Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes cooking fire in condo

A cooking fire that broke out in an east side condo was quickly extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler, minimizing damage and preventing fire-related injuries to occupants and firefighters.

Crews were sent to the 5300 block of Congress Avenue for reports of fire in a condo unit. Engine Co. 11 entered and found there had been a small cooking contained to a pan on the stovetop. An occupant was heating vegetable oil in the pan when it ignited. The occupant reflexively put water on the fire, which caused the fire to flare up rather than extinguish. The flare-up created more smoke and heat, triggering an automatic fire sprinkler to activate from above. The fire was extinguished by the fire sprinkler before firefighters arrived.

There was minimal smoke damage in the kitchen and no damage to nearby countertops or cabinets. The exhaust vent above the stove did suffer some fire-related damage.

Firefighters cleared remaining smoke from the unit and cleaned up some of the water. Property managers were notified of the incident and given guidance on what steps to take to restore alarm and sprinkler systems following the fire.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at historic university building

Engine Co. 4 was called to Memorial Union for a fire alarm activation. While on scene, firefighters noticed smoke in the first floor kitchen that was getting thicker. Engine 4 prompted a full structure fire response, summoning multiple additional fire crews to the scene.

Engine Co. 4 located a custodial room where an automatic fire sprinkler had activated. There, firefighters found piles of oily kitchen rags smoldering. Memorial Union staff confirmed there was a bag of wet rags with oil mixed in them stored inside the room. The rags are believed to have spontaneously combusted, resulting in fire that triggered the automatic fire suppression system. Ladder Co. 1 remained on scene with Engine Co. 4 to ventilate the smoke and help overhaul the rags.

The Memorial Union was retrofitted with automatic fire sprinklers in recent years during remodeling projects that took place between 2012 and 2017. Without the presence of automatic sprinklers, this incident may have grown much larger before being noticed, and significant damage could have occurred to this historic building.

Following this incident on August 21, damage was contained to the room of origin and an adjacent office. The Memorial Union was re-opened to the public by 12:30 p.m.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Oshkosh, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in high-rise apartment building; No injuries reported

Fourteen people were displaced last week by a fire at a high-rise apartment building in Oshkosh.

Firefighters say it wasn’t a big fire, but 100 residents had to be evacuated from the Court Tower in the downtown area.

The building’s sprinkler system put out a small fire on the ninth floor.

No injuries were reported but the sprinklers caused extensive water damage to the eighth and ninth floors.

Most of the people who lived in the 10 damaged apartments stayed at a shelter last Thursday night.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Stove fire at apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire that broke out in a Mayo Drive apartment while no one was home was caught quickly and extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler.

Engine Co. 7 responded to the building to investigate the fire alarm that was sounding. Residents told firefighters there may have been a fire in one of the units. Crews went inside and found water leaking out from under one of the apartment doors. Upon entry to the unit, Engine Co. 7 found a box of napkins on the stovetop that was charred due to the electrical burner being turned on. Firefighters removed the napkins and turned off the burner. The apartment was ventilated to clear the air.

Firefighters located the occupant, who stated she remembers placing the box of napkins on the stove before leaving home. The burner may have been accidentally bumped prior to her leaving the apartment.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

A fire at a downtown Madison apartment caused minimal damage thanks to a sprinkler system.

Madison Fire Department crews were sent to the apartment in the 300 block of West Washington Ave. just before 8:30 p.m. Monday after a fire alarm activated.

Crews went to the fourth floor and noticed a slight haze in the hallway. An automatic sprinkler head was found to have activated in one of the apartments, and the resident was inside gathering their things. A charred plastic bag of groceries was found on the stove.

Officials said the person had left the groceries on the stove so that they could leave and move their car. The person was not sure how the stove may have been turned on but guessed that they had bumped a dial when setting the groceries down.

The sprinkler above the stove activated because of the heat of the fire, and quickly put it out. The groceries were the only thing damaged and no injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Eau Claire, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire inside building; No injuries reported

No one is hurt after a fire Thursday morning at Banbury Place in Eau Claire.

The fire, which happened at 6:55 a.m. in Building 13, was put out by the building’s sprinkler system before crews arrived, according to Eau Claire Fire & Rescue.

Battalion Chief Brian Toonen said the sprinkler system worked as intended, and there were no injuries to report. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, Toonen said. In a release from the department, damages to the building and its contents are estimated at $12,000.

The fire happened on the second floor of Building 13, which is home to several different businesses. “Sometimes all the work we do for fire prevention really pays off!” the department wrote in a Facebook post.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at hotel; No injuries reported

A Far East Side hotel was evacuated, but no one was injured, in a fire Monday that was quickly extinguished by a sprinkler system, the Madison Fire Department said. 

Fire crews responded to the fire at the Microtel Inn & Suites at 2139 E Springs Drive around 10:30 a.m., according to the Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, no smoke was visible from the outside and guests were being escorted out of the building. 

Firefighters found heavy smoke but no flames in a room on the second floor of the hotel, the department said. The sprinkler system in the room had been activated. 

The cause of the fire was an electrical light that had malfunctioned, prompting burning material to drop onto a couch, burning it, the department said. A section of the wall was also scorched. 

The Fire Department estimates the damage at around $2,600. No one was in the room at the time of the fire. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Racine, WI – Sprinkler system activated for furniture fire near apartment building; No injuries reported

Burning discarded furniture outside McMynn Tower Apartments, 110 Seventh St., filled the building with smoke late Friday evening. No one was injured.

The Racine Fire Department (RFD) responded shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday to a report of a fire at the building’s north exit. Firefighters quickly extinguished the burning materials.

Smoke and heat from the burning furniture entered a stairwell to the 11-story, 124-unit building but a fire sprinkler head and an alarm system protected the building’s occupants. The fire was under control within about 20 minutes. Firefighters used positive pressure ventilation fans to remove smoke from the building.

The fire caused an estimated $40,000 damage to the structure and $3,000 to contents.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Racine Police Department at 262-886-2300.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Pleasant Prairie, WI – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire at public works center

The village Fire Department along with multiple fire agencies responded to the Roger Prange Municipal Center where a fire was reported to have started inside a public works vehicle Sunday night.

Fire departments from several surrounding communities were called at 6 p.m. to 8600 Green Bay Road to the municipal center’s public works building, which houses snow plows and other vehicles. The fire reportedly began inside a newer dump truck used in snow plowing operations, according to authorities on scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Pleasant Prairie Fire units arrived at 6:08 p.m. Minutes earlier, a police officer in the area noted “heavy black smoke” coming from the building, according to Fire Chief Craig Roepke.

Also responding to the fire were Zion, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park and Newport fire agencies, he said. Bristol Fire and Salem Lakes assisted with a “change of quarters” to cover potential calls while village firefighters were out at the fire scene. The fire was under control at 6:18 p.m. and out at 6:24 p.m., he said.

“It appears that it was a vehicle fire that started in the engine compartment and at this time that’s all that we know,” Roepke said.

“Generally speaking, vehicle fires in the engine compartment spread rapidly. Typically, for a vehicle fire we don’t call all those units, but the fact that there was a vehicle fire inside a structure — that’s the indicator for additional units because if the vehicle sets the structure on fire, now we have building fire,” he said.

Roepke said the fire was contained to the vehicle itself and there was no damage to the structure or “any other vehicle” in the large storage building.

“The public works vehicle storage garage … is a sprinklered building. And the sprinkler system did activate and kept the vehicle fire in check until arriving units were able to extinguish (the fire),” he said.

Damage estimates have yet to be determined. He said the vehicle chassis is “likely a total loss” however, other components may still be salvageable. Public Works Director John Steinbrink Jr. also responded to the scene.

The Prange center campus also houses the village Police Department and 9-1-1 dispatch in a building just to the north of the public works structure, but were not affected by the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

A fire sprinkler system did its job at a Madison apartment complex Sunday.

Crews were called to the complex in the 200 block of North Walbridge Avenue just after 11 a.m.

Officials said a resident on the third floor had heated oil on a stovetop, which caused a fire. The fire sprinkler system was activated, extinguishing the flames.

No injuries were reported and no occupants were displaced. Officials said the fire caused about $1,500 worth of damage.