Tag Archives: Ontario

Ottawa, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at hospital; No injuries reported

Police charged an Ottawa man with arson Friday after an early-morning fire inside the Civic Hospital emergency department.

The department remained open and operational throughout the day.

Jean-François Lalonde, 43, was to appear in court Friday to face charges of arson endangering life, arson to property, possessing incendiary materials and breach of probation, the Ottawa Police Service said in a news release.

Police said hospital security had already taken a suspect into custody by the time emergency services responded to the fire at 6:34 a.m. The fire was extinguished by the hospital’s sprinkler system.

The Ottawa Hospital declared a “Code Red” at 6:30 a.m. because of the fire. About 30 patients had to be moved to other areas of the facility, hospital spokesperson Rebecca Abelson said.

A spokesperson for Ottawa Fire Services said a sprinkler head was activated when they arrived and firefighters helped clean up the water.

No staff or patient injuries were reported, Abelson said.

Oakville, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at community center

At around 8:30 p.m., the 2302 Bridge Rd. facility was evacuated due to a small fire in one of the board rooms.

“We believe there were items placed on top of a charging station that kind of smothered and caused something to overheat creating a small fire,” said Oakville Fire Chief Paul Boissonneault.

“The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system and then our crews removed the remanent components when they arrived.”

The fire chief said firefighters also ventilated the building to get rid of the smell of burnt plastic.

The community centre was able to open its doors on Tuesday as per usual.

Damage to the boardroom is said to be minimal.

“The sprinklers certainly did their job,” said Boissonneault.

Ottawa, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at commercial business; No injuries reported

It was a busy morning for Ottawa firefighters.

Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) responded to two commercials fires within a one hour time period Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were first called to a commercial structure in the 3000 block of Strandherd Drive shortly before 1:30 a.m.

Upon arrival, firefighters were met by staff reporting an odour in the building, but nothing visible.

Firefighters located a door with smoke coming out around the back of the building and could hear several alarms going off.

A working fire was declared, though further investigation revealed the fire had been extinguished by the building sprinkler system.

The fire was under control by 2:25 a.m. and there were no injuries reported.

Mississauga, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system contains fire at car dealership

Crews are responding to a fire in Mississauga this evening (Feb. 27).

Shortly before 6:30 p.m, the city’s fire department said they were responding to a fire at the Ideal Honda car dealership located near Highway 401 and Dixie.

Early reports indicate heavy smoke rising from the roof of the dealership.

The cause of fire and any potential injuries are currently unknown.

UPDATE: The fire is under control and appears to have been contained by the sprinkler system, the fire department says.

It’s believed that the smoke was coming from a vent inside the facility.

Peterborough, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire inside industrial garage; No injuries reported

The Peterborough Fire Service responded to a vehicle fire inside an industrial garage on Saturday, March 6.

Around 11:30 p.m., fire crews responded to alarms ringing and possible smoke in a garage on The Kingsway.

In a media release, the fire department says upon arrival it was noted that the sprinkler system had been activated and dark smoke was venting out of the back of the building. Firefighters used forcible entry to gain access to the building and were met with heavy smoke.

The activated sprinkler kept the fire contained to one vehicle. Firefighters extinguished the vehicle and removed smoke from the structure.

The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.

No injuries were reported.

Windsor, ON, Canada – Fire at residential building controlled thanks to fire sprinkler system

A fire at a multi-unit residential building downtown Windsor was quickly under control thanks to fire crews and the building’s sprinkler system.

Fire crews responded to the blaze at the Salvation Army on Church and Park Street West, according to AM800, smoke could be seen rising from the back of the building.

Attack efforts were underway by firefighters around 3:30 p.m. with crews reporting the flames were under control about 15 minutes later.

Windsor Fire and Rescue Service says the building’s sprinkler system “did a great job controlling fire spread.”

The fire was out by 4:40 p.m., crews were venting out the smoke and an invesitgator is attending to determine origin and damages.

Kitchener/Waterloo, ON, Canada – Multiple fires at Walmart under investigation, kept in check by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Waterloo Regional Police are investigating after fires were set inside three Walmart stores in Kitchener and Waterloo on Tuesday night.

Police say emergency services were called to the Walmart location in the Sunrise Shopping Centre on Ottawa Street South near Fischer Hallman Road around 9:15 p.m. for a reported blaze.

“On arrival, they found an active fire in the paper products, while primarily toilet paper and other related products,” Tom Ruggle, Kitchener’s Chief Fire Prevention Officer, said.

Firefighters quickly put out the blaze.

At around 10 p.m., police said emergency services were called to the Walmart in Stanley Park Mall on River Road East near Ottawa Street North for another reported fire.

Similar to the first fire, someone lit paper products on fire, which needed to be extinguished by the Kitchener Fire Department.

Twenty minutes later, Waterloo Fire Rescue was called to the Walmart in the Bridgeport Plaza at Bridgeport Road East and Weber Street South.

“Firefighters confirmed entry into the store and encountered smoke banking down from the ceiling while conducting a primary search of the entire area,” Waterloo fire chief Richard Hepditch said.

“Fire crews ensured the fire was confined  and supported extinguishment of the fire which was kept in check by an active sprinkler-head/life-safety system.”

Similar to the KItchener fires, Waterloo police said the fire was started in the paper products aisle.

“All Waterloo Fire Stations responded to this incident where a total of 21 firefighters and 6 fire apparatus were involved.”

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office estimated the cost of the three fires to be at around $12 million.

”The fires were relatively small and contained,” Ruggle explained about the damage the stores had sustained. “However, there was a fair bit of smoke that was produced at the time of the fire.”

Manny Garcia, who is a supervisor with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office, says the damage could have been a lot worse.“Thankfully, these these large, big box stores such as Wal-Mart, they are protected by sprinkler systems,” he explained.“There was also intervention by a storing employee with a fire extinguisher, and that certainly helped slow down the fire progress until the sprinkler went off.

There were no injuries reported in connection with any of the fires.

Walmart kept the stores closed into Wednesday afternoon as it dealt with the clean-up and repairs

“The stores will re-open as soon as possible while we work with officials to ensure the stores are safe and up to the standards our customers expect and deserve,” the company said in a statement.

“This appears to be a criminal act that will unfortunately impact many of our customers and associates in the middle of the pandemic. We are working closely with officials as they investigate”.

Police are treating the fires as arson.

Sault Ste Marie, ON, Canada – Hotel sprinkler system helps control fire

Shortly after 1 a.m., Sault Fire Services responded to a small fire at the Days Inn Hotel on Bay Street in the city’s downtown.

The fire was contained to an area with the assistance of the fire department and the building’s sprinkler system.

Damage is unknown at this time, there were several individuals outside the building after evacuation.

Sault Online/ONNtv will update the story if more information becomes available. Stay with ONNtv for all your breaking news updates.

London, Ontario, CA – Residential fire sprinkler system held mattress fire in check after dog chewed through battery pack on bed

London, Ont., fire officials are using an incident Thursday at a west London residential complex as a reminder for people to keep electronics, like power cords and battery packs, stored where pets can’t get them.

Fire crews responded to the scene at 320 Sugarcreek Trail, just northwest of Beaverbrook Avenue and Riverside Drive, around 3 p.m. July 23.

The call came in after the occupants of a unit at the address, who weren’t home at the time, were alerted to the fire by a home monitoring system, said Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger.

After making a forced entry into the unit through a patio door, Mosburger said firefighters located two dogs inside and managed to get them out.

he building’s sprinkler system held the fire at bay until firefighters arrived, he added.

It was later determined the blaze began when a battery pack, chewed up by the dogs, ignited the mattress it was sitting on.“[Mattresses] are basically like a petroleum-based foam, so as soon as it gets going, it can be incredibly violent… and can consume a room and an apartment very, very quickly,” Mosburger said.

The two pups have since been taken to a veterinarian, he said. “From what I’ve heard, everything seems to be fine with the dogs.”

The blaze caused mostly smoke damage — about $25,000 worth, fire officials say. That tally doesn’t include water damage left behind by the sprinklers and fire crews.

Tecumseh, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system puts out fire caused by piece of machinery

An industrial building in Tecumseh had to be evacuated after a piece of machinery caught fire.

The Tecumseh fire department reported the blaze at 5245 Burke St. shortly before 6 p.m. on Friday and said firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke inside. Fire officials said the sprinkler system activated and quickly put out the fire.

Fire crews remained on scene at around 7 p.m. to clear smoke from the production area of the plant.

The production shift has been cancelled, fire officials said.