All posts by viking210

Office Building, Other Business

Franklin, TN – Extension cord fire at office building stopped by fire sprinklers

An automatic fire sprinkler system protected a five-story Cool Springs office building from fire Tuesday morning. 

According to Franklin Fire Investigator Lt. Bill Almon, the fire started around 6:30 a.m. in a first-floor office at 127 International Dr. A single fire sprinkler head activated and controlled the fire prior to the Franklin Fire Department’s arrival, protecting the 142,000-square-foot building, which includes IRS offices.  

Upon arrival, firefighters completed extinguishment and assisted with the sprinkler system, clean-up and smoke removal.

Almon said resistance heating created by a piece of furniture placed on an extension cord that was powering a printer allowed heat to build up and appeared to have ignited the fire.

He estimated fire and water damage at $20,000.  

Retail, Shopping Mall

Franklin, TN – Fire at strip mall caused by smoking materials put out by fire sprinklers

Thursday night an automatic fire sprinkler system protected the Parkway Commons strip mall, which has more than a dozen businesses.

According to Franklin Fire Marshal Andy King, the blaze broke out just before 7:30 PM in the storage area of Case Selects Wine & Spirits, located at 3046 Columbia Ave. King said a single fire sprinkler head activated and extinguished the fire prior to the Franklin Fire Department’s arrival, protecting neighboring businesses, including retail shops, clinics, restaurants, and more. “Only one business, where the fire started, was impacted. They should reopen soon. The sprinkler system protected the building from Case Selects to Panera Bread.”

King said the fire appeared to have been caused by smoking materials.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Danbury, CT – Fire at Starbucks contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a Mill Plain café on Friday.

The Danbury Fire Department was called to the Starbucks at 115 Mill Plain Road for the report of fire coming from an outlet.

First responders found a small fire that was being contained by the active sprinkler system, but still required one hose line to be stretched before it could be extinguished.

Smoke made its way into adjacent areas but was quickly ventilated and the fire damage was held to Starbucks. No injuries were reported.

The Health Department was requested to the scene, and the Danbury Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Office Building, Other Business

Waianae, HI – Sprinkler system helps stop arson attack on office; No injuries reported

Megale Cole is counting his blessings. He said, he is thankful no one was hurt in the early morning attack on his HI Royalty Records office in Waianae.

He was picking up the pieces of charred mementos that survived the firebomb less then 12 hours prior.

He held up an old photo of himself in his army uniform from basic training more than two decades earlier, the edges charred.

“It’s one of the few pictures I have leftover from those days. I don’t have many of these. It means a lot to me,” he said, holding the partially burned photograph.

The Army veteran said, his military training kicked in as soon as the firebomb exploded through his office door just before 3 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 22.

“I think my army training is what saved me today. That’s the truth,” Cole said, matter-of-factly.

Cole said, he was working late and stopped to take a break when he heard a crackling noise outside. He said, it sounded like fire so he stood up to check it out.

“I see the crackling through the door. I see the fire, the flames. I see an individual that’s short through the crack in the door,” Cole said. “Next thing I know, I hear the flame, it hits the door and it goes through. lt hits the wall and flame shot off the wall.”

He said, the flames spread to the couch.

“So I hurried up, got my army gear, and put out the fire to the couch. I came back over here and start putting the fire out,” Cole explained as he pointed to the wall above his desk.

That is when the sprinkler system kicked on, helping to put out the fire and minimizing the damage to his office.

“I had a lot of past pictures of my family on the wall so some of that got burnt off. So there’s water damage, computer damage, furniture damage and the carpets of course, it’s a lot of water to drain out.”

But he knows things could have been much worse. Police found evidence from a gasoline bomb once they arrived.

“It was a brick metal Molotov Cocktail bottle. The bottle they used, the Coke bottle, was found here (as he pointed to his desk). It was a metal pipe they used to project it through (the door). We found evidence outside — two pieces of evidence outside,” he said.

Cole got emotional as he talked about the attack he believes may have been racially motivated.

“This was an attack on me as a soldier, as a part-time recruiter, as a veteran, as a father. And again, if this can happen to me here, this can happen to anyone… I don’t hate the person who did this, but I want the world to see this. I wasn’t doing anything wrong but this is our country. This is where it’s at,” Cole said, choking back tears.

Cole said, he spoke to the Honolulu Police Department and the FBI. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.

Apartment Building, Residential

Salt Lake City, UT – Apartment sprinkler system helps put out fire after refrigerator explosion

An area of downtown Salt Lake City was closed to traffic on Saturday as emergency officials and the Utah Department of Health investigated the scene of a fire that injured two people.

The fire was located in an apartment building at 360 South and 400 West. SLC Fire responded around 1 p.m. according to Captain Anthony Burton.

Burton said the call came into emergency officials as an explosion from a refrigerator in an apartment on the third floor. When firefighters arrived they detected “light smoke” on that floor and executed an aggressive response with help from the building’s sprinkler system.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

North Aurora, IL – Townhouse garage fire stopped by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

North Aurora Fire Protection District officials said no one was injured in an early Sunday morning fire inside a townhouse garage.

Fire officials said the fire was reported at about 1 a.m. on the 11 block of Kilberry Lane. Responding firefighters did not see any smoke or fire upon arrival, but residents of the townhouse attached to the garage reported hearing “popping” from inside the garage and smelled smoke before alerting the fire department.

When firefighters opened the garage, they could see smoke. A sprinkler system in the structure had been activated, helping to prevent any significant fire damage to the building, officials said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe contents in the garage sparked the fire. However, they don’t have reason to believe the blaze originated from any vehicle in the garage.

The garage was attached to an “end unit townhome,” and only the residents of that unit were displaced because of smoke damage to the residence, officials said.

No damage estimate was available.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Des Peres, MO – Supermarket fire that started in paper aisle contained by sprinkler system; No injuries Reported

Firefighters from multiple agencies raced to extinguish a fire Wednesday night at a Dierbergs store in West St. Louis County.

The call came in just after 8:10 p.m. at the Dierbergs at 1080 Lindemann Road.

The fire began in the paper aisle.

No one was injured and the store was safely evacuated. The sprinkler system did activate.

The fire was put out approximately 90 minutes later.

The St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Division is now investigating.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Asheville, NC – Sprinkler system keeps building fire in check; No injuries reported

Asheville FD says a sprinkler system helped contain a fire that broke out Friday morning at a building along College Street.

AFD reported in a Facebook post on Saturday more details about the fire. The department said the fire was caused by people who had lit combustibles to keep warm, and was located in the floor between the 2nd and 3rd floor. The sprinkler system cut on and kept it in that area.

Crews did not report any injuries.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Plant City, FL – Waste bin fire controlled by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire sparked to life in the wee hours of the morning on Jan. 11 in the Mann Building in historic downtown on Reynolds Street. 

Smoke wafted out of the old building and the fire department saw a stream of water flowing from Mr. Sebas Ice Cream Store. There was an attempt to get access to keys to get into the building and the firefighters eventually forced entry into the ice cream store, according to the incident report. The water was there, but there were no active sprinklers. So the second floor was entered. The hallways were clear, no smoke barred the way and the historic doors — all of which were locked — were opened before the department entered a suite toward one end of the hall.

Smoke blanketed the floor and a trail of black, charred wood led up a small section of the back wall. The fire was smoldering, confined to the area of its initial blaze, thanks to the renovation in the 90s that led to the instillation of a sprinkler system into the old building. The two sprinkler heads were able to keep it quelled until the department could finish extinguishing the fire. 

The incident report states the fire was found to be caused by a waste bin fire while no one was in the building. The flames then extended to cabinetry nearby. However, the sprinklers were able to contain the fire to the area of origin. 

“The last time we had a fire in downtown, we lost half a city block of historic buildings,” Ed Verner, owner of the Mann and Lee buildings, said. “I think that was on everyone’s mind that night. There was a quick response, both by the fire department and several of those who work in the two buildings who rushed over to provide keys… the sprinkler system in place absolutely dampened the flames and probably saved both buildings. The fire department did a great job at responding quickly and doing their best to ensure that the fire did not spread to the rest of the building.”

Verner said when he arrived on the scene he even saw Fire Chief David Burnett with a mop in his hand, attempting to get rid of some of the water. 

The Mann and the Lee buildings are now joined following the renovation Verner had done in the late 90s. Each had a brick wall that was adjacent to one another. Though each had major renovations, much of the original hundred-year-old wooden structure remains in place. 

The dousing of the fire has led to water damage throughout the building, but Verner has already begun repairs. 

“Theres a few people I think it’s important I thank for their quick actions that helped assist in responding to that night,” Verner said. “LaRoyce Keene and Debby Keene were one of the first on the scene to help assist the firefighters and helped them get access to the Mann Building. Tom Thompson was also there to help give access to the Lee Building. Robert Norton also responded before the sprinklers had even turned off. I also need to thank Jason Jones with Advantage Restoration. They were onsite immediately and helped to evacuate the water. They’ve helped save a lot of the damage.”