Five of the apartments in the building were vacant at the time of the fire. All other tenants made their own arrangements for temporary places to stay. Most residents were able to retrieve clothing and personal items before leaving. All residents were allowed back into their apartments on Wednesday, with the exception of those living in the unit where the fire happened. There were no injuries reported.
Other - Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Lexington, KY – Fire at wood truss manufacturer controlled by sprinkler system March 25, 2016 viking210 Lexington firefighters believe dry conditions may have contributed to the quick spread of a fire Tuesday night that damaged the Bluegrass Truss Co building on Lima Drive. The fire department got a call from the building’s alarm company about 6:20 p.m. about smoke alarms going off, Battalion Chief Mark Harvey said. One person was in the building and called to confirm there was a fire when he saw the warehouse was filling with smoke. Harvey said the fire likely started in a container for discarded cigarettes. The fire was ruled as an accident. The flames spread quickly up a side wall and into the roof and trusses, Harvey said. The sprinkler system helped keep the fire under control until firefighters arrived. The building was damaged, but it would probably be able to be repaired quickly, Harvey said. Wind and dry conditions have led to a city-wide burn ban that will continue into Wednesday. Harvey said those conditions may have led to the quick spread of the fire on Lima Drive. The fire department responded to several mulch fires throughout the day Tuesday that were also thought to be a result of dry conditions.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant South Bend, IN – Fire at metal finishing business extinguished by sprinkler system March 25, 2016 viking210 The South Bend Fire Department was called to a fire at Pioneer Metal Finishing on Foundation Drive just before 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. When firefighters arrived, they could see smoke inside the building through the windows. They forced their way into the building and discovered the fire had been put out by the building’s sprinkler system. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Oak Ridge, TN – Fire in air conditioning unit at Comfort Inn suppressed by sprinkler system March 23, 2016 viking210 An Oak Ridge hotel that was shuttered after a fire prompted the evacuation of all guests early Saturday morning is expected to reopen either late Monday or early Tuesday, Oak Ridge Fire Marshal Travis Solomon said. The five-story, 112-room Comfort Inn at the corner of Rutgers and Illinois avenues was about 90 percent occupied, mostly with students participating in rowing practice and with off-road enthusiasts, when the fire was reported shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday. The blaze was in an air-conditioning unit at one end of the fourth floor, Solomon said, and the fire department is still trying to determine what ignited the blaze. The hotel’s sprinkler system was activated by the blaze and helped suppress it, he said. “That shows that sprinkler systems, they not only save property, they save lives. It could have been a lot worse.” The fourth-floor hallway was filled with thick black smoke, and firefighters had to assist people disoriented by it and help them down the stairwell, Solomon said. Three people were initially missing during the evacuation, and hotel staff “did a fantastic job determining who was missing and needed to be found.” All were located. One person was evaluated for possible smoke inhalation but didn’t require medical attention. Solomon said hotel personnel found other hotels for the guests. Thirteen firefighters and seven firetrucks responded. The fire department is inspecting the hotel’s fire alarm and sprinkler system, Solomon said.
Apartment Building, Residential Aliquippa, PA – Sprinkler system activates to help control overnight apartment fire March 23, 2016 viking210 A fire inside an Aliquippa apartment building early Saturday morning displaced 40 residents. The Aliquippa Fire Department said the fire broke out inside the Eleanor Roosevelt Apartments on Sheffield Avenue shortly before 2 a.m. Officials said the fire started inside a kitchen on the eighth floor. Fire officials said there were no injuries, but 40 people were displaced because of water damage caused by the sprinkler system. The Red Cross said it is providing lodging for 23 of the building’s residents.
Residential, Single Family Home Napa, CA – Residential sprinkler system suppresses garage fire; No injuries reported March 22, 2016 viking210 A smoke alarm and sprinkler system helped to snuff out a fire that broke out in a north Napa home Saturday night, according to firefighters. Napa Fire was sent to the 2000 block of Trower Avenue at 11:15 p.m. after reports that a garage was on fire, Capt. Ty Becerra reported. The first of three fire units to arrive at the home saw light smoke coming from the garage, and firefighters found an ashtray inside the garage that had ignited combustible chemicals, according to Becerra. The homeowner, who had been in the garage that evening before going to bed, was awakened by a smoke alarm, took his wife and an infant outside and called 911. As firefighters were arriving, a sprinkler head activated in the garage and suppressed the flames, Becerra said. Fire crews stayed for about 45 minutes to help the homeowner clear out the remaining combustibles and control the sprinkler flow, according to Becerra. No injuries to the family or firefighters were reported. A damage estimate was not immediately available, but Becerra said damage appeared to be limited to items inside the garage.
Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing Brantford, ON, Canada – Overnight foundry fire contained with help from sprinkler system March 13, 2016 viking210 Brantford Fire Department Platoon Chief Herb Van Der Made said at 1:25 a.m. firefighters from station 4 were called to the McLean Foundry at 247 Colborne St. W., where they could see smoke coming from the roof. A 911 call had come in from the foundry’s fire alarm company. Van Der Made said the fire appears to have started in the older section of the foundry, which was built in the 1930s. “We were met with a lot of heavy smoke going in, so we had to retreat,” he said. The firefighters found another way in, through a rear bay door, where they proceeded to extinguish “a really intense” fire over the following two hours. Holes were punched in the steel roof of the building’s younger section for ventilation, enabling aerial truck 9 to attack the fire from above. Van Der Made said a sprinkler system helped get the fire under control. Part of the building’s back roof fell due the fire damage. No one was working in the foundry overnight, and no one was hurt fighting the fire, according to Van Der Made. The business owners showed up and helped firefighters to access the building. Brantford police closed Colborne Street West from Shellard Lane to Lyndsay Street until at least 7 a.m.
Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Tulsa, OK – Overnight fire at senior apartment complex is limited by sprinkler system March 9, 2016 viking210 The fire was reported around 2:30 a.m. at Inverness Village near 3800 W. 71st St. A couple woke up to their balcony on fire. The husband pulled the fire alarm and the couple ran outside to safety. Firefighters with the Sapulpa Fire Department showed up to see several residents outside. According to firefighters, the sprinkler system helped contain the fire until crews were able to put it out completely. Everyone who evacuated is back inside their apartments. Three people were put in module units until their apartments are repaired.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Waldorf, MD – Overnight fire at Marriott Courtyard hotel put out by sprinkler system; No injuries March 7, 2016 viking210 A small fire caused an estimated $10,000 in damages to the interior of the Courtyard by Marriott in Waldorf around 2:03 a.m. today. The 3 story hotel is located at 3145 Crain Highway, Waldorf. A hotel employee was alerted by the fire alarm. The sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire. The one alarm fire involved 40 firefighters from the Waldorf VFD and took approximately 5 minutes to bring under control. There were no injuries or deaths.
