Tag Archives: Ohio

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Green Township, OH – Sprinkler system activated for refrigerator fire at school

Margaret B. Rost School will not be open Wednesday after a refrigerator fire resulted in extensive damage.

Fire crews were dispatched to the school on Bridgetown Road Wednesday afternoon for a fire alarm activation. When they arrived, Green Township Fire Chief Scott Souders said they found a fridge inside that had caught fire.

The fire had already been put out thanks to the school’s sprinkler system, but Souders said the system caused water damage throughout the building. The fire also resulted in a large amount of smoke, which crews were trying to clear from the school.

A spokesperson for the school said classes are canceled Wednesday — noting they hope to be back Thursday but do not yet know the extent of the damage.

“I would assume at this point it’s not going to be able to be occupied anytime in the next day or two,” Souders said at the scene.

A remediation crew has been called to the school.

Officials said the school was unoccupied when the fire occurred. It doesn’t appear suspicious at this time, but an investigation is underway.

Margaret B. Rost is a school operated by Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services. It focuses on individualized instruction for students with significant disabilities.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Cleveland, OH – Sprinkler system activated for garbage can fire at train station; No injuries reported

A garbage can fire inside Terminal Tower near the Tower City station has shut down the Blue and Green lines between Tower City and the East 55th Street Station. RTA says 67R buses will replace the rail service.

RTA also said Red Line trains will express the Tower City Station for the time being, with eastbound passengers destined for Tower City transferring to a shuttle bus at West 25th Street Station.

The fire activated the building’s sprinkler system, with RTA police as well as Cleveland police and fire personnel responding.

According to Lt. Mike Norman of Cleveland Fire, the fire was contained to a garbage can and the “surrounding structural area.” Responding units found the area filled with smoke. No fire alarm was activated.

“The Fire Marshal has been notified and will follow up on the issue with the fire alarm system,” said Norman.

The fire damage is estimated at $2,000.

No injuries were reported.

RTA Police have a suspect in custody.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

New Philadelphia, OH – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at Burger King; No injuries reported

A kitchen fire has temporarily closed the Burger King at 110 Blue Bell Dr. NW.

Firefighters from multiple municipalities responded at 5:26 a.m. The fire was accidental, according to Capt. Jim Shultz of the New Philadelphia Fire Department.

“We can’t rule out electrical or grease. Initially, an employee turned on the fryers and the hood vent, went back to get food from the freezers and upon returning saw fire coming out from behind the fryer. Their extinguishing system tripped, and the sprinkler system then went off and held the fire in check until our guys could put it out. It had extended up into the ceiling.”

Employees from Burger King could be seen loading up a rental vehicle with food to be transferred to other locations.

A woman, who identified herself as the store manager but would not give her name, said employee were being moved to other nearby Burger King locations, estimating this location could be shut down for months.

A corporate representative from Burger King on scene declined to comment on the situation.

Firefighters from New Philadelphia, Dover, Uhrichsville and medics from Smith Ambulance all responded.

No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Circleville, OH – Sprinkler system activated for third-floor apartment fire; No injuries reported

A fire has been reported in an apartment in Everts Hill located at 532 South Court Street in Circleville around 6:30 pm on Monday.

According to early reports, smoke and fire have been seen in a third-floor apartment. The building was evacuated and many of the residents are in the cold.

Update from Chief Thompson, a small fire in the bedroom of 3rd-floor apartment, sprinkler system contained the fire. Smoke and fire damage was contained to one apartment only, but five additional units were damaged with water from the system.

All other residents returned to their homes, the six units affected are being helped by a red cross. Management is on the scene now for clean-up and contacting the appropriate fire service companies. No injuries were reported in the fire.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Lancaster, OH – Sprinkler system activated for commercial dryer fire at YMCA; No injuries reported

With two fires dispatched within five minutes of each other, cooperation between the Lancaster Fire Department and county departments kept damage to a minimum.

The first units to arrive at the YMCA fire were from the Pleasant Township and Greenfield Township fire departments, Schultz said.

“Our firefighters were already on their way to the Second Street fire, and when the call came through for the Y, mutual aid units took care of that one. It appears a commercial dryer caught fire at the Y, and luckily the sprinkler system helped contain the fire to the laundry room until mutual aid could arrive,” Schultz said. “Because the building’s rotunda is connected to the laundry room, there was smoke damage to the first and second floors, and some water damage due to the sprinkler system’s activation.”

He added there were no injuries reported, and the YMCA was closed Wednesday. Cole Reinschell, administrative director with the YMCA, said the building will likely be closed Thursday, and any updates will be posted on the organization’s Facebook page.

“First and foremost, I’m thankful that everyone is okay, the health and safety of our staff and patrons are our number one priority. The Sixth Avenue facility will be closed Thursday, but our River Valley campus will be open, and we will have childcare available,” Reinschell said.

He said the fire was caused by a dryer malfunction. Staff reported a burning smell and responded quickly, even using a fire extinguisher. Reinschell said he was proud of the staff for reacting quickly and evacuating clients from the building.

“I just want to say over the past year with COVID-19, we’ve overcome a lot of adversity. I wanted to thank all the firefighters that reported and helped us, and our members and staff for their work today,” he said.

He thanked the Tree Church for offering shelter to YMCA members and childcare program during the evacuation.

Reinschell added the YMCA would appreciate any charitable donations from the community. Checks should be made payable to the Robert K. Fox Family YMCA, address 465 W Sixth Ave, Lancaster, OH, 43130. Questions can be directed to Reinschell: contact him at 740-654-0616, extension 245.

Along with the Greenfield and Pleasant townships’ fire departments, firefighters from Hocking Township, Bloom Township and Amanda Township fire departments also responded. The fire was contained by about 9:30, Schultz said.

“We’re grateful for the assistance from everyone. Mutual aid is critical, and, today definitely proves that, every community should help one another. We were able to handle both fires with the assistance of every fire department that arrived,” Schultz said. “We appreciate that they could come to the city to help.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Dayton, OH – Sprinkler system holds fire in check until fire crews arrive; No injuries reported

An alert employee on Tuesday morning noticed a fire, shut down equipment involved and warned other workers before calling 911.

Crews responded around 7:45 a.m. to Polymershapes, 1680 Blauser Drive, for a report of a fire near a compressor.

The building, which houses three separate businesses, was evacuated before crews arrived and no injuries were reported, according to a release from Cameron Haller, chief of emergency services.

The sprinkler system held the fire in check, which was in a processing area on the southwest side of the building. Firefighters were able to quickly put it out.

The fire started near an industrial air compressor. The cause is undetermined but is unintentional. The total estimated loss to the structure is not yet determined, but the air compressor, which was destroyed in the fire, has an estimated value of $100,000, Haller said.

The two other businesses in the building were able to return to normal operations.

Polymershapes offers a variety of plastic fabrication.

In addition to Tipp City Fire/EMS, West Milton, Bethel Twp., Troy and Vandalia fire departments assisted at the scene.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Cincinnati, OH – Sprinkler system activated for grill fire at restaurant; No injuries reported

Red Squirrel Restaurant is closing indefinitely after a structure fire, according to the Colerain Police Department.

Firefighters were dispatched at approximately 5 p.m. to 8227 Colerain Ave. over the weekend. Agencies arrived approximately two minutes later and found heavy smoke coming from the front door of the restaurant and flames were on the roof, according to a press release.

The restaurant had been evacuated of all employees and customers.

The fire began on the restaurant grill, officials said. The Colerain Fire Department was assisted by crews from North College Hill and Mount Healthy. 

The building had extensive smoke damage and water damage from the activated sprinkler heads, according to the Colerain Fire Department.

No injuries were reported.

The entire hood system and suppression system will need to be replaced, the fire department said.

Damages are estimated at approximately $20,000, according to the Colerain Fire Department.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Akron, OH – Sprinkler system extinguished fire at compost facility; No injuries reported

The sprinkler system put out a fire at a compost facility on Riverview Road in Akron Sunday.

The facility’s alarm company contacted the Akron Fire Department shortly before 2 p.m., according to an Akron Fire media release. The alarm company said they had talked to someone at the plant and that they could not turn the alarm off.

The fire department sent an engine and found a room in a building full of smoke, the release said. The fire had been extinguished by an overhead sprinkler.

No one was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

Dayton, OH – Sprinkler system assisted in extinguishing apartment kitchen fire

Dayton firefighters were called to an apartment fire at a high-rise early Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called to 108 Melba Street just before 5 a.m.

The district fire chief, Fred Haney, says when they arrived they heard fire alarms going off.

On the 6th floor, he says it smelled like burnt food.

Inside one of the apartments, they found a fire in the kitchen.

He says crews were able to put the fire out quickly.

The fire he said started from a pot of food burning on the stove.

Haney says the buildings sprinkler system helped a lot putting out the fire.

But there is water damage from the sprinklers.

He says a considerable amount of water flowed before firefighters were able to turn it off.

No one was in the apartment where the fire started.

Because of that an investigator has been called in.

No other apartments were damaged in the fire.

And residents were able to stay in the apartments.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Medina, OH – Sprinkler system contains industrial fire at chemical manufacturer; No injuries reported

The Medina Fire Department responded to an industrial fire Wednesday afternoon at FBC Chemical Company, 900 W. Smith Road.

All Medina fire stations were dispatched to the manufacturer just after 2 p.m. for a report of a structure fire involving chemicals.

The first crew to arrive found heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the room of origin, fire officials said.

All occupants were evacuated and no injures were reported. The Lafayette Township Fire Department and Erhart-York Fire Department also were called for mutual aid and Medina police officers and Life Support Team paramedics were on scene.

FBC, a distribution warehouse, sells the alcohols and commonly used chemicals to make hand sanitizers, hand soap and other cleaning products. Its website said it has provided specialty and commodity chemicals to the Northeast and Midwest United States for more than 50 years.