Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Sacramento, CA – Sprinkler system slows spread of fire that started in electric player piano

A fire that is believed to have begun in an electric player piano at a senior assisted living center in south Sacramento led to four residents being taken to the hospital.

The fire suppression sprinkler system slowed the spread of the small blaze, but smoke filled parts of the Regency Place assisted living center, 8190 Arroyo Vista Drive, about 1 a.m. Thursday. Residents had to be helped from the smoky center in the Valley Hi neighborhood.

“The fire stayed confined to the piano and the general area around it,” said Sacramento fire Capt. Dave Lauchner. “It was controlled by the fire sprinkler and extinguished by the first crews.”

The piano was in the front area of the assisted living center, Lauchner said.

“The main problem was not so much fire, but the smoke that filled the place up, including the hallways,” Lauchner said. “After putting out the fire, we had to get people out. I believe four went to the hospital. There were different injuries. All minor.”

Lauchner said the fire eventually went to two alarms to bring enough firefighters to help with building evacuation.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Oxnard, CA – Overnight fire at golf course clubhouse contained with help from sprinkler system

Thanks to the quick response of the Oxnard Fire Department and the help of fire units from the city of Ventura, Ventura County and Santa Paula, River Ridge Golf Course was spared any serious damage from a fire that broke out in the early morning hours last Thursday.

The fire, which was initially reported at 2:35 a.m., was located on the exterior portion of the west side of the clubhouse building which is on the opposite side of the pro shop.

Fire crews had the flames basically out by 3:12 a.m.

“We got lucky,” River Ridge General Manager Otto Kanny said. “The pictures looked pretty spectacular but we’re fine. We got a great response from the fire crews so the fire was contained on the west side exterior of the building.

“We had a lot of cleanup and patching up, tedious stuff like that and trying to get the stink out. But we got really lucky.”

When Kanny arrived that morning he said there were at least 20 firetrucks battling the blaze. It started on the farthest corner of the outside railing of the building and the flames worked their way up the pillars on the outside of the patio on that side of the building.

But thanks to the firewalls on the outside of the building, the sprinkler system and the quick work of the firefighters, the area the fire got into was minimized.

“The fire got within four feet of getting to the drapes in the banquet room,” Kanny said. “Had that happened, the fire would have climbed into the attic and that point we would have lost half of the clubhouse. We were very fortunate.”

The last of the fire crews left at 6 a.m. and Kanny said the first golfers started arriving at 6:30.

They had no power until 11 a.m., but Kanny said the pro shop staff and the rest of the River Ridge crew did yeoman’s work in making sure customers were taken care of and that golfers were able to play Thursday.

Because of the water used to put out the blaze, the banquet facility is not operational. As word got out about the fire, people in the golf business, such as Eric Burton at the city of Ventura and Saticoy Country Club general manager Phil Lopez called and offered any help they could provide.

“It was amazing to see the outreach from people in the community,” Kanny said. “With the help of others in the community we were able to hold all of the functions that were scheduled this weekend.”

Kanny said there is no word yet on what caused the fire and there is a good chance the exact cause will never be determined.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Ottumwa, IA – Fourth floor hotel fire held in check by sprinkler system

At approximately 12:15 a.m. Sunday morning, October 30th, the Ottumwa Fire Department responded to a report of a room on fire at the Hotel Ottumwa. Upon arrival, fire fighters discovered a fourth floor room on fire. Two sprinkler heads had activated, keeping the fire from growing and spreading. An employee of the Hotel Ottumwa, Trevor Medina, heard the fire alarm activation and went to the fourth floor. Medina kicked in the door and pulled a female occupant to safety. The occupant was immediately transferred to the Ottumwa Regional Health Center for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Ottumwa Police Department personnel assisted with the safe evacuation of the upper floors of the hotel. Ottumwa Fire Chief Tony Miller credits the courageous action of Medina with preventing a tragic ending. 

The hotel sustained smoke and water damage; mostly limited to the original floor of origin with minor smoke damage on the fifth floor. Tenants and guests were allowed to return their rooms shortly after the fire was extinguished and the smoke was removed. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ottumwa Fire Department. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Denmark, WI – Sprinkler system prevents spread of early morning apartment fire

Three units of a Denmark apartment complex are seriously damaged after an early morning fire. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office responded at 4:09 a.m. Sunday to the 300 block of Danish Way. The fire started in the kitchen area of one of the units.

No one was hurt. A sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading to other units. The Red Cross is helping the people who lived in the three apartments that were damaged.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Louisville, KY – Apartment kitchen fire contained with help from sprinkler system

A 3-alarm fire forced residents to evacuate the Brown Suburban Condominium Homes Thursday night. Firefighters responded to the fire at the condo at 3320 Bardstown Road near Goldsmith Lane around 9 o’clock. The fire started in an apartment on the third floor and was contained to that unit, but smoke filled the hallways, and residents were forced to evacuate. Many of the residents are elderly and in wheelchairs, which made the evacuation more difficult, but everyone got out safely.

Firefighters say several apartments have smoke and water damage. Buechel Fire Chief Adam Jones says two people were checked by EMS at the scene.

“We made several medical assists to get them out of there — nobody was transported,” Jones said. “Louisville Metro EMS did check out two different residents that came out — didn’t transport them to the hospital or anything like that so everybody’s safe.”

It took about an hour to put out the fire.

After an investigation, Jones says the fire started when a stove was unintentionally left on after someone accidentally bumped a knob. The overheated stove set a wall on fire,triggering the sprinkler system.

There is substantial smoke and water damage to the third, second and first floors of the building.

The Red Cross helped 10 adults and six children displaced from several apartments with the most damage.

Residents without damage are back in their homes. Others are working with cleanup crews and insurance adjusters.

Other - Residential, Residential

Hastings, NE – Early morning fire at homeless shelter controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

Those living in a Hastings homeless shelter were displaced overnight following a fire early Wednesday morning. The Hastings Fire Department says they were called to the Crossroads Rescue Center just after midnight. Smoke could be seen in the building as fire crews arrived.

Staff said all 87 people were out and uninjured when fire crews arrived. The fire was found in the north basement of the building. Hastings Fire Chief Kent Gilbert says the sprinkler system was able to keep the fire from spreading much before firefighters arrived.

Hastings Rural and Juniata Rural firefighters also responded. While crews were working on extinguishing the fire in the basement, others assisted with searching the other floors and reducing smoke damage with ventilation. Part of 14th Street was closed for more than two hours because of the fire.

Adams County Emergency Management was called to the scene to assist with relocating the residents displaced by the fire. The fire department says most were relocated to 20 rooms in the C3 Hotel.

A state fire marshal determined the fire was started accidentally when bedding came in contact with a heater. Wednesday, the shelter was cleaning up after returning to the building around 8 a.m.

“We have great guests here at Crossroads. Everybody pitched in, especially the men, just pitched in. We took up flooring. We cleaned up soot. We took out burnt items. Probably by noon we were mainly cleaned up,” said Crossroads Program Director Daniel Buller.

Buller said the damage is mostly contained to the basement laundry room where the fire started, but work continues to help prevent mold. He said insurance should cover the damage, but the need for things like food and toiletries at the shelter is ongoing.

The estimated cost of the damage is not yet known.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Jackson, MI – Suspicious fire at downtown sports bar contained by sprinkler system

Investigators are calling a fire that damaged Chase Sports Bar in downtown Jackson suspicious. The fire started Sunday night just after 9 p.m. then spread to the back of the building.

“It was kinda like your worst nightmare,” said Owner Randy LeMaster. LeMaster was working at his other bar down Michigan Avenue when he got the call.  “The back next to the walk-in freezer was all up in flames,” he said.

Investigators say the fire started in a storage area outside the bar and just kept spreading. “It started to extend up the back side of the building which was a steel sided building. That presents its own problems because there are gaps between the steel and the brick behind it, so the fire mainly got into that gap space,” explained Deputy Fire Chief David Wooden with the Jackson County Fire Department.

Flames even got into the air ducts, but firefighters say the damage stayed to a back bathroom and the kitchen thanks to a sprinkler that went off. Investigators say they’re treating the scene as suspicious. “When you have a fire that started outside of a building, you don’t have the amount of accidental causes that could have started the fire,” Wooden explained.

Security cameras from both the bar and the apartment building next door could be key to helping investigators, they’re looking over all the video and hope it will show them just how the fire started. “We’re just hoping to see if there was anybody in the area to see if there’s something else we need to follow up on,” Wooden said.

Jackson called in 3 other fire departments through mutual aid because the fire was at a commercial building and there was a high-rise retirement apartment building next door. About 30 residents were evacuated but the fire never spread to the inside of the apartment building.

LeMaster says he’s just happy no one was injured. With significant smoke and water damage to the back of the building, he’s now focused on getting it repaired. But LeMaster is counting himself lucky since the flames didn’t spread to the main bar.

Still with the holidays coming up, he can’t afford to be out of business. “I’ve got a crew lined up to move forward on getting things cleaned up,” he said.  Chase will be closed for at least a month.  LeMaster tells News 10 he has about 30 employees at that bar and he’s trying to keep them busy with cleanup or get them extra hours at his other bar.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Southfield, MI – Early morning fire in senior high-rise complex put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The all-clear has been given after some scary, smoky moments inside a senior living complex in Southfield early Thursday morning.  Fire crews were called around 3:30 a.m. to Highland Towers off Greenfield Road near Interstate 696 because the fire alarms were going off. Many residents saw and smelled smoke.  Firefighters were door to door on all 12 floors trying to wake everyone up and learn where the smoke was coming from.

“We didn’t know where the fire came from,” says Deborah Taylor-Kiel. “I just smelled the smoke because the doors shut and the fire alarm went off in my apartment where I live, and that’s very scary.”

Eventually, firefighters learned someone threw something down the trash shoot which started a fire in the trash room. The sprinkler system was able to put the fire out.

No one was hurt and nobody’s individual apartment was damaged, so everyone was allowed back in their homes. Some parts of the building have water damage now, though. 

Other - Retail, Retail

Madison, WI – Overnight fire at retail store extinguished by sprinkler system