All posts by viking210

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Watertown, WI – Fire sprinklers put out fire at chocolate manufacturer before fire department arrived

Clasen Quality Chocolate, 420 E. Horseshoe Road, started off the new year in a unique way Wednesday.

At 1:22 p.m., the Watertown Fire Department responded to a call for a structure fire at the factory. According to Watertown Fire Chief Kraig Biefeld, the blaze started when a box full of products caught on fire, but the fire was limited to just the box. Sprinklers put it out before units arrived.

“The sprinkler system did its job. That’s why we advocate the use of sprinklers in buildings,” Biefeld said.

The fire department sent the on-duty crew and Biefeld, who went to the call, said with the fire out, the crew went to make sure the fire was out and to ventilate the building.

Mutual aid was initially called, but was quickly called off, according to Biefeld.

Clasen Quality Chocolate produces a variety of chocolate coatings of different colors, flavors and sizes as well as 20 different varieties of chocolate and numerous fillings and spreads.

According to the company website, Clasen Quality Chocolate, “has transitioned from a small, regional compound coating manufacturer to a major supplier of both standard and customized formulations and value-added, confectionery ingredients across North America” and has facilities in Watertown, Middleton with corporate offices and the company innovation center in Madison.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Parking garage fire quickly put out by fire sprinklers

Dozens of people are displaced after an apartment in Madison lost power and the property manager says it could take up to nearly a week to repair.

The Ovation 309 building located on 309 Johnson Street in Madison had a fire in the parking garage Tuesday that was quickly put out by the sprinkler system, according to a Madison Fire Department Public Information Officer. They did not release the cause of the fire.

NBC15 obtained an email sent to Ovation residents Wednesday from the property manager.

The email stated an electrical component was damaged and caused the outage. It also stated “general and electrical contractors have been on-site all morning working hard to restore power.”

According to the email, the “best case scenario” is the issue will be repaired in two days. However, if parts are unavailable, power loss could extend to nearly a week.

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, MA – Mattress fire on the 12th floor of apartment contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad is looking into what led up to a fire on the 12th floor of an apartment building.

Springfield Fire Capt. Brian Tetreault told 22News that the sprinkler system went off on the 12th floor at 414 Chestnut Street, after a burning mattress was dragged out of an apartment and into the corridor shortly before 6:00 A.M.

No one was injured in the fire.

A stretch of Carew Street near the building was briefly closed by police while firefighters worked.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Salem Township, PA – Sprinklers help douse fire after debris ignited

A fire damaged part of a business Tuesday morning in Luzerne County.

It happened around 8:30 a.m. inside the Leggett and Platt warehouse on Salem Boulevard near Shickshinny.

Company officials say an electrician was installing a light near the ceiling when something sparked, igniting debris.

The plant was evacuated. Sprinkler systems inside helped douse the flames.

The worker suffered minor burns.

Employees were allowed back into the facility to clean up the smoke and water damage. The company says the fire should not affect the operation of the plant.

According to officials, the company makes padding under carpets.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Fontana, CA – Sprinkler system helps contain large trash fire; No injuries reported

Large piles of trash inside a Burrtec trash facility in Fontana caught fire Wednesday, Jan. 1, and damaged the sprinkler system inside the building before firefighters extinguished it, fire officials say.

The sprinkler system helped contain the fire when it started, then San Bernardino County Fire Department firefighters arrived and began using heavy equipment to spread out the trash so the fire would stop, said fire Capt. Jeremy Kerns.

The fire started just after 6 p.m. in the West Valley Transfer Station on the 13000 block of Napa Street and was out within 45 minutes, Kerns said.

The only damage was to the sprinkler system, and no one was injured, he said.

Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire, he said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Mount Pearl, NL, Canada – Suspicious fire at commercial business controlled by fire sprinklers

A suspicious fire at a Mount Pearl commercial business is under investigation following a blaze early Thursday morning.

The St. John’s Regional Fire Department responded to the fire at Funderdome, off Corisande Drive, At about 1a.m.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they noticed smoke inside the building and after making entry, they found some fire in one of the rear rooms of the building. Most of the fire had been extinguished by sprinklers and firefighters took care of the remnants.

An RNC forensics Identification vehicle arrived shortly after the fire was extinguished and firefighters led them to the rear of the building where several emergency doors to the business were located.

Officers could be seen taking photos of the area as well as parts of the Trailway walking trail that passes within just metres of the building.

The building received fire, smoke and substantial water damage from the sprinkler system.

This was the third suspicious fire in Mount Pearl since Chistmas night. The first two fires both damaged and then destroyed the Hotel Mount Pearl.

Apartment Building, Residential

Harrisonburg, VA – Apartment fire kept in check thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Harrisonburg Fire Department said a sprinkler system at an apartment complex in Harrisonburg saved things from getting a lot worse after a patio caught fire Wednesday evening.

Deputy Cheif Matt Tobia, with the Harrisonburg Fire Department, said officials arrived on the scene of a possible structure fire off of Woodbury Circle in the North 38 apartment complex around 6:30 p.m.

Chief Tobia said when crews arrived they could see smoke coming from the third floor of building 1093. Officials believe the fire started on the outside patio of the third floor.

He said when crews arrived the flames were almost completely extinguished thanks to the sprinkler system inside the apartment.

“Because of the location of the fire it could have very easily extended into the roof and burn the roof off of the structure,” Cheif Tobia said. “But one sprinkler head controlled the fire with less than just a few gallons of water.”

Chief Tobia said at all times a sprinkler system works just as well as a firefighter does until more crews can arrive on the scene.

Fire officials said no one was injured or displaced due to the fire. One engine will remain on the scene Wednesday night as crews investigate the cause.

Cheif Tobia said this is a real success story for the sprinkler system in the apartment.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Augusta, ME – Fire sprinklers extinguish fire at hair salon after hair vacuum caught on fire

A fire that started in a hair vacuum at a Bangor Street hair salon was largely extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

The Bangor Street Barbersalon, one of multiple businesses located at 10 Bangor St., sustained minor fire damage but more extensive water and smoke damage from the fire reported at 11:41 a.m. Wednesday.

Battalion Chief Steve Leach said a vacuum unit at the business, used to suck up hair that has been cut, caught on fire. The building’s sprinkler system kicked in and had the fire all but out when firefighters arrived.

“The operating sprinkler system put the fire out prior to our arrival. It was smoldering when we got there, it did its job,” Leach said. “There was no damage to any of the other businesses.”

The building, which Leach said is owned by Mike Karagiannes, is also home to Aubuchon Hardware.

Firefighters were on the scene for about two hours. Leach said the salon will need repair work before reopening.

The 11,944 square-foot building, according to city records, was built in 1923 and is assessed, for tax purposes, at $571,000.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Harrisburg, IL – Sprinkler system contains overnight fire at Walmart; No injuries reported

 The Walmart in Harrisburg, Illinois is closed after an overnight fire.

Captain Rick Mallady with the Harrisburg Fire Department says they were called around 11:30 p.m. on report of a fire inside the Walmart.

When they got there, they found the building full of smoke.

A fire was inside the store, but the sprinkler system had contained it.

Firefighters did have to put out the remaining fire.

The fire was near the rear of the store near car seats.

Everyone had been evacuated from the store and no one was injured.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

We reached out to Walmart who had this to say.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Springdale, AR – Sprinkler system helps contain warehouse fire after Styrofoam containers burn

A fire burned Styrofoam containers inside an industrial warehouse Friday afternoon.

The fire burned the southwest portion of the 70,000-square-foot building at 659 E. Randall Wobbe Lane.

Styrofoam containers for the Cargill poultry processing plant across the street were stored in the building, said Phil Phillips Jr., owner of the warehouse.

A firefighter was transported to the hospital afterward with injuries. Springdale Fire Capt. Matt Bagley said the firefighter’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Any toxic fumes from the burning Styrofoam were contained to the property and an empty lot to the west, said Bagley. Firefighters had the fire under control about 15 minutes after arriving, he said.

Fire department officials will not know the cause of the fire until inspectors can enter the building.

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad closed its tracks immediately to the west of the building for about two hours. Andrew Preston, a track foreman, said the fire delayed the arrival of three trains from the north into the railroad’s switching yard, but the delay was not a problem. “We just told them to slow down,” he said.

All five employees on the property quickly evacuated when the building’s fire alarms sounded, said Mindy Peck, manager of the warehouse.

The alarm system notified the fire department about 2:34 p.m., Bagley said. The building’s sprinkler system was flowing when the first crews arrived, he said.

The fire department responded with four engines, two ladder trucks and two ambulances — all the equipment from all city stations but one, Bagley said. Neighboring fire departments covered three calls during the fire, he said.

Phillips said he has owned the building since the late 1990s and plans to rebuild it.

The amount of damage to the building is not yet known.