Other - Retail, Retail Asheville, NC – Sprinkler system credited with extinguishing fire at hardwood flooring business November 20, 2015 viking210 A sprinkler system at a commercial building on Riverside Drive is being credited with averting a fire Thursday morning. Asheville Fire Department crews were dispatched to Asheville Hardwood Center, 554 Riverside Drive, shortly after 7:30 a.m. for the report of a structure fire, said spokeswoman Kelley Klope. Smoke was showing but crews who entered the building found the fire had been completely extinguished by the sprinkler system, Klope said. Firefighters helped with turning off the water flow of the sprinklers and with ventilation of smoke. Nearby businesses were evacuated as precautionary measures. No injuries were reported. The fire was ruled accidental. Fire sprinkler systems, which can also be used in residential structures, are known to drastically reduce heat, flames and smoke in the event of a fire.
