Apartment Building, Residential Richland, WA – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire started by improperly discarded cigarettes July 30, 2015 viking210 A pair of apartment fires in Richland were likely started by smoldering cigarettes put in flower pots. Fire officials are warning people not to put cigarettes out in flower pots following the fires on Buena Court and Queensgate Drive. The Buena Court fire broke out July 25 about 1:30 p.m. and the Queensgate blaze started Monday about 2:15 a.m., fire officials said. A sprinkler system helped put out the second fire. No injures were reported.
Other - Retail, Retail Bonney Lake, WA – Sprinkler system activates to help contain fire at thrift store July 25, 2015 viking210 Firefighters from East Pierce Fire and Rescue quickly contained an electrical fire at the Bonney Lake Goodwill Thrift store early this morning. Just before 4 a.m., someone who had been walking behind the building at 21153 State Route 410 East, reported the fire. At the same time, the building’s automatic fire alarm notified dispatch. According to East Pierce Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Jay Adams, the fire started at an electrical panel and had spread to a nearby wall. It was primarily contained to a small room where the electrical panel was located. “Although there was some smoke throughout the store, for the most part, the smoke was contained to that room,” he says. The sprinkler system activated, but only near the fire. A ladder truck from Central Pierce Fire and Rescue also responded. No injuries were reported.
Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Union Gap, WA – Fire at paper mill controlled by sprinkler system July 15, 2015 viking210 Yakima fire crews say a fire at the International Paper company in Union Gap Tuesday morning could have been much worse if it weren’t for their working sprinkler system. A news release from the fire department said people reported seeing smoke coming from the roof of the building. The fire remained on one part of the plant, a dust collecting hopper, because the automatic sprinkler system kicked on and helped maintain the flames. Fire crews put out the fire and cleaned up debris from the damage. The cost of the damage is not known at this time. Yakima firefighters say the cause was a hot ember that got into the dust collection hopper. The news release from the fire department also said the whole building could have been a total loss if they did not have a functioning sprinkler system in place.
Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business Longview, WA – Fire in sauna room at YMCA extinguished with help from sprinkler system June 30, 2015 viking210 1 Comment Authorities said the fire started around 8 a.m. at the Longview YMCA when a wooden bucket used to dump water on hot rocks in the club’s second-story dry sauna caught fire. The sauna normally warms up an hour before the club opens, but the bucket was not supposed to be on top of the rocks, Longview Fire said Saturday. The sprinkler system activated to help control the fire. The club reopened after the fire was put out, Longview Fire said. There were no injuries.
Apartment Building, Residential Battle Ground, WA – Sprinkler system suppresses apartment fire; No injuries and damage minimized June 19, 2015 viking210 A fire sprinkler successfully suppressed an apartment fire Tuesday afternoon in Battle Ground, minimizing potential damage. Nobody was home when the fire broke out in a unit at Meadow View Apartments, said Clark County Fire & Rescue Division Chief Mike Jackson. Firefighters were called to 611 N.W. 20th Ave. at 2:49 p.m. The oven had been left on the clean setting and ignited items on the stove, Jackson said. “The fire was luckily controlled with a single sprinkler head before we got there,” he said. There was minimal fire and water damage, though a neighboring unit may have some water damage, Jackson said. Without the sprinkler, the fire could have grown to be much worse and caused more damage. Fire sprinklers are activated by heat, going off when it reaches around 165 degrees.
Other - Retail, Retail Kent, WA – Sprinkler system stops fire at car audio business June 14, 2015 viking210 2 Comments A business’s sprinkler system stopped a fire from spreading and limited damage in the 25900 block of 104 Avenue Southeast, the Kent Fire Department RFA reported. The car audio business was closed when the initial call came in for a sprinkler water flow alarm at 7:36 p.m. When the first engine from Kent Fire arrived, they found water and smoke coming from the business, which was at the end of a strip mall. Firefighters entered the building and found a small fire that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. It was the water coming from the sprinkler heads that set off the alarm. The presence of the sprinkler system kept the fire from causing more damage or spreading to adjacent businesses. A small amount of water was found in the next business, which had seeped from the affected area. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries.
Other - Retail, Retail Spokane, WA – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading at tanning salon June 7, 2015 viking210 A Spokane, Washington woman is okay after her tanning bed caught fire with her inside while at the tanning salon. The woman said she heard a sizzling noise, then saw plastic from the bed bubbling up near her feet and that’s when she quickly got out. An employee called 911. When firefighters arrived the tanning bed was engulfed in flames. A sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading. The salon owner says the tanning bed was about five years old. The fire chief at the scene says another tanning bed caught fire last year at a different tanning salon in town.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise Auburn, WA – Early morning fire in senior apartment building doused by sprinkler system May 21, 2015 viking210 A building sprinkler system contained a fire in a seven-story senior apartment complex in Auburn early Thursday morning. Damage was limited to four apartments, the Valley Regional Fire Authority reported. VRFA crews responded to a report of the fire at the Plaza 17 Apartment building, 1001 17th St. SE, shortly after 7:30 a.m. When crews arrived, they found that three sprinkler heads had activated containing the fire to one apartment unit on the sixth floor of the building. Residents were evacuating. Firefighters completed fire extinguishment and searched the building for any remaining residents needing assistance. Residents were able to rest in the building’s community room, unaffected by the fire, while fire crews cleared smoke and used water vacuums to remove excess water. Four apartment units were deemed uninhabitable, primarily because of the water damage. Building managers were able to find housing for all but one resident who will be helped by the American Red Cross. Kent Fire Department RFA, South King Fire and Rescue and King County Medic One assisted the VRFA. The fire is under investigation.
Other - Residential, Residential Olympia, WA – Sprinkler system controls fire at homeless shelter May 18, 2015 viking210 A Sunday morning fire in Olympia was largely controlled by an automatic sprinkler system according to the Olympia Fire Department. About 10 a.m. Sunday, Olympia fire crews were dispatched to the homeless shelter operated by Family Support Services in the 800 block of Seventh Avenue Southeast. Once there, fire crews contained the fire to one apartment. They also evaluated two patients — one for a minor burn and the other for smoke inhalation. Both refused aid and were released at the scene, according to a news release. One firefighter at the scene also suffered a minor laceration. The cause of the fire appeared to be accidental, according to the news release.
Apartment Building, Residential Yakima, WA – Sprinklers credited with saving lives and property from fire at apartment building May 13, 2015 viking210 The Yakima Fire Department says a small fire at an apartment unit Tuesday night has displaced about 20 people. The fire started after someone in a third floor apartment unit on the 800 block of East D Street left a pan of oil unattended on the stove around 6 p.m. Firefighters also say although the water damage was significant, the fire sprinkler system was instrumental in saving lives and further property damage from an extensive fire. Having the sprinklers activate saved the building from severe structural damage from the fire. Water is usually easier and quicker to clean than rebuilding from fire damage. Also water is less hazardous to the occupants than smoke and fire. Without the activation of the fire sprinkler system, the lives of the people in all 18 units could have been affected.
