Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Danville, VA – Sprinkler systems assists firefighters in extinguishing senior apartment blaze March 31, 2017 viking210 The Danville Fire Department stopped an apartment fire on Monday afternoon. Crews arrived at 2:06 p.m. to 601 Bridge Street, a five-story apartment building, after a reported fire in Apartment 306. Firefighters say they found light smoke conditions in the third-floor hallway and water coming from under the apartment’s door. When they entered the apartment, they found moderate smoke conditions and a small fire beside the stove. They quickly extinguished the small fire with a fire extinguisher as the sprinkler system had extinguished almost all of the fire. The fire was determined to be under control at 2:25pm. One person inside the apartment building was having difficulty breathing and had to be treated and transported by the Danville Life Saving Crew to the Danville Regional Medical Center. The sprinkler system was controlled and salvage operations were done. The fire apartment sustained minor fire, smoke and water damage. Seven other apartments sustained water damage. The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced occupants. Seventeen fire personnel were on the scene for two hours and 29 minutes. The Danville Life Saving Crew, Danville Electric Department, Danville Water and Gas Department and the American Red Cross assisted on scene. The cause of the fire was investigated by the Fire Marshal’s Office and determined to be unattended cooking. No other injuries were reported.
Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business Sterling, VA – Sprinkler system contains fire at Gold’s Gym following explosion; No injuries reported March 29, 2017 viking210 Employees of Gold’s Gym in Sterling knew something was wrong when the lights inside the building started flickering on the afternoon of March 21. They evacuated everyone in the building just before there was an explosion and ensuing fire. The fire was contained by the automatic sprinkler system and no one was injured thanks to gym employees’ quick actions. Still, the explosion and fire left an estimated $500,000 in damages, the Loudoun Fire Marshal’s Office said. The adjacent Marshalls received minor water damage. The Gold’s facility had been placed on “fire watch” earlier in the day because the gym’s power — including power to the fire alarm system — was down. Knowing the building was having electrical problems is what led staff to recognize the dimming lights as a sign of danger, Gold’s Gym General Manager Daniel Ferrara said in a statement. An electrical failure of a high voltage line ignited a methane gas leak in the area, which caused the explosion at the gym, said Laura Rinehart of Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Fire and Rescue received the call for the fire at 46262 Cranston Street around 4:30 p.m., and responded with crews from Sterling Park, Cascades, Ashburn, Lansdowne, Leesburg and Kincora, along with multiple command officers after the amount of smoke inside the building prompted first responders to request additional resources. While inside the gym, firefighters found a small fire at the back and structural damage to the walls, so they exited the building in case it collapsed, Rinehart said. Fire Marshal’s Office and fire and rescue officials verified that the wall was not load-bearing, so firefighters re-entered the building, ensured there were no hotspots in walls and cleared out the smoke, she said. The Fire Marshal has determined that the fire was accidental.
Apartment Building, Residential Fair Lakes, VA – Early morning apartment fire suppressed by sprinkler system; No serious injuries reported March 27, 2017 viking210 The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department on March 14 at 3:07 a.m. dispatched units for a fire alarm sounding in the 12400 block of Hayes Court in Fair Lakes. Less than a minute after the dispatch, authorities received a 911 call from someone at the address, who stated there was a fire. The department then dispatched additional units to the scene. Units arrived at the three-story garden apartment to find a small fire in a bedroom. The blaze was controlled by the fire sprinkler system and firefighters extinguished the remaining fire. Three adult occupants received minor, non-life-threatening injuries while attempting to extinguish the blaze before fire personnel arrived. Rescue workers treated all occupants at the scene and none required transportation to an area hospital. Fire investigators determined the fire was accidental and originated in a bedroom. The fire was caused by an occupant who was smoking in bed and dropped a cigarette onto oxygen tubing, causing a flash fire that ignited bed linens and other combustible items.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Chesterfield, VA – Early morning fire in metal press at aluminum plant doused by sprinkler system March 13, 2017 viking210 An aluminum plant in Chesterfield is operating normally again after a fire broke out inside one of the plant’s machines early Wednesday morning. The fire happened around 4:45 a.m. at the Kaiser plant located in the 1900 block of Reymet Road, near Interstate 95 and Route 288. Crews arrived the scene around 4:52 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they discovered a metal press had caught fire. Officials say the sprinkler system kept the fire mostly contained. The fire was marked under control at 5:53 a.m. Fire officials say there was a concern for the safety of the crews because of the heat from the aluminum. There was also concern firefighters could get shocked because of all electricity used the power the machinery, and the water being used to douse the flames. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Crews worked with plant personnel to make sure all power was shut off from the machines and spent part of Wednesday morning ventilating the building. There is no word yet on what caused the fire.
Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility Fairfax, VA – Sprinkler system assist firefighters in controlling recycling center fire February 28, 2017 viking210 Firefighters from Fire Station 30 in Fairfax County responded to the report of a fire early Sunday morning, at the Merrifield Recycling Center, according to the Fairfax County Fire & Police Department. Units arrived to find water and smoke coming out of the indoor recycling facility, prompting a request for a second alarm. Additional units from Fairfax and the Arlington County Fire Department arrived soon after. No injuries were reported from the scene. Fire damage was limited to recyclable materials. The fire sprinkler system and use of firefighting foam limited the damage to $1,000. Investigators determined the fire started from an exothermic reaction in one of the recyclable material piles, which caused the materials to catch on fire.
Fire / Police Station, Government/Military Roanoke, VA – Fire in police station extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries February 13, 2017 viking210 The Roanoke Police Department’s Station had to be evacuated on Thursday evening because of a fire. The fire broke out in a room on the third floor of the building, according to Tiffany Bradbury with Roanoke Fire EMS. She said everyone was evacuated from the building and that no one was injured. The sprinkler system was activated and the fire is now out; however, firefighters are currently checking the building to make sure everything is clear. Campbell Avenue is still closed to traffic. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Vinton, VA – Sprinkler system halts fire in maintenance closet at fabric manufactuer February 12, 2017 viking210 Firefighters responded to a small fire at Precision Fabrics in Vinton on Saturday night. The fire caused no injuries and had been extinguished by a sprinkler system by the time units arrived, said Lt. Richard Williams of Roanoke County Fire & Rescue. The incident, which occurred at about 10 p.m., didn’t damage the facility at 323 W. Virginia Ave., he said. “It was like a plastic bucket of materials that caught on fire, not the actual structure,” he said. The fire occurred in a maintenance closet in an outlying part of the facility, he said. Fire units from Roanoke, Roanoke County and Vinton responded to the incident.
Apartment Building, Residential Dumfries, VA – Apartment kitchen fire contained and extinguished by sprinkler system February 11, 2017 viking210 On Sunday, February 5 th at 9:50 p.m. fire and rescue units were dispatched to an apartment fire located in the 16600 block of Harwood Oaks Court in Dumfries. Upon arrival, firefighters heard the smoke alarm sounding. As they made entry, fire and rescue crews observed a kitchen fire that had been extinguished by a sprinkler head in the kitchen. Due to activation of the building’s sprinkler system, the fire was contained to the kitchen area and quickly extinguished. The occupants were not home at the time of the fire; no injuries reported. According to the Fire Marshal’s Office, preliminary damages are estimated at $40,000. A Building Inspector posted the home unsafe. Red Cross was on scene to assist the family, 3 adults and 4 children, displaced by the fire. The origin and cause of the fire was a cooking fire on a kitchen stove top and has been determined as accidental.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Sterling, VA – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire that started in paint booth January 30, 2017 viking210 The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office has determined that the Jan. 26 fire at a Sterling commercial facility was accidental. Just before 7:30 p.m., the Loudoun County Emergency Communications Center received a call reporting a structure fire in a commercial building in the 45000 block of Elmwood Court in Sterling. The initial caller reported a fire in an interior paint booth which was followed by a call from the fire alarm company reporting a water flow alarm inside the structure. Fire and rescue crews from Kincora, Sterling, Cascades, Ashburn, Lansdowne, Moorefield, and Fairfax County responded to the incident, Fire and Rescue Public Information Officer Laura Rinehart said. Upon arrival, firefighters found active fire and smoke conditions coming from the two-story commercial occupancy. Fire crews deployed hoselines to initiate an attack on the fire. The building’s sprinkler system had activated, limiting the fire spread to other portions of the building. One occupant, the initial caller, was located safely outside of the structure upon arrival of fire and rescue units, Rinehart said. Firefighters extinguished the fire with assistance from the sprinkler system, containing the fire to the area or origin, preventing extension into adjoining areas of the structure. The Fire Marshal’s investigation determined the fire to be accidental in nature with $25,000 damage to the structure and $75,000 to the contents. There were no injuries to civilians, though one firefighter on the scene was transported to a local area hospital for evaluation after a medical emergency, Rinehart said.
Other - School / University, School / University Henrico, VA – Overnight fire at public school learning center is put out with help from sprinkler system January 16, 2017 viking210 A fire at the New Bridge Learning Center will keep the Henrico Public Schools facility closed on Friday after a fire early Thursday. A Henrico fire official says the blaze in the 5900 block of East Nine Mile Road started just after 4 a.m. on the second floor of the facility. It was extinguished with the help of an automated sprinkler system. During the search of the building, fire crews also discovered a burst water pipe. The fire, which remains under investigation, was brought under control in about an hour. No injuries were reported. Henrico school officials say all pre-school and Elementary Intervention classes at New Bridge Learning Center will be cancelled for Friday and they expect the center to re-open for students and staff on Tuesday, January 17, 2017. Spokesman Andy Jenks also said the School Board work session originally scheduled in the New Bridge Auditorium will take place at the Henrico Western Government Center at Parham and Hungary Springs roads at 1:30 p.m.
