Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Retail, Shopping Mall

Easton, PA – Fire at mall extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A “suspicious” fire on Sunday afternoon in a lavatory behind a store near an entrance to the Palmer Park Mall was quickly put out by sprinklers but left water damage in three stores, a Palmer Township fire official reports.

The Palmer Township Municipal Fire Department responded at 4:50 p.m. to an alarm at the mall but as firefighters were on their way, people inside the mall called 911 to report an explosion and smoke inside the main entrance, Deputy Chief Jim Alercia said in a news release.

The mall was being evacuated as firefighters arrived. Shoppers and workers indicated the fire was in the IFIX and More store, which sells cell phone accessories and does minor repairs, Alercia said. The fire was contained to a lavatory in a rear stock room, Alercia said. It was put out by the mall’s sprinkler system, he added.

There was “moderate” water damage to the Claire’s and Verizon Wireless stores as well as fire damage to the lavatory and water damage to the stock room and sales floor at IFIX and More, Alercia said.

Fire personnel remained on scene to help mall staff ventilate the smoke from the stores and get the alarm system active again so the mall could open for its regular 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours on Monday, Alercia said.

Township fire investigators are probing what they have labeled a “suspicious fire”, Alercia said. Investigators were removing evidence in search of the cause and manner of the fire, Alercia said.

A drop ceiling, which was soaked by the sprinkler system, collapsed, making the sound that people thought was an explosion, Alercia said.

No one was hurt and Bethlehem Township firefighters and Suburban EMS assisted at the scene, Alercia said.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Hershey, PA – Fire at grocery store contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system stopped a fire from spreading inside a Giant Foods store in Derry Township Thursday morning.

According to Hershey Fire Chief Pat Leonard, the fire at the store on Cocoa Avenue appears to have started around 5 a.m. in machinery used to clean the floors, then spread to a compactor full of cardboard. However, the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A worker discovered the fire, and employees called 911. No injuries were reported.

The sprinkler system activated and “held the fire in check,” he said.

Smoke filled the store, but there was no structural damage, Leonard said. Giant expects “pretty significant cleanup” in the back of the store, he said.

The fire was reported before the store was scheduled to open at 6 a.m. It’s closed for cleanup, according to the Hershey Fire Department.

“We are very very fortunate we had plenty of manpower from Hershey, and our mutual aid companies supplemented it,” Leonard said. “It’s a good day when we all work together.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Lancaster, PA – (no media coverage) Microwave fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Sprinklers save lives and buildings. Sprinklers turn potential really big fires into very small boring fires. A single automatic sprinkler head saved a 3 story wood frame occupied apartment house in Lancaster Township Fire Department this morning. The microwave oven caught fire even though it wasn’t in use. The occupants fled the building as the fire started spreading. The kitchen sprinkler head went off and PUT OUT the fire. We spent 30 minutes cleaning up instead of 3 hours in a water battle. 30 people have a home and a million dollar apartment building has some water damage instead of being bulldozed into a rubble pile. Sprinklers save lives and property.

Apartment Building, Residential

Stoystown, PA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment building

Firefighters had to carry a Stoystown-area woman to safety late Sunday after a fire damaged a section of her apartment building.

According to Stoystown Fire Chief Dave Johnson, the woman was found semi-conscious in her bedroom and was taken to Pittsburgh’s West Penn Burn Center for treatment due to her injuries.

The late-night response meant evacuating all of the Hite House’s residents from the building to Stoystown’s fire station a block away.

“Some of the residents had to be assisted from the building, but everyone was evacuated,” Johnson said, adding that no other injuries were reported.

Stoystown fire was alerted about the blaze at 11:04 p.m., he said.

Crews arrived to find smoke inside the building and one apartment with fire damage. Fortunately, the building’s sprinkler system did its job, but crews inside had to eliminate hot spots, Johnson said.

The three-story building suffered smoke damage through much of the facility, he added.

A second evacuation had to be conducted after a fire alarm signaled inside the building at approximately 2 a.m. Monday, but firefighters determined the alarm was faulty – perhaps due to damage sustained in the fire.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, Johnson said.

A state police fire marshal is investigating.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Camp Hill, PA – Fire sprinkler system assists in extinguishing fire at hotel; No injuries reported

The Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill caught on fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to authorities.

An air conditioning unit in one of the rooms caught on fire and destroyed the entire room, while several of the nearby rooms sustained water damage from the sprinkler system.

According to the East Pennsboro fire chief there were no injuries.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Indiana, PA – Restaurant kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Indiana fire officials credited a sprinkler system with containing a fire that broke out just after midnight in the kitchen of the Villa II restaurant, 720 Philadelphia St., and allowing firefighters to prevent it from spreading to neighboring buildings.

Smoke spread from the Villa eatery into the adjacent Kim Moon Chinese & Japanese restaurant, 718 Philadelphia St. and upper level apartments at 722 Philadelphia St. above the vacant storefront last occupied by the Europa gift shop.

“Fortunately, this was only 30 seconds from the fire station, so the guys make a really quick hit,” said Ron Moreau, first assistant chief of the Indiana fire department.

Indiana firefighters ran hoses from hydrants at the Seventh and Eighth street intersections and climbed ladders to reach the rooftops to search for any extension of the fire, Moreau said.

“The majority of the heat and damage appeared to be in the kitchen area, said Third Assistant Chief David Smith, the officer in charge of the incident this morning. “The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system. We did have some extension into the roof of the structure which took up the majority of the time because the initial fire was under control in 15 minutes.”

The search for fire under the rubber roofing of the rear extension of the building stymied the crews long after the fire was out in the kitchen. Some were on the scene until about 6 a.m.

Smith said officials were “not 100 percent certain” of how the fire began and referred the investigation to the state police fire marshal office, “just as a precaution being that it is a business.”

Moreau said Villa II would be out of commission for an undetermined time for repair and cleaning. Some residents appeared to have re-occupied their apartments at 722 Philadelphia St. after firefighters controlled the fire.

Smith later said the tenants living above the restaurants also were permitted to return.

Moreau praised the fast response of neighboring companies from Homer City, Clymer, Black Lick, Creekside and Blairsville. Volunteers answered the alarms from the Indiana County 911 center at 12:35 and 12:43 a.m. and teamed up in biting, 23-degree cold to head off the fire.

“We got all of these gentlemen out there tonight because of this,” Moreau said. “We have common basements, common second floors, so whenever you have a downtown fire, you always call for help.”

Tenants of the upper-level apartments all fled safely. Paramedics from Citizens’ Ambulance Service staged from at least two medic units at the scene and said they didn’t have to treat any patients.

Two workers from Indiana Borough Public Works spread rock salt by hand in the vicinity of the fire, wherever water trickled from hose connections and posed a risk of icing on the street.

Indiana County Transit Authority sent an IndiGo bus to serve as a warming station for first responders at the scene.

Well after firefighters pulled ladders back from the buildings, but while officials still searched for possible extension of fire in the ceilings, manpower was drawn down due to an alarm for multiple fire companies on Pizza Barn Road in Derry Township. Blairsville and Black Lick fire departments responded from Indiana along with the Clyde and Tunnelton-Conemaugh Township fire companies when alarms were sounded about 2:45 a.m.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Doylestown, PA – Fire sprinklers extinguish early morning fire at high school; No injuries reported

A defective air purifier was likely responsible for an early-morning fire in a first-floor classroom at Central Bucks High School West Sunday, police said.

The school will be closed for the week as damage is assessed, district officials said. All lessons will be conducted virtually.

No injuries were reported from the fire that happened at around 3:30 a.m. at the school located at 375 W. Court St. in Doylestown Borough. Central Bucks Regional Police Chief Karl Knott said the fire resulted from a defective air purifier. He said there was minor damage to one classroom.

“Because of the hour, there were no students or faculty in the building, hence no injuries,” said Knott. 

Central Bucks School District officials expressed gratitude for first responders.

“We are deeply grateful that no one was hurt and for the quick response of the Doylestown Fire Company,” Superintendent of Schools John J. Kopicki said in an email to Central Bucks families. “We ask that our students and families allow officials time to do their work and avoid the campus as we work alongside them to secure and inspect the damage at CB West.”

Kopicki notified families across the district in a morning email. He said the fire was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. He said the Doylestown Fire Company was dispatched and arrived on campus. They are now “assessing and monitoring the scene of the incident.” 

Apartment Building, Residential

Lower Merion, PA – Sprinkler system contains fire to apartment kitchen

Four fire companies from Lower Merion and Narberth responded to an early morning fire Monday inside an apartment at the Royal Athena Apartments in Bala Cynwyd.

Now, fire officials are giving credit to the building’s sprinkler system for helping to save both property and people while recalling a similar fire a few months ago that left extensive damage in another apartment building without sprinklers.

Crews from Union Fire Association, Narberth Fire Company, Belmont Hills Fire Company, Penn Wynne Fire Company, and the Lower Merion Fire Department Office responded to the building on the 600 block of Righters Ferry Road at 12:39 a.m. on the report of smoke and flames coming from an apartment.

While approaching the site, the fire department received a water flow alarm, meaning the sprinkler system had activated.

At the same time, Lower Merion police arrived and reported that everyone had been evacuated. As they arrived, fire crews confirmed that there was a fire in the building but that it appeared to be under control due to the sprinkler system. By 1:10 a.m., the fire was officially put under control by firefighters.

According to officials, the fire started when the resident was cooking fried chicken and left the stove unattended. The oil overheated and caught fire. It then began spreading to the cabinets.

The sprinkler system kicked in and extinguished the fire. The fire was contained to the stove and cabinets due to the sprinkler system.

One firefighter was injured and transported to the hospital for possible heat exhaustion. All fire crews were cleared by 1:51 a.m.

While investigating the first fire, a second fire was reported when heat tape around a soil pipe ignited in a garage.

Crews from the Union Fire Association were called back and extinguished the second fire. The occupants were allowed back into the residence after Lower Merion Fire Marshals completed their investigation at about 3 a.m.

Lower Merion Chief Fire Officer Chas McGarvey said there was another apartment fire that took place in May at the Oak Hill Terrace in Penn Valley. The main difference between the two fires is that there were no sprinklers at Oak Hill, and there was much more damage. The Royal Athena is a new building and the sprinklers helped to extinguish the fire.

Residents at the Royal Athena were then able to be back into their apartments less than three hours after the fire started. Although the fire at Oak Hill occurred May 24, residents are still not able to occupy their residences, he said.

“This is a perfect example of the importance of sprinkler systems and how they save property and lives,” McGarvey said.-

Apartment Building, Residential

Johnstown, PA – Apartment bedroom fire contained by fire sprinkles

 A fire broke out early Thursday morning at the Vine Street Tower Apartments in Johnstown.

Johnstown fire chief Bob Statler says they arrived on scene around 3 a.m.

According to Statler, there were smoke and flames pouring into a hallway from a unit on the ninth floor.

Statler says the fire started in the bedroom of that unit and that the sprinkler system was activated, which he says helped keep the fire contained.

Statler tells 6 News the ninth, 10th and 11th floors were evacuated. Two people were taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center for difficulty breathing.

Statler says the fire was put out quickly, but there is extensive water damage to the building.

The cause is unknown. The fire marshal will be investigating.