Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Residential, Single Family Home

Riverside, CA – Early morning house fire isolated to garage by sprinkler system; Family escapes unharmed

The garage of a two-story Riverside home ignited Wednesday morning, March 22.  Riverside firefighters responded to the 9400 block of Newbridge Road about 4:25 a.m. to a smoking garage, according to a news release from the Fire Department.  The home’s sprinkler system kept the fire isolated in the garage, the release said, and firefighters put out the flames. Crews then worked to remove water from the home.  The family of four inside the home made it out safely. Nobody was injured, the release said.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Greenville, DE – Overnight jewelry store fire controlled by sprinkler system

A building fire that caused about $100,000 in damages to the Jewelry Exchange of Delaware in Greenville was deemed accidental, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  The fire, which happened around 2:30 a.m. at the Greenville Crossing II Shopping Center on Kennett Pike, prompted the response of the Talleyville Fire Company, said Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio. Investigators determined that the fire started in the back of the store when an electrical malfunction involving a refrigerator sparked the blaze, Chionchio said.  The automatic sprinkler system that contained the fire until firefighters arrived, he said. No one was hurt.

Uncategorized

Raleigh, NC – Fire sprinklers save multiple buildings near construction site fire

Last Friday’s construction site fire in Raleigh, NC was a devastating incident for the City of Raleigh and all those impacted. News outlets and social media gave us all a first glimpse of the devastation, but we also observed the success stories in the properties saved because of firefighters and fire sprinklers. Buildings adjacent to the burning structure were saved by fire sprinkler systems that operated when glass windows failed from the heat of the fire exposure.  Were it not for fire sprinklers reacting fast and firefighters following up, the fire could easily have spread into several adjacent structures.

Among the nearby businesses that were saved was the office of the North Carolina State Firefighters’ Association (NCSFA). “Fire sprinklers saved our building and our office contents. Without them, we would have lost everything” shared Tim Bradley, NCSFA Executive Director. “Some of our stuff got wet, but it’s still there and will dry out.”  Because fire sprinklers are individually activated by intense heat, the only sprinklers that operated were near windows that failed from the heat of the nearby fire.  In other areas, where sprinklers weren’t needed, the contents remained dry.

Shane Ray, President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), former fire chief and state fire marshal added “Had it not been for the fire sprinklers in adjacent buildings, many more firefighters would have been in harm’s way trying to save those buildings. Fire sprinklers minimized property damage, saved the property tax rolls, ensured sales tax continues, and saved many jobs at businesses that might otherwise have been destroyed.”

Although the building under construction that caught fire was required to have fire sprinklers, the sprinkler system wasn’t completed or operational at the time of the fire. Shane Ray added that had the fire occurred after the building was complete, a fire would have been a non-event. Fire sprinklers would have operated when the fire was small, and the fire would have been controlled and contained to the area of origin until the fire department arrived and completed extinguishment and salvage of the remaining property.

For more information about the NFSA or to comment, visit www.nfsa.org. We provide resources to the fire service, building safety professionals, policy makers and citizens. Also visit www.highriselifesafety.com to see a whiteboard animation demonstrating the value of fire sprinklers and how they work.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Ventura, CA – Sprinkler system holds flames in check after vehicle crashes into building and starts fire

Rescuers responded to a building that caught fire in Ventura early Friday after a vehicle crashed into it.

Firefighters received a report at 1:11 a.m. that a truck had slammed into and gone inside a two-story building in the 5700 block of Moon Drive, just north of Highway 101 and about a block west of South Victoria Avenue. The vehicle and the building both apparently caught fire.

Crews at the scene discovered one victim and requested an ambulance.

One man was taken to a local trauma center at 1:35 a.m. for injuries, just as the vehicle fire was reported knocked down. The structure fire was being held in check by a sprinkler system, firefighters said.

Officials said the fire was controlled within 23 minutes of firefighters arrival and put out an hour later.

Two other victims apparently left the scene, authorities reported to dispatchers.

In addition to Ventura City Fire, firefighters from Ventura County, Oxnard and Santa Paula fire departments as well as Ventura police also responded.

Other - Retail, Retail

Lubbock, TX – Sprinkler system halts fire at Holland Gardens store

Lubbock Fire Rescue was called to the scene at Holland Gardens in Lubbock around 9:30 p.m., responding to a report of smoke at the building.

Fire officials tell us there was a small fire that was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. There was heavy smoke inside the Holland Gardens building and light smoke inside Tarpley Music next door.

Fire officials are working to determine the cause of the fire.

Other Business

Barrie, ON, Canada – Fire at UPS facility extinguished by single sprinkler

A single sprinkler did the trick, putting out a fire that started in a delivery truck inside the UPS building on Welham Road in Barrie, around four this morning. The fire department was called after employees failed to extinguish the flames.  By the time fire crews got there, the sprinkler had done its job, preventing what could have been a much larger blaze.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Montville, CT – Overnight fire at packaging manufacturer limited by sprinkler system

An overnight fire at Rand-Whitney Containerboard caused minimal damage and no injuries despite extreme cold, according to Fire Marshal Ray Occhialini.  Occhialini said firefighters were called to the 370 Route 163 company about 1 a.m. after a machine that rolls and cuts the company’s cardboard liner paper malfunctioned, causing the paper to tangle and catch fire.

Occhialini said sprinklers in the building, which he described as the complex’s newer, paper machine building, held the fire “in check” until crews arrived to put it out completely.  He estimated firefighters spent about two hours working inside the building and then another hour or so cleaning up ice-laden equipment and spreading ice melt around the area.

“It was a cold night,” Occhialini said.  No firefighters or employees were injured. Rand-Whitney already has arranged for a company to replace sprinkler heads and has begun replacing electrical components damaged by flames or water, Occhialini said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Concord, NH – Fire at 167 year old farmhouse controlled with help from sprinkler system

Concord firefighters envisioned the call before it became reality, imagining what it would be like to have to put out a fire at the massive 1850 farmhouse – converted into apartments – at 4 Garvins Falls Road.

“I think somebody told me last night,” fire Chief Dan Andrus said, “this is the building you drive by and you go, ‘I hope I’m not on duty the night that comes in.’ ”

The chief added: “This building is 167 years old. It’s a lot of very old and dry timber.”

Just before midnight Sunday, the imagined call happened. Residents of the Farmhouse Apartments smelled smoke, and within five minutes, 19 Concord firefighters were on the scene.

Then, almost immediately, they rang a second alarm, beckoning crews from seven towns and bringing the total to 40 firefighters.

Investigators determined Monday that the fire was “caused by the improper disposal of smoking materials, which fell through cracks into the building’s basement where it ignited dry leaves and other combustibles.”

That meant that the flames crept through the gaps in the walls, “which gives fire a good avenue to move through a building, sometimes undetected,” Andrus said.

In the dark of night, when temperatures plunged as low as 10 degrees, firefighters tore into the walls to ensure the flames would have no escape. This environment – coupled with the hazard of the old building – necessitated backup from surrounding towns to relieve the responders who were exhausted from heavy physical labor, the chief said.

“It’s difficult to sustain hard work in temperature extremes,” Andrus said.

But relative to the size of the building, which stretches roughly 200 feet end to end, according to city assessing records, the fire was contained to a small portion.

Deputy Fire Chief Sean Toomey credited the aggressive response and the building’s sprinkler system with averting “a potentially catastrophic fire.”

“Sprinklers don’t cover all of the spaces in a building,” Toomey said. “In this case, it took a considerable amount of effort to stop the fire from spreading through the voids and save the building.”

No one was injured, the chief said, but the fire caused “heavy damage to two units” of the complex, which has white clapboards and a green roof and is located behind the Dunkin’ Donuts on Manchester Street.

The Red Cross said it was assisting 23 adults and four children as a result of the fire. It was the second house fire in a week in the city that prompted assistance from the Red Cross.

“They met at the Red Cross Regional Headquarters in Concord, N.H., to stay warm while they were assisted,” the nonprofit wrote in a statement. “Local firefighters were on site to assist as well.”

The building – assessed at $775,000 – has been owned by Farmhouse Apartments LLC since 2008, according to city assessing records.

A man who answered a phone associated with the company’s owner, Matthew LoGuidice, said he wouldn’t be available to speak about the incident.

“I’ve got nothing to tell you at this time,” said the man, who also said he was not LoGuidice.

The Red Cross didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking more information on the displaced residents.

 

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Aurora, IL (No Media Coverage) – Kitchen fire at restaurant fully extinguished by one sprinkler head

FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED – NO MEDIA COVERAGE *** At 3:12 a.m. on 3-9-17 the Aurora Fire Department responded to an activated fire alarm at 85 Executive Drive on the city’s far eastside.

Upon arrival firefighters found a restaurant/bar with the fire alarm activated and light smoke seen through the front windows. Upon making entry and upon investigation firefighters found that a small fire started on the cooking surface in the kitchen area which activated one sprinkler head that fully extinguished the fire.

A total of 10 firefighters were on scene and there were no injuries to civilians or firefighters.

The total estimated dollar loss is $10,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Victoria, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire as RCMP officers help residents evacuate

French fries are being blamed for an apartment fire on Peatt Road that sent four RCMP officers to hospital due to smoke inhalation.

A member of the West Shore RCMP was on patrol at 11:00 p.m. on Mar. 8 when he was flagged down by a pedestrian and advised of a fire at 2791 Peatt Rd. in Langford.

Police helped evacuate the smoke-filled building and the four injured officers were released from hospital after being administered oxygen.

Langford Fire responded with members from all three halls, including approximately 17 firefighters in total.

The fire, which originated in a third-floor suite, was contained by the building’s sprinkler system.

“They cause some water damage but in this case the fire would have been fairly significant if the sprinklers hadn’t contained the fire…some wet floors is a small price to pay,” said Assistant Chief Chris Aubrey, adding that only sprinklers in the vicinity of the fire went off, as is standard with modern systems.

Evacuated residents waited in a bus provided by BC Transit and were allowed back into their apartments approximately two hours later.

Only the occupants of the unit where the fire began and the unit directly below weren’t able to return to their suites that night.

The investigation into the cause of the fire revealed that it was accidental and  resulted from some oil catching fire while a resident was cooking french fries.