All posts by viking210

Apartment Building, Residential

St. John’s, NL, Canada – Fire sprinklers extinguish fourth floor apartment fire; No injuries reported

A fire at an apartment building in St. John’s has displaced thirty people from their units at least overnight and possibly longer in some cases.

Platoon chief Paul Chaytor of the St. John’s Regional Fire Department told the Telegram that the fire in one of the fourth-floor apartments set off the sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire but sent water through the ceilings of the second and third floors of the building.

He said due to an electrocution concern and water damage, power was shut off to the area and the residents were told they would not be able to stay overnight.

The Red Cross was called in to help the people affected with alternate accommodations and with any needs they might have until they could return.

Residents of the building could be seen milling about near the entrances as emergency personnel dealt with the situation.

The RNC was also called in to investigate and assist other first responders. There were no injuries but an Eastern Health ambulance was on scene.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Bismarck, ND – Damage limited to superstore after fire sprinklers help contain fire in garden center; No injuries reported

A fire caused the evacuation and temporary closure of a Walmart store in north Bismarck on Friday and city officials say early signs indicate the fire may have been set intentionally.

Authorities say the fire was reported around 8 AM. Crews extinguished the fire in the garden center, which sustained fire and smoke damage, but damage was limited because of the building’s sprinkler system.

A Walmart employee said the store should re-open on Saturday.

Eighteen firefighters were on the scene. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Fire sprinklers stop dumpster fire in underground residential parking garage

A dumpster fire that ignited inside an underground residential parking garage was put to a stop by an automatic fire sprinkler early Saturday morning.

Just after 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, engine Co. 3 responded to the Carbon Apartments on Winnebago Street to investigate a general fire alarm.
Several tenants approached firefighters as they arrived to tell them there’s smoke coming from one of the doors of the underground parking garage.

The crew entered the garage and found an automatic sprinkler activated.

Underneath was a dumpster where a fire occurred. The fire was already extinguished and had not spread beyond its area of origin.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Norman, OK – Fire sprinklers put out fire sparked by phone charger in dorm room; No injuries reported

Students living in Couch Tower at OU had a sleepless night after a fire started in a 10th floor dorm room. It was  from a phone charger plugged into an extension cord.

It happened around 2 a.m. Friday, and many residents thought it was a prank at first.

“I’m getting ready to go to bed, and all of a sudden the alarms start going off,” Charlie Reynolds said.

“Me and my roommate thought it was a joke at first, because the rest kind of had been,” Elizabeth Wright said.

“All of sudden I see videos on everyone’s stories like, ‘Ugh, not again,’ and me and my roommate look out the window and outside is just like a bunch of people,” Alexa Perez said.

That’s when students started to realize something was going on.

“They were knocking on the doors and everyone was like, ‘Get up, you need to evacuate,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, okay,'” Lauren Kennedy said.

The sprinkler system activated after the fire started, soaking some of the rooms. The tower was evacuated. No one was hurt.

“In this case, the fire that started was right next to the bed. There were actually elements of the bed, including the mattress and sheet and coverings, that caught fire, so in this case, the fire sprinkler activating and putting the fire out actually saved the student’s life,” OU Fire Marshal Justin Daniels said.

Students had to find other places to sleep. Some slept in their cars, the storm shelter or at friends’ places.

Professors were asked to provide appropriate accommodations on finals for students who’d been affected.

“I was planning on studying this morning, so I didn’t really get that chance,” Wright said.

“I have a very important final tonight, and I need to pass it, and I’m running on very, very little sleep because of this,” Reynolds said.

“I’m honestly really tired,” Julia Wu said. “I got like an hour-and-a-half of sleep,” Perez added.

The university is working with students to address damage to belongings.

Daniels says it’s a good idea to plug chargers directly into wall outlets rather than an extension cord.

Apartment Building, Residential

Murfreesboro, TN – Sprinkler system prevents stove top fire from spreading through apartment

Sprinklers prevented a stove fire from spreading after dousing flames at The Blue Apartments, 2707 S. Rutherford Blvd., Thursday afternoon, Dec. 12, causing water damage to several units.

When Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department (MFRD) firefighters arrived on the scene around 2:30 p.m., the building’s fire suppression system had already triggered, which extinguished the flames.

The preliminary investigation revealed the tenants may have accidentally turned on a burner while cleaning. A pot with grease heated up, causing it to catch fire.

The 500 building was evacuated as a precaution.

Fire crews were able to shut off the sprinkler system and used fans to blow smoke out of the unit and overhaul the apartment.

“Sprinklers do save lives and property. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of sprinklers,” said Fire Marshal Carl Peas. “We also encourage residents to never leave food on a stove unattended.”

Several apartments sustained minimum water damage from the sprinkler system. Electricity was turned off to several units while the maintenance crews restored the units.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Missoula, MT – Fire sprinklers help limit fire to single appliance at local business

A West Yellowstone business has minor damages following a combustion fire.

Hebgan Rural Firefighters say they were able to limit the fire to just an appliance Wednesday night, because the business has sprinklers installed.

The firefighters say it’s a good time to remind everyone how important sprinklers are to fighting fires.

They recommend everyone installs them and inspects their sprinkler systems regularly.

Other - Retail, Retail

Starkville, MS – Fire caused by bathroom exhaust fan at local GameStop contained by fire sprinklers

GameStop on Highway 12 in Starkville was shut down after firefighters battled a fire in the back of the building.

In a Facebook post, firefighters said the structure fire broke out early Tuesday morning.

The fire alarm and fire sprinkler system activation alerted the fire department.

Firefighters who responded to the scene said they were able to contain the fire and keep damage to a minimum because the “fire codes and safety building feature worked perfectly.”

Investigators said the cause of the fire was a ceiling bathroom exhaust fan.

The post read, “This could have had a completely different ending it if were not for the fire sprinkler system and fire alarm system all working just like designed.”

Child Care Facility, Hospital/Care Facility

Victoria, BC, Canada – Fire sprinklers keep fire contained to kitchen at daycare center; No injuries reported

A fire that sparked in a daycare along West Saanich Road Thursday evening resulted in no injuries, but did delay traffic, according to authorities.

At approximately 4:30 p.m., the Saanich Fire Department was called to the 4300-block of West Saanich Road for reports of a structure fire.

In a tweet, the Saanich Fire Department said that the fire started in the daycare area of the building, but was limited to the kitchen section by automatic sprinklers.

Police say that traffic in the area was severely affected by the fire, especially along West Saanich Road, Royal Oak Drive, the Quadra Street off ramp onto the Patrica Bay Highway and Glanford Avenue.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Regina, SK, Canada – Boy sets fire to paper towel aisle at superstore, fire sprinklers keep fire at bay; No injuries reported

A 12-year-old boy is scheduled to appear in court Thursday in connection with a fire that started in the paper towel aisle of the Rochdale Walmart in Regina’s north end.

The boy has been charged with arson, the Regina Police Service said.

Police and fire trucks rushed to the store around 8:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday, after smoke was reported in the building. Staff and shoppers were evacuated from the building.

“The building was filled with a really thick, bad-smelling smoke,” said Jordan Blodgett, who was at a Tim Hortons near the store and saw the fire response.

Taylor Deis was at Walmart at the time and confirmed the fire was coming from the paper towel aisle. She captured a quick video before staff and customers had to leave.

Fellow shopper Michelle Morrow never saw the source of the fire, nor did she hear a fire alarm.

Her only indication that something was wrong, aside from the smoke, was a man speaking unclearly over the intercom telling people to “get out.”

Morrow said she wasn’t impressed by the evacuation methods.

Blodgett took video of the scene outdoors, showing a smokey haze floating from the Walmart entrance and red fire truck lights flashing.

Regina police say firefighters put out the fire and cleared the building. Fire Marshal Randy Ryba said investigators were on scene until about 1 a.m. assessing the situation. 

He confirmed the fire was started in the paper towel section of the store. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire at bay until fire crews arrived on the scene, he said.

“I’m not sure if it was a lighter or match, but that’s all it took,” Ryba said. “It did cause a great deal of smoke and water damage throughout the store.”

Ryba said Walmart is assessing the damage and said it would be “a great deal of time” before the store can reopen.

When contacted by CBC News, Walmart said once the necessary clean-up and repair work is completed, the store will reopen. In the meantime, staff at the Rochdale location will be working in nearby stores.

Police say no one was injured.

Police said the investigation was assisted by management and security staff at the store, who made surveillance video available.

Apartment Building, Residential

Des Monies, IA – Single fire sprinkler prevents fire from spreading at apartment complex; No injuries reported

A single fire sprinkler prevented possibly another tragedy at Eddy Apartments.

The call came in at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday where a small fire broke out on the first floor in the laundry room.

Resident Myra McNeary said, “It was pretty scary because you really couldn’t see because it was up and ground level was clear. I was walking bent down so I didn’t get any smoke.”

It was a single fire sprinkler that contained the fire until crews arrived on scene.

Des Moines Fire Marshal Jonathan Lund said, “[A] sprinkler head typically activates 60 to 90 seconds after the fire starts and that provides valuable time for us to get there.”

A fire sprinkler is heat reacted and responds only when the fire is directly above a specific sprinkler.

“Residential sprinklers and like light hazard occupancy so like businesses and stuff typically about 13-17 gallons. Not a ton of water, but enough to get the job done,” Lund said.

The apartment complex fell victim to a fatal fire back in 2017.

“The building code that we had adopted at the time and fire codes say that repairing fire damage or a damaged building does not necessarily require you to put sprinklers in. It requires you to build it back the way it was,” Lund said.

After the 2017 fire, the owners renovated the building adding a fire sprinkler system.

“It’s much better now and they’ve got all the sprinklers and smoke alarms and stuff in place,” McNeary said.

No major injuries were reported. The fire is still under investigation.

Eddy Apartments is located at 1120 Polk Boulevard, Des Moines.