All posts by viking210

Department Store, Retail

Paso Robles, CA – Fire sprinklers help minimize fire at Lowe’s; No injuries reported

Paso Robles police are looking for four men believed to be involved in a fire and theft at the Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Sunday evening.

Police say firefighters responded to a fire at the store on Golden Hill Road at about 8:15 p.m.

The building’s fire sprinkler system helped minimize the growth of the fire and it was contained within about five minutes of firefighters’ arrival. No one was injured.

The store opened for business as usual on Monday.

Police believe the fire was set as a distraction. They say a man entered the store shortly after 8 p.m. and hid a rolling pipe threader under a canvas drop cloth. After the fire was set and alarms and sprinklers activated, the man pushed the pipe threader out of the store.

Police believe the man was working with at least three other men. Investigators are asking for he public’s help to identify the people believed to be involved and a truck that may also be associated with the theft.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Paso Robles Police Department at (805) 237-6464.

Department Store, Retail

Shreveport, LA – Sprinkler system puts out fire, saves department store; No injuries reported

Multiple businesses are flooded after an early morning fire on 70th Street, near Canal Boulevard and Mansfield Road.

Officials say the sprinkler system at Affordable Home Furnishings put out the fire but dumped enough water to flood the adjacent Family Dollar and CSL Plasma.

SFD is currently pumping out the water. No injuries were reported.

The fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Honolulu, HI – Single sprinkler head in apartment bedroom closet extinguished fire; No injuries reported

A fire at an apartment building along Farrington Highway remains under investigation, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

Officials say that on March 9, around 6:02 a.m. HFD responded to a building fire at 86-086 Farrington Highway with 4 units staffed with 11 personnel. The first unit arrived at 6:08 a.m. to find a water flow alarm activation in a seven-story residential apartment building.

Upon further investigation, crews found an extinguished closet fire in a two-bedroom apartment on the third floor.

A single sprinkler head, located in one of the bedroom closets was activated as designed, and extinguished the fire.

No fire suppression efforts were performed by HFD crews at this incident.

Six occupants (two adults, four children) were home at the time. All occupants exited the unit safely with no reported injuries.

Fire damages are estimated to be $550 to the structure and $250 to its contents.

Office Building, Other Business

Durham, NC – Sprinkler system contains sixth floor fire at downtown plaza; No injuries reported

Firetrucks blocked most of CCB Plaza on Thursday morning as firefighters worked to put out a fire that erupted on the sixth floor of One City Center. So far, no injuries had been reported.

“It’s a large building, so we’re still going through it and trying to determine the extent of the damage,” said assistant chief Andy Sannipoli. The building’s sprinkler system managed to keep the fire in check.

The One City Center is the site of B.Good, Pokeworks, and Bulldega Urban Market, as well as five levels of office space and 21 stories of apartments. There’s no word on whether or how the fire affected the retail space.

Sannipoli says firefighters rescued a dog that had been left during the evacuation of the sixth floor, but the dog was fine and has been returned to its owners. People will most likely be able to return to the building by 1:00 p.m.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Blaine, WA – Commercial building fire put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A small fire occurred in a commercial building on Odell Road, but was extinguished by a sprinkler system that prevented any significant structural damage to the building.

On March 1 at about 2 p.m., a fire broke out in a commercial building at 2256 Odell Road in Blaine. The fire occurred in a manufacturing area, and North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) was dispatched following an alarm. “We got dispatched to it as a sprinkler/water flow alarm, a fire alarm telling us that the sprinkler system was flowing,” said NWFR division chief and fire marshal Herschel Rostov.

Rostov said that when NWFR firefighters arrived on scene, they found smoke and fire inside the building. However, a sprinkler head had mostly extinguished the fire before it extended very far. Firefighters shut off the water flow, searched the building, determined the extent of damage and ventilated the building to clear the smoke.

“Sprinkler systems can sometimes be an item that building owners find to be very expensive,” said Rostov. “In this case, that single sprinkler head probably kept the whole building from burning down. This is one of those situations where it was very effective and efficient.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Rostov said. He said that the fire appeared to be accidental and that nobody was injured in the incident.

The building is owned by Hugh Wiebe, who said the fire occurred in a space rented to the Bellingham company Cauldron Broths. He said that he is currently working with NWFR to assess the damage, which appears to be limited to smoke damage to some products.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Sponkane Valley, WA – Sprinkler system helps put out fire that started outside of restaurant

The Longhorn BBQ restaurant in Spokane Valley was damaged in an early morning fire Monday.

The Spokane Valley Fire department responded to the scene at 2315 N. Argonne Rd. just before 4:00 a.m.

Fire crews said the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, but firefighters have a few leads. Metal cans were found near the site of the fire, leading firefighters to believe it could have been a warming fire started by homeless people in the area. Crews said it could have also started in the heating and air conditioning unit. The fire has been put out and crews are now mopping up.

The fire started outside, on the west side of the building. It quickly spread into the second floor office space, which activated sprinklers.

E. Montgomery is closed at N. Hutchinson because of thefire but Argonne Rd. is not affected. It is unclear if the restaurants plans to open on Monday. This is the second time in recent months that Longhorn BBQ locations have suffered from fire damage. The Airway Heights location of Longhorn BBQ caught fire in August and was sparked by an accident in an electrical area behind one of the interior walls.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Shrewsbury, MA – Fire sprinklers extinguish fire in acid room of manufacturing company

hief James Vuona reports that the Shrewsbury Fire Department responded to a fire at Supercon Inc. on the morning of March 5.

At 3:40 a.m., fire officials received a 911 call indicating there was a fire in the company’s acid room. The acid room contains open top acid tanks where coils of wire are washed as part of the company’s manufacturing process.

Upon arrival at 830 Boston Turnpike, firefighters noticed light smoke in the building’s loading dock area. The building’s fire alarm and sprinkler systems were activated.

Firefighters metered the building’s main entrance, acid room and loading dock for dangerous or explosive gases and used a pole camera to get a visual of the acid room in order to see if a fire could be located. The meter gave negative readings in all parts of the building measured, and the camera showed no visible fire.

Firefighters were then able to enter the building to investigate the acid room and confirmed that the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system and that there were no leaking chemicals and no risk of contamination in the room.

The State Hazmat Team was called to the scene and deemed the building clear for operations around 5:30 a.m.

“This fire was quickly extinguished with help from the building’s sprinkler system,” said Vuona. “Thankfully there was no resulting hazmat incident or chemical related fire and the situation was quickly resolved.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway by the Shrewsbury Fire Department and State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Apartment Building, Residential

Evanston, IL – Fire sprinkler keeps fire from spreading in 11th-floor apartment; No injuries reported

Multiple people were displaced after a fire Saturday in a high-rise apartment building in north suburban Evanston.

Crews were called at 7:15 p.m. for reports of the blaze in the 1600 block of Chicago Avenue, according to a statement from the Evanston Fire Department.

The fire broke out in an 11th-floor unit, but a sprinkler system kept it from spreading, officials said. Firefighters put out the remaining flames when they arrived.

The unit where the fire started sustained “significant smoke and water damage,” according to the fire department. Multiple other apartments were also damaged by water and several residents were displaced.

No injuries were reported, fire officials said. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but no foul play is suspected.

Apartment Building, Residential

Seymour, CT – Apartment kitchen fire controlled thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

There were no injuries reported after a fire in an apartment building on Maple Street Sunday.

Firefighters received a report of a kitchen fire at about 1:15 p.m. in a first-floor unit at 29 Maple St., the former LoPresti School building, which was sold in 2015 and converted into 42 apartments.

A woman setting up an apartment for her mother to move into left cardboard material next to a stove top, which ignited, said Fire Marshal Timm Willis. The fire triggered the sprinkler system. The fire was an accident, Willis said.

“There were combustible items near the stove, and it appears the stove was accidentally turned on,” Willis said. “The occupant found that, immediately called 911, and shut the door behind them, which is important.”

Closing the door helped contain the fire.

“When we first made entry into the first floor we had a heavy smoke condition. Obviously we also had a heavy smoke condition on the second and third floor very quickly,” said Seymour Fire Department Chief Michael Lombardi.

Firefighters entered the apartment where the reported fire was, found a fire in the kitchen and stretched a hose into the building to put water on the flames.

“Once it got hot enough, it activated the sprinkler system, which helped with fire suppression,” the chief said.

Fire damage was limited to the apartment where the fire started. Two other apartments had water damage from the sprinkler system. The smell of smoke was still very much lingering in the building as firefighters packed up their gear about an hour after arriving on scene.

The residents in the 40 apartments evacuated the building as the fire alarm sounded. One woman was relieved to hear her cat was OK. The animal hid under a bed in all the commotion.

Seymour police also relayed info to firefighters about two people with medical needs in the apartment building. Those two tenants were immediately identified and helped from the building when firefighters arrived.

The two residents were evaluated by Seymour Ambulance EMS.

Members of the Oxford Fire Department were also called to the scene to assist. There were about 35 Seymour firefighters and about 10 Oxford firefighters on scene.

The Red Cross was also contacted in case people needed temporary housing. 

A firefighter was left on scene at about 3 p.m. to serve as “fire watch:” that means the firefighter walked the halls and kept an eye on the property as the sprinkler system was reset.
Willis said the building’s fire alarm and fire-suppression system worked properly.

“The fire department did a tremendous job. They were very aggressive, they went right in, they got those two occupants (with medical needs) out very quickly. It was a good job by all,” Lombardi said.