Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Apartment Building, Other - School / University, Residential

State College, PA – Late night fire at off-campus student apartments halted by sprinkler system

Some local college students narrowly avoided a disaster when their apartment building almost went up in flames.  A blaze broke out just after 11:30 Wednesday night in building Q at the Lion’s crossing apartments on Viaro Boulevard in State College.

Officials tell us a resident was heating oil on the stove when it caught fire and he then tried to extinguish it by throwing water on it. Crews are crediting the sprinkler system for activating and stopping the fire from spreading.

Shawn Kauffman, Assistant Alpha Fire Company Chief said, “In these types of residential buildings, the apartments are occupied by students and if there hadn’t been sprinklers it would have devastated their finals week.”

All residents were evacuated while the crews were on scene and they were allowed to return about 40 minutes after the fire broke out.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Delray Beach, FL – Kitchen fire at assisted living facility quickly contained by sprinkler system

Two floors of an assisted living facility in suburban Delray Beach were evacuated Monday night when a small fire started in the kitchen of an apartment, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue reports.

The fire started just before 9:15 p.m. in the 14000 block of Sims Road at Grand Villa of Delray Beach, north of Atlantic Avenue and west of Military Trail.

The building’s fire alarm and sprinkler system were activated and crews were quickly able to get the fire under control, said Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Fire Rescue. The first and second floors of the facility were evacuated as a precaution.

There was no fire extension into any of the other units, Borroto said.  At 10:30 p.m., the building was being ventilated and residents from the second floor were allowed back into their homes.  It was not known how many residents from the first floor remained displaced late Monday.

 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rowesville, SC – Sprinkler system aids firefighters in challenging industrial fire

North American Container is cleaning up after a blaze early Saturday morning.  The Rowesville Fire Department responded to the Garland Road facility at about 2:30 a.m. following the report of an explosion, Orangeburg County Chief Fire Operations Officer Teddy Wolfe said.

The first units reported heavy fire near an exterior wall of a building at the facility.  The facility had a working sprinkler system that activated and was able to hold the fire at bay until firefighters were able to assemble for an interior fire attack, Wolfe said.

LP gas cylinders near the fire exploded, leading to structural damage near the source from both the explosions and heat. The large amount of stacked wood products created a challenge for firefighters during salvage and overhaul, Wolfe said.

More than 35 firefighters responded in all. Wolfe said one person received a very minor injury after the initial attack. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

North American Container Corp. employs 400 people in the manufacture of bulk shipping containers.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

North East, MD – High school has second sprinkler save in six weeks; Dryer fire extinguished

A commercial dryer caught fire in a Rising Sun High School laundry room on Wednesday night, sending dozens of firefighters and several pieces of equipment to the scene, according to school officials.  The small fire in the malfunctioning dryer was quickly extinguished by a sprinkler head above the appliance, school officials said, adding that it also activated a smoke alarm. The fire call occurred about 9 p.m.

The school was open on Thursday for a regular schedule, thanks to cleanup and ventilation efforts.  There was no fire or water damage to the school at 100 Tiger Drive, off Route 272, in Calvert, school officials said. The sprinkler, however, did leave water on the hallway floor near the laundry room, which is located at the north end of the building.

Firefighters were sweeping that standing water out a back door on Wednesday night. They also were running industrial fans to ventilate the smoke inside the building.  A Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office investigator arrived late Wednesday night and started an investigation to determine how the dryer fire started.

The dryer fire on Wednesday night has no connection to an electrical system fire in March, which was also contained by the school’s automatic sprinkler system.

(BLOG NOTE: Media report incorrectly stated that smoke caused the sprinkler to activate. Sprinklers are heat activated. Only the intense heat from a potentially damaging and deadly fire can cause this type of sprinkler system to operate)

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Suffolk, VA – Overnight fire at Hilton Garden Inn extinguished by sprinkler system

Officials had to evacuate the Hilton Garden Inn on Harbour View Boulevard after a fire broke out at the hotel overnight.  Suffolk Fire & Rescue and Suffolk Police responded to the hotel in the 5900 block of Harbour View Boulevard, shortly after 2 a.m. Friday.

When firefighters arrived, the building had already been evacuated and the sprinkler system had extinguished the flames.  Officials say the fire started in the kitchen and the guest lobby was filled with smoke. However, there was no structural damage. There were no injuries and all guests on the first floor were relocated.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Montreal, QC, Canada – Sprinklers put out suspicious overnight fire at glass manufacturer

Montreal police are investigating a suspicious fire that happened in Anjou overnight.

Officers discovered the fire after they responded to a burglar alarm shortly after midnight at a glass manufacturer.

Firefighters were called to the scene at Industries Cover Inc., located on Ray Lawson Boulevard, just north of Jarry Street East. 

The fire was quickly put out by the automatic sprinkler system.

The damage was minimal.

Apartment Building, Residential

Richmond, VA – Cooking fire quickly doused by sprinklers at Shockoe Bottom apartment building

The Atrium Lofts at Cold Storage, located at 500 North 18th Street, was evacuated around 2 a.m. after a small fire started in an apartment on the 5th floor, according to Richmond firefighters. As soon as the fire started,  the sprinkler system kicked-in and put the fire out.

Everyone was allowed back into their apartments by 5:30 a.m. No one was hurt in the fire and no serious damage was reported.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Wapakoneta, OH – Sprinklers assist firefighters in dousing overnight fire at Koneta rubber plant

Operations shut down temporarily at the Koneta rubber plant Tuesday night after a fire forced an evacuation and caused damages.

Wapakoneta Fire Chief Kendall Krites.Second shift workers noticed flames on the ceiling, which is estimated 35 to 40 feet high, above where the presses run in the process of making mud flaps and other rubber products, Krites said. Ignited material dropped onto the floor and caught some of the product on fire, Krites said.  About eight workers had to evacuate the building.

Fire crews arrived and the building’s sprinkler system started to work to put out flames. Krites said dousing the flames created extremely smoky conditions, which created difficult conditions for the firefighters. Krites expected damage assessment and cleanup will take the rest of the week. Mutual aid was provided from Buckland and Uniopolis.  There were no injuries

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Fort Myers, FL – Storage room fire at Crestwood Suites hotel contained by sprinkler system

A small fire in a storage room at the Crestwood Suites hotel forced dozens of people to evacuate overnight. That’s located off U.S. 41 just north of Gladiolous Drive.

Apartment Building, Residential

Salina, KS – Loft apartment fire brought under control with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters had a fire that started in a loft apartment above Laura’s Antiques in the 100 block of South Santa Fe Avenue in downtown Salina under control within about 40 minutes Tuesday night, said Salina Fire Marshal Roger Williams.

Williams said the fire was initially seen in a patio area of the loft apartment above Laura’s Antiques, 109 S. Santa Fe. He said it might have spread into the loft apartment above That 1 Bar, 111 S. Santa Fe, which is protected by an automatic sprinkler system. “It (the sprinkler system) did activate, and that definitely helped our operation,” Williams said.

Williams said there were no people in either loft apartment, and a small number of people in the bar were safely evacuated. There was smoke visible at the scene, but no flames.

The loft above Laura’s Antiques was being renovated. During that work in early March, some plaster was removed from what had been the exterior wall of 111 S. Santa Fe to reveal a sign painted on the wall from Salina’s earliest days.

The black-and-white sign was for “G. Sauer, Boots and Shoes,” a company that opened in 1870 and had closed by 1885. About 20,000 pounds of plaster was removed from the walls during renovation.