Tucson, AZ – Fire at college student apartment put out by sprinkler system

Thanks to a sprinkler system both lives and property was saved from a fire on Tuesday, March 13 according to a news release from the Tucson Fire Department.  An alarm sounded around 5 p.m. Tuesday, notifying the 911 center of a possible fire on the 6th floor of an apartment complex in the 300 block of East Congress. TFD sent a truck to investigate the alarm and when firefighters arrived they found the sprinkler system was on and working.

Fire crews shut down the sprinklers and put stops in the two sprinklers that activated, according to the release. They also treated a resident at the scene, who was initially hurt by the fire.

According to the release, the resident, a college student, had been cooking dinner when he stepped in for a quick shower while his dinner simmered. However a short time later the student heard the alarm going off and ran to the kitchen. He attempted to put the fire out, but the fire had spread to the point where he wasn’t able to stop it, at that point the sprinkler system kicked in.

Both the student in the apartment where the fire was and the unit below it will be displaced until the water and fire damage can be repaired. Crews shut down the sprinkler system once the fire was out. This means the sprinkler system is out of service, leaving the building vulnerable. A Tucson Fire inspector was called to the scene to ensure the property would be protected until the sprinkler system could be reactivated and placed back in service.