Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

At around 3:30 a.m. Monday morning, Rochester Fire Department was dispatched to a fire alarm with reports of sprinkler flow at Century Heights Apartments.

The first unit on scene, E4, arrived to find the apartment building being evacuated.

No smoke or fire conditions were visible outside the building, but RFD crews proceeded to apartment #308 where according to RFD, “a slight haze and odor of burnt food was noticeable.”

In the apartment, RFD identified a cooking fire that had been extinguished by the activation of the sprinkler system. Crews ventilated the apartment and worked to remove water from the building.

No injuries occurred, and there was moderate water damage in the affected apartment.

RFD says sprinkler systems are exceptionally reliable, such that the chance of dying in a fire is reduced by 90% when sprinklers are installed in a building. According to the NFPA, property damage in dollars is reduced by up to two-thirds depending on occupancy type when sprinklers are present.

Moorhead, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Menards; No injuries reported

Menards in Moorhead is open for business as usual despite a fire in the store early this morning.

According to Moorhead Fire Department, the fire started in the electrical section of the store.

Fire crews reported fire, smoke, and water damage to store displays and merchandise.

Crews could be seen cleaning up water from the store’s sprinkler system, which received the credit for extinguishing the fire.

“That ignition started about 4:30 and sprinkler heads activated at 4:45. So it just sort of sat there and kind of didn’t get the heat all the way yet until it became a bigger fire,” said James Garvey, Moorhead Fire Marshal.

No one was hurt in the fire. A damage estimate is not currently available.

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system activated for commercial fire at roofing plant; No injuries reported

Portland Fire responds to third alarm industrial fire overnight.

At 12:29 AM BOEC tapped out a commercial fire in the NW Industrial District at the Owens Corning Portland Roofing Plant with reports of a commercial fire alarm. This industrial plant is located near the corner of NW Yeon and NW 35th Ave. The initial reports were of a water flow activation from the interior fire suppression system that automatically contacts the dispatch center with information of a possible fire. Crews arrived to find plant personnel evacuating and a significant amount of smoke pushing from a centrally located smokestack of the facility. There was an initial concern that water application would be ineffective in addressing this fire leading the command officer to request Foam Unit 24 (FU-24) and the large foam firefighting equipment housed at the airport by PDX Port Fire. In the end, an internal sprinkler and large bore hose lines banking water off the roof cooled and extinguished the flames. There were no reported injuries.

As crews were arriving there was a significant amount of smoke pushing out of a centrally located smokestack with plant personnel evacuating the structure. The loud internal warning system that was directing people to evacuate the building due to fire was looping each 15 seconds with the message “Fire – Evacuate the building – Fire – Evacuate the building”. This industrial plant produces roofing materials, and the large machinery used to heat up a tar solution to apply to roofing tiles was on fire with flames showing from the machinery that is used to heat up and move the solution through the plant.

Plant personnel met with arriving crews and stated that application of water on the fire is not advised as there would be a large and volatile steam reaction of the water onto the hot tar product. There was an inhouse CO2 extinguishing fire suppression system in place that was activated and overrun by the amount of fire present in this emergency which alarmed both plant personnel and responding crews. This directed the command officer to request the multiple foam units along with the PF&R Hazardous Materials Team and Coordinator. There was a concern that the fire would extend from the machinery into the pans and troughs filled with the slurry of tar products and extend to the multiple storage tanks on the exterior of the structure located on the complex. This increased fire activity could lead to the entire storage vats becoming overrun with fire with a significant amount of stored fuels involved. To be certain there were enough firefighters on scene to address what could have potentially been a long and extended fire, the command officer requested up to a third alarm assignment during the arrival, education, and planning phases of this emergency response.

The priority of the responding firefighters was to find the power shut off to stop the flow of electricity into the machinery. This securing of the electrical system was performed by a crew early on with the assistance and direction of plant personnel. Once power had been secured, a fire suppression plan could be enacted. This initial plan involved large amounts of foam from the specialized fire apparatus on scene from PF&R and Airport Fire to flow a foam solution safely into the area affected by flames to extinguish the fire to not have a steam production emergency due to the water hitting the hot tarry solution.

Crews on the interior noticed a single interior fire sprinkler head had been activated and was raining down water onto the machinery and was able to connect with plant personnel to discover that water can be applied to the machinery but direct waterflow into the pans and troughs filled with the slurry of hot tar is ill advised due to the possible steam production. This redirected command to put two large bore nozzles hoses in place on the interior of the facility to bounce off the ceiling and rain down water to cool and extinguish the flames within the machinery of the plant.

The elimination of the electricity to the machinery along with the large amounts of water raining down on the area affected by bouncing the water off the ceiling suppressed the fire in a 10-minute period. Quick extinguishment of this large industrial fire resulted in a small amount of damage to the facility. All water used in extinguishing the flames was captured by the in-house water retention system and not released back into the municipal water system. The bulk of the second alarm assignment was released within the first hour of the incident with PF&R crews remaining on scene to assist plant personnel in wrapping up this emergency.

PF&R would like to thank the dispatchers at BOEC for their assistance along with PPB Patrol Officers who provided traffic control allowing our crews to operate safely along HWY 30/NW Yeon. PF&R would also like to thank the members of PGE for responding to the site to assist in addressing the flow of electricity in the aerial powerlines in the area.

Rockford, IL – Sprinkler system activated for suspected arson fire at café; No injuries reported

Rockford Police are investigating an attempted arson at Wired Cafe. 

Rockford Fire Department responded to Wired Cafe after reports of a fire before 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

Tenants living above the cafe were awoken from their sleep by the sound of the fire alarm and quickly called 911 after noticing smoke coming from the back door of the establishment.

Upon arrival, firefighters found that the activation of the sprinkler system had significantly mitigated the spread of the fire. Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the remaining flames, limiting the damage to the cafe itself.

No injuries were reported to civilians or firefighters. Damage is estimated at $30,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Rockford Fire Department Capt. John J. Hall tells 13 WREX Rockford Police are investigating a break in at the business that occurred prior to the fire.

Rockford Police Department confirms this is an arson investigation.

Fort Wayne, IN – Sprinkler system activated for electric bike fire at apartment building; No injuries reported

An electric bike fire contained to a closet set off the sprinkler system in a Fort Wayne apartment building Monday.

The five-story building on Westbrook Drive was occupied at the time of the fire, but no people or pets were injured.

The first Fort Wayne Fire Department unit to respond was directed to a third-floor bicycle closet where they found that an electric bike battery caught fire. It was contained to the closet because of the sprinkler system.

There was minor fire and smoke damage to the building, as well as moderate water damage.

Minden, NV – Sprinkler system activated for fire at airport hangar; No injuries reported

Rescuers responded to Minden-Tahoe Airport for a hangar fire around 4:35 p.m. Tuesday.

East Fork firefighters, Douglas County deputies and units from Tahoe-Douglas and Carson City responded to a report of smoke coming from hangar D at the airport.

A water flow alarm reported from the hangar indicated the automatic sprinklers went off.

East Fork reported knockdown on the fire by 5:10 p.m. and no smoke was visible coming from the hangar a short time later.

Mono County provided coverage for East Fork in south county.

There was no report of injuries from the fire.

Because the sprinkler system was discharged for the fire, the hangar was on fire watch overnight. It was turned back over to the tenant around 6:35 p.m.

Hackensack, NJ – Sprinkler system activated for electrical fire at medical center; No injuries reported

It happened at 6:38 a.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters investigated initial reports from hospital security of smoke coming from the supply room but found that an electrical busbar shorted out and activated a sprinkler, according to officials.
The electrical equipment shut down, and the sprinkler put of remaining hot spots. The damage was contained to the room, equipment and some hospital supplies.
No injuries were reported, and no evacuations took place.

Halton Hills, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system contains fire at car dealership

Georgetown Toyota is open for business today after a sprinkler system helped contain a fire in its service area last night.

Halton Hills firefighters responded to the call at the Guelph Street business around 10:30 p.m., with smoke showing upon arrival.

Initial reports indicate that a battery charger in the service area had caught fire.

The building’s sprinkler system helped keep the blaze and its associated damage isolated.

Michigan City, IN – Sprinkler system activated for fire in administrative section of hospital; No injuries reported

A fire broke out in an administrative section of a hospital in Michigan City on Wednesday morning.

Because of the fire, there could be a disruption in services at Franciscan Health Michigan City, which is located just outside Michigan City.

The damage wasn’t enough to close the hospital in the area of U.S. 421 and Interstate 94.

“We ask for patience and understanding as some outpatient appointments or procedures may be rescheduled or transferred to other Franciscan locations as we continue to assess the situation and clean up,” said Dean Mazzoni, President and CEO of Franciscan Health Michigan City.

Just after 4 a.m. CST, Michigan City firefighters were first to arrive and later assisted by members of the Coolspring Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Coolspring Township Assistant Fire Chief Warren Smith said the fire was out in about 10 to 15 minutes with help from an automatic overhead sprinkler system.

Smith said a desk with a surface made of wood caught fire in an office on the 5th floor on the east side of the building.

Mazzoni said that area of the hospital is an administrative area of the outpatient tower.

The flames spread to other furnishings like a metal filing cabinet and chair.

Smith said extinguishers were used to put out the flames but not until water gushing from the sprinkler heads ran down to the fourth and third floors where some of the ceiling tiles absorbing the moisture were sagging

“Those sprinklers can put out a lot of water,” he said.

Mazzoni described the smoke and water damage to the outpatient tower as “significant.”

No structure damage was reported.

Smith said the cause of the fire is not yet known but it could be electrical since there were computers and other electrical devices on and near the desk.

Despite the hospital being outside the city limits in Coolspring Township, Michigan City firefighters also respond to calls from the hospital since they can get there quicker from being a full-time, constantly manned department, according to Smith

Smith said the faster response made a difference in limiting the damage.

“They’re probably there 15 minutes before we can get there,” he said.

Mazzoni said no patients were injured or evacuated as a result of the fire.

Edenton, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at manufacturing facility

This is why we put in the hard work every day. These four sprinkler heads extinguished the fire and saved a property that J&D Sprinkler has proudly serviced for years. Fire sprinklers don’t just protect property—they save lives. We’re honored to design, install and maintain countless fire and alarm systems across the Carolinas, keeping our communities safe.

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