Tag Archives: Washington

Other - Retail, Retail

Bellingham, WA – Overnight arson fire at Goodwill store extinguished by sprinkler system

Three arsons have been set in three mornings behind a Goodwill store, according to police. Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying who has been setting the fires.

The first fire was reported at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, in a Dumpster near the donation drop-off of the Goodwill at 1115 E. Sunset Drive, said Bellingham Assistant Fire Chief Bill Hewett. Firefighters responded to a second arson at 5:08 Thursday, in another Dumpster.  And a third fire was reported at 3:25 a.m. Friday. This time someone set up debris against the building itself, and lit it on fire. By the time firefighters reached the scene a sprinkler had extinguished the flames, but it was damaged in the process.

So far most of the damage has been limited to the sprinkler, two waste disposal units that are now warped, and the garbage. Police would like it to stay that way. Tips should be directed to Bellingham Police Detective Dan Kelsh at 360-778-8690.

Apartment Building, Residential

Yakima, WA – Sprinklers limit fire damage at YWCA; residents and staff safely evacuated

A small child playing with a lighter started a fire that set off the sprinkler system at the Yakima YWCA late this morning, Yakima firefighters said.

The fire was quickly extinguished, but the resulting flood of water damaged Christmas presents in a basement storage room, YWCA executive director Amy Flynn said.

The residents of the affected apartment — a woman and two children — and other residents and staff in the building were safely evacuated, Flynn said.

A mix of apartments and shelter lodging at the building, 818 W. Yakima Ave., holds a total of 30 women and 55 children.

“I’m just very thankful that everyone is OK,” she said.

Capt. Jeff Pfaff of the Yakima Fire Department said crews responded about 11:45 a.m. to an automatic alarm triggered by the sprinkler system.

Pfaff said the sprinklers limited the fire damage within the one apartment.

He estimated that 2,000 gallons of water was released before the system could be shut down.

Department Store, Retail

Walla Walla, WA – Sprinkler system helps extinguish fire at Cascade Farm & Outdoor Store

The Cascade Farm and Outdoor Store in Walla Walla will be temporarily closed while water/smoke damage from a small fire is assessed and cleaned up.

A display heater caught fire around 11 PM Friday night causing isolated smoke damage and water damage from an activated sprinkler system. While initial reports describe a small amount of damage, the store will be closed until further notice.

Other - Retail, Retail

Everett, WA – Sprinkler system activates to help control Black Friday fire at Toys R Us store

The Everett Mall Toys R Us store was closed by a smoky fire on Friday morning. Store employees called 911 and safely evacuated all customers from the building after seeing flames in a stockroom. The fire activated a sprinkler and workers tried to put out the fire with extinguishers but were unsuccessful.

When firefighters arrived at about 7:45 a.m., they found heavy smoke inside the store. After the fire was extinguished, fans were brought in to remove the smoke.  The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is not considered suspicious.  Managers had not decided whether to try and reopen the store later on Black Friday.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Richland, WA – Fire in university laboratory is put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

Several students and staff had to be evacuated Monday at WSU Tri-Cities after a small explosion and fire. It happened just before two in the afternoon inside the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory.

The school says there was a minor fire after a cylinder of compressed gas exploded unexpectedly. The Director of Marketing and Communications at the school says the building’s sprinkler system put the fire out and no one got hurt.

Students were evacuated from the east and west buildings but were allowed back in shortly after. Firefighters say they’re now looking into what happened.

Richland Fire Department Chief Tom Huntington said, “the sprinkler system activated, alarm system activated everybody was able to get out safe. Our initial response and activity were here was to make sure the buildings were clear and everybody was out. Right now what they’re working on then is to make sure there is no secondary spills chemical spills things like that associated with the explosion make sure the building is secure then we will start the investigation and figure out what happened.”

Staff at the school says the BSEL labs are now canceled until further notice, and students should log on to Blackboard to check if lectures have been moved to a new location.

Apartment Building, Residential

Spokane Valley, WA – Sprinklers stop apartment deck fire from spreading to surrounding units

Spokane Valley Fire Department said they responded to a deck fire at a second-story apartment early Sunday morning. Crews arrived at the Parkside Apartment complex around 4:00 a.m. Sunday. The alarm and sprinkler systems were activated and crews said the sprinkler stopped the fire from spreading to surrounding units.

SVFD crews said they knocked the fire down quickly and contained it to the deck.

All residents were safely evacuated, including the two adults and two children that lived in the unit. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Port Townsend, WA – Sprinkler system handles small fire at paper mill

 Emergency personnel responded to a fire around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Port Townsend Paper Corp. No one was injured. There was minor damage to equipment and the machine was expected to be back up and running Tuesday night. General Manager Carr Tyndall, on vacation in South Carolina, said Tuesday afternoon that sprinklers had gone off when a fire started in a dryer section on Paper Machine No. 2. East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR) was called as a precaution.

Kevin Scott, director of sustainability at the mill, and Bill Beezley, public information officer at EJFR, confirmed that firefighters and medics arrived as support. Beezley said that crews were dispatched to “heavy black smoke near the northernmost smoke stack.” Responding crews reported that fire had broken out in dust on top of the second paper machine and that the mill’s sprinkler system had extinguished it by the time the crew arrived.

“EJFR firefighters spent some time hitting hot spots and mopping up before departing 45 minutes later,” Beezley said. “Paper Machine No. 2 is down for now. And it’s probably going to be another three hours for cleaning,” Tyndall said of being told there was no significant damage. He said the sprinkler heads would need to be replaced.

Tyndall said it would not surprise him if paper dust in the third dryer section caught on fire. He said that was common. Flames were initially reported being visible from a roof, then only black smoke was visible, as of 10:10 a.m.

The flames had been “knocked down” as of 10:14 a.m., according to responder traffic heard on JeffCom dispatch. The mill has two machines that produce kraft paper products.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Bellingham, WA – Sprinklers put out fire in chemistry building at Western Washington University

A chemical fire erupted in a Western Washington University chemistry building on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 25. No one was injured, and the building was evacuated right after the fire broke out about 5:15 p.m., said WWU spokesman Paul Cocke.

Student Melany Fry was in room 370 of Morse Hall with six other students when the fire broke out. “We heard a big bang and a whoosh,” Fry said.

Fry said the fire started by a dry-solvent pump, which keeps water out of solvents. She didn’t think anybody was working with that pump at the time.

The flames were initially about 15 feet high, Fry said. All of the students got out quickly while somebody else tried putting the fire out with an extinguisher.

Firefighters responded and saw a plume coming from the building. They set up a perimeter far from the building to keep everyone away as they tried to determine what chemicals were involved.

The building’s sprinklers put out the fire. Firefighters broke out windows to ventilate the building, and conducted a search for anyone who might still be inside, though the building had been cleared. They later ordered an evacuation of the nearby biology building.

A hazardous materials team was brought in to examine the lab and ensure the scene was safe.

Jared Chang, another WWU student who was in the building at the time, described the chemicals the students were working with as “a bunch of nasty, organic solvents that you don’t want on fire.”

What caused the fire was under investigation Tuesday evening. No immediate damage estimate was available.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Seattle, WA – Sprinklers activate to help limit damage in arson fire

The Seattle Police Department’s Arson Bomb Squad is investigating after the alley entrance door to gay dance club Neighbours was set on fire Friday morning.

Seattle Fire arrived to the scene just after 11:30 AM to find water pouring from the back of the Broadway nightclub after the venue’s fire sprinkler system was activated by the small fire.

The club’s alley doors were burned in the fire but there was no other damage reported beyond the flooding. There were no reported injuries. The club has not announced any closures related to the fire.

The Seattle Fire Marshal has determined that the door fire was intentionally set. SPD is now investigating the incident.