All posts by viking210

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

West Goshen, PA – Fire sprinklers contain hallway fire at hotel; No injuries reported

A fire in a hallway forced the evacuation of the Microtel on the 500 block of Willowbrook Lane Thursday evening.  

West Chester firefighters were alerted just after 8 p.m. and arrived to find the alarms sounding and the building evacuated.

Chester County Fire Marshal Latta White said there were no injuries, however power was out to the building so no residents would be able to return to the building. He said the building has 90 rooms of which more than 70 were occupied, most with multiple guests.

White said the fire was contained by sprinklers, and firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze which was located on a first floor hallway.

The fire alarm went off, and the desk person checked the fire alarm and found smoke on the first floor and called the fire department, White said. 

Multiple guests could be seen leaving the scene with assistance from firefighters.

White said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Liberty Lake, WA – Fire sprinklers extinguish second floor apartment fire started by cigarettes

The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to a fire at the Bitterroot Apartments Wednesday night, which was extinguished by a functioning sprinkler system.

They received multiple calls of smoke and visible flames on the second floor of the apartments, with one caller speculating that it was a barbecue fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters saw light smoke on the second floor deck, but confirmed that the fire was extinguished.

Spokane Valley Fire Inspector Brett Anderson determined that residents were throwing out cigarettes into a cardboard box on the deck, which caught fire before an automatic sprinkler system put it out.

“Sprinklers work!” said Anderson, stressing the importance of having a working sprinkler system.

“Fire sprinklers are an effective method to mitigate fire damage,” said Spokane Valley Fire Marshal Greg Rogers. “They allow individuals the opportunity to escape a burning structure. You have about a 50% chance [to escape] compared to an 80% chance in a structure with a sprinkler system.”

The Fire Department has seen a rise in incorrect cigarette disposal over the past few months and recommends discarding cigarettes in clean metal paint cans.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Allegany, NY – Fire contained to electrical room at lumber company thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire reported at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Potter Lumber Company kept firefighters on the scene until 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Allegany Volunteer Fire Department officials said.

A report issued by the fire department Thursday said the fire at the Potter Road business, located off Five Mile Road, was determined to be accidental in nature following an investigation by Allegany fire investigators.

Gordon Scott, spokesman for the Allegany department, said there were no injuries as firefighters from several area departments were called to the scene battled the blaze.

In addition, Scott said no employees had been at the lumber company when the fire broke out.

A report from the fire department said, “due to the large industrial building and large amount of timber within the building, a large mutual aid request was put out to include Westons Mills, Knapp Creek, town of Olean, Hinsdale, Limestone, city of Olean, Portville, Cuba, Deputy 4 and National Grid.

“Engine 31 arrived on scene and began an interior fire attack while the Truck 6 crew set the tower and went to the roof,” the report stated. “Due to the sprinkler system and an aggressive interior attack, the fire damage was contained to the electrical room and a small portion of the roof above the mill.”

The fire department also thanked “all the mutual aid that responded and the multiple standby companies” that covered the mutual aid districts.

For his part, Scott said it was not only a late night but also “an early morning” for firefighters.

He said fire investigators were not able to assess the amount of damage incurred. He noted the power was shut off to the entire company by National Grid during the incident.

Messages seeking comment from officials with Potter Lumber were not returned Thursday.

An employee at Potter Lumber said the company office was open on Thursday, but didn’t indicate whether the plant was operating.

“We’re still assessing the rest of the damage,” the employee said.

A company website noted Potter Lumber specializes in the production of green and kiln dried hardwood lumber.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Geneva, NY – Fire sprinklers help extinguish fire inside Walmart

A fire broke out at the service center of a Walmart supercenter in Geneva Wednesday afternoon.

Employees were evacuated and traffic was redirected at the intersection of Routes 5 and 20 and Berry Fields Road by Geneva Fire Department.

White Springs Fire Association responded, with assistance from Geneva Fire, the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services along with Finger Lakes Ambulance.

Walmart employees were not permitted to comment and referred press inquiries to the company’s public relations hotline.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The White Springs Fire Chief says a call came in at around 12:30 p.m., and some employees reported flames up to the ceiling in certain sections of the store.

A second alarm was called after firefighters arrived on the scene.

Firefighters say the sprinkler system activated, and extinguished a majority of the fire.

There was heavy smoke and fire damage to the building.

Apartment Building, Residential

Maple Ridge, BC, Canada – Apartment sprinkler system stops second floor fire from spreading; No injuries reported

The call initially came in late Tuesday night as alarms sounding, but it turned out to be an actual fire in the kitchen of a second-storey apartment on 224th Street and 122nd Avenue in Maple Ridge.

“It originally came in as alarms ringing, but when the crews arrived on scene, they actually found there was a fire in a suite,” Maple Ridge Fire and Rescue chief Howard Exner said Wednesday.

Initially, two trucks arrived on scene when the call first came in just before 11 p.m., but that was soon upgraded to 10 trucks.

No one was home at the time, but there were two dogs and a cat in the suite, said Exner.

“And they’re doing fine.”

He added that the building is equipped with water sprinklers.

The sprinklers activated and stopped the progress of the fire, “and allowed us to put out the remaining parts of the stuff that was on fire,” Exner said.

In addition to the fire-damaged suite, there was also some water damage to units below.

There were no injuries.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

New Haven, CT – Fire sprinklers extinguish fire in Yale dorm room started by lit candle; No injuries reported

A small fire broke out in a student dorm room in Pauli Murray College Monday afternoon, with subsequent water damage affecting the buttery, the college’s student meeting room, the dining hall loading dock and two student suites. No students, faculty or staff members were injured.

The fire — which began from a lit candle — broke out in Entryway E around 2:50 p.m. Alarms sounded throughout the college as the sprinkler system put out the fire before firefighters entered the building. The water in the suite, which was on the second floor, leaked down into the suite below it and then into the elevator shaft, causing damage in the basement.

Head of College Tina Lu sent out an email to Pauli Murray students approximately two hours later, explaining that nobody was hurt and informing students about the damage. She also emphasized the rule against candles in undergraduate dorm rooms.

“Candles are dangerous,” Lu told the News. “And the takeaway is that the undergraduate regulations, that particular one, is there for a very good reason. We all grew up with candles, but in this communal living environment, they’re dangerous, and they caused a lot of damage.”

Lu did not specifically elaborate on how the fire started, citing that she wanted to protect the privacy of the student. However, she did mention the danger of having a candle lit with the window open on a windy day, as wind can carry the fire.

She said that while she was not on campus when the fire broke out, she returned when the firemen arrived and later did a walkthrough of the college with the fire marshal to survey the damage. Excluding the student’s suite, all of the damage to the college is water-related, and the facilities staff have already begun repairing the college’s property.

“All [the repairs] are taking place right now, but in a building that is this complicated, it’s a bunch of different moving parts,” Lu said. “We are working hard to make sure that it’s as fast as possible.”

Casey Ramsey ’20, who lives in the suite below the room in which the fire started, told the News that he and his suitemate have been temporarily relocated to a different entryway due to water damage. None of their items were damaged, but there is a crack in their ceiling that was leaking water, he explained. Firefighters discovered an inch of water in the walls of the hallway outside their room, according to Ramsey.

Ramsey was in his room at the time of the fire but said he did not think that the alarm was serious. He only left when his friend texted him that the fire was directly above him, he said. After the fire was extinguished, firemen and the fire marshal examined his suite and decided that he should move as a precaution so that adequate repairs could be made.

“It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s not unpleasant,” Ramsey said. “At least we got to stay in Murray, and we got to keep our own rooms and have our own space still, and it’s not too far.”

Shira Minsk ’23 lives in the same hallway as Ramsey, but her suite did not suffer any water damage. However, there was a small leak in the hallway outside her room, which had stopped by Tuesday morning.

Minsk, like Ramsey, was in her room at the time of the fire. She recalls at least two other times this year that the fire alarm has gone off in her entryway, both of which turned out to be false alarms or fire drills. So, when she heard the alarm this time, she said she put in her headphones and continued to study. She added that she only left the building when one of her friends who lives down the hall informed her that there were firefighters coming. Once outside, she saw smoke coming out of a second-floor window and then saw water from the sprinklers.

“I totally think it could have happened to anyone … Lots of people I know in Murray light candles,” Minsk said.

Pauli Murray College is located at 130 Prospect Street.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business, Uncategorized

Los Angeles, CA – Fire at large commercial building contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire that burned for 49 minutes Saturday morning damaged a large commercial building in downtown Los Angeles before being extinguished by firefighters.

Crews responded to the one-story building with smoke showing in the 300 block of East 18th Street near Maple Avenue, just south of the eastbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway at 2:44 a.m., according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The building contained clothing and boxes in packrat-like conditions, Prange said.

“Fire attack searched for the seat of the fire in heavy smoke conditions in the large building, eventually finding it and extinguishing it, with help from the ventilation group on the roof to help with smoke conditions,” Prange said.

Fire sprinklers inside the building kept the flames from spreading, he said.

A total of 55 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and knock down was declared at 3:33 a.m., Prange said.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Sterling, VA – (no media coverage) Sprinkler system keeps townhome garage fire from spreading; No injuries reported

Automatic Sprinkler System in Sterling Townhouse Held Fire in Check as Firefighters Responded

Loudoun County Fire Official’s credit a Sterling townhome’s automatic fire sprinkler system with preventing a garage fire from spreading further before first responders arrived.

On Thursday, January 16, 2020, fire and rescue units from Cascades, Sterling Park, Kincora, Ashburn, and Fairfax County, along with various command staff officers, responded to a report of a car on fire in the garage of a home in the 46,000 block of Pryor Square in Sterling.

Firefighters arrived on scene to find a three-story, end-unit townhouse with a car on fire in the garage and the residents safely outside the home. Fire crews quickly extinguished the remaining fire that was being controlled by the automatic fire sprinkler system. Fortunately for the residents and neighbors, the fire and subsequent damages were contained to the vehicle and the garage with no fire extending to the remaining portions of the townhome. No other dwellings were affected and there were no reported injuries to citizens or first responders.

The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office has determined that it was an accidental fire, originating in the engine compartment of the vehicle. Damages to the vehicle and home are estimated at $20,000.
“If the sprinkler heads had not been in place and operated as designed, this fire could have been significantly more severe,” said System Chief Keith Johnson. “This incident is a prime example of the positive impact of automatic sprinkler systems in residential homes. The sprinkler activation kept the fire under control until firefighters could get on scene and damages to the home were directly minimized.” Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials remain strong advocates of automatic fire sprinkler systems and their safety benefits. To learn more about fire prevention activities and education in Loudoun County, visit http://www.loudoun.gov/firemarshal or call 703-737-8600.

Original Post on Facebook

Office Building, Other Business

Harrison County, MS – Fire sprinklers help put out fire at trucking company; No injuries reported

Firefighters in Harrison County rushed to a trucking company early Monday morning. They received a report around 2:30 a.m. that a company’s fire alarm sounded on Canal Road in Harrison County.

When they arrived, heavy smoke billowed out of the building. Other fire units, CRTC and Gulfport Fire Department, were called in to help contain the fire.

Firefighters– in conjunction with the sprinkler system– successfully put out the fire.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, and so far, no injuries have been reported.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Kingston, NC – Fire sprinklers control two pallets of firewood set on fire outside Food Lion; No injuries reported

An individual seen in a Food Lion parking lot Friday morning is in custody after the grocery store’s outside firewood was set on fire.

The Kinston Fire Department received the call at 5:40 a.m. Friday, Jan. 17, that two pallets of firewood were burning at the Food Lion, located at 2410 N. Herritage St., just outside the left entrance.

KFD Chief Damien Locklear said the store’s sprinkler system activated on the outside and firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. He said no firefighters were injured and the store was not open at the time.

“There was an individual in the parking area,” Locklear said. “The person is (in custody) with the KPD and we cannot release a name or age.”

The Kinston Police Department said a juvenile male is in custody in regards to the arson case, but the KPD was unable to release the juvenile’s motive for setting the pallets of wood on fire due to a joint investigation between the police and the fire department.

The Free Press was unable to reach Food Lion’s corporate office for comments.