All posts by viking210

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Calgary, AB, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for cigarette fire on condo balcony; No injuries reported

A condo building in northwest Calgary had to be fully evacuated on Wednesday morning due to a balcony fire.

The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) says crews were called to a four-story residential building on Royal Oak Plaza NW near Country Hills Boulevard NW and Royal Birch Boulevard NW around 7:50 a.m.

Fire crews arrived to find a fire on a south facing balcony on the fourth floor. Officials say an outdoor balcony sprinkler activated and contained most of the fire.

The fire department says flames made their way into the attic space of the unit. The resident of the unit made attempts to extinguish the blaze but found it was too large.

“Fire crews hit the fire quickly with a master stream from a deck gun and then also deployed other apparatus including a ladder truck to continue firefighting efforts,” reads a release from CFD.

The entire 120 unit building was evacuated. The resident in the unit that caught fire escaped without injuries. Officials say no other injuries were reported.

Officials say one resident slept through the entire incident because he was wearing noise cancelling headphones.

“This is an important reminder that if people choose to use devices that significantly diminish their senses, this can put them at significant risk of missing lifesaving signals that there is an emergency and that they need to evacuate the building immediately,” reads the release.

CFD says most residents were being allowed back into their units by Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators determined the fire was unintentional and was cause by a cigarette butt being put in a planter pot. The fire department is reminding smokers to adhere to the following guidelines when disposing of smoking materials:

  • Use a deep, wide, sturdy metal container with a lid, filled part way with sand or water that should be emptied regularly.
  • Ensure all butts and ash are out by soaking them with water prior to putting in the trash.
  • Never put out cigarettes or smoking material in flower planter, peat moss, your lawn or garden.
  • Extreme caution should be used in the city’s natural areas and green spaces where extremely dry vegetation covering the ground provides readily combustible fuel if an ignition source is applied.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Eugene, OR – Sprinkler system activated for pallet fire at business; No injuries reported

Fire crews responded to an early-morning blaze outside a west Eugene business early on Wednesday morning, according to Eugene Springfield Fire officials.

ESF officials said that firefighters responded to a reported trash fire at about 2 a.m. on June 5 at ABC Roofing on West 6th Avenue. Responding fire crews arrived to find a stack of wooden pallets on fire outside of the building and eight units were called to the scene, authorities said. Fire officials said that the heat from the blaze activated the sprinkler system inside and saved the building with damage limited to a small amount of fire damage and the rest related to smoke and water.

No injuries were reported in the incident and the cause of the fire is under investigation, fire officials said.

Residential, Single Family Home

Montecito, CA – Sprinkler system contains garage fire; No injuries reported

Fire crews were called to the scene of a garage fire on Monday afternoon in Montecito.

Crews arrived in the 200 block of Olive Mill Road and found light smoke coming from the garage, according to the Montecito Fire Department (MFD).

Fortunately, a sprinkler system within the garage effectively contained the flames, resulting in minimal damage confined to the garage and no reported injuries.

To ensure the safety of residents and motorists, the section of Olive Mill Road between Hot Springs Road and the Olive Mill roundabout at Coast Village Road was temporarily closed while firefighters continued their operations at the scene.

The closure allowed the crews to conduct mop-up activities and investigate the possible cause of the fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Oxford, ME – Sprinkler system activated for fire in large commercial building; No injuries reported

A significant fire damaged a large commercial building Saturday evening in Oxford.

Oxford fire officials reported responding to the blaze at 822 Main Street shortly before 7:30 p.m.

The structure accommodates several businesses.

Due to the smoke, races at the nearby Oxford Plains Speedway were briefly halted.

Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the building’s sprinkler system is credited with preventing further destruction.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Springfield, OR – Sprinkler system activated for commercial structure fire; No injuries reported

Eugene Springfield Fire crews are on scene of a commercial structure fire at 4660 Main Street in east Springfield, the fire department reported Thursday around 8:40 p.m.

A crew was notified of a fire alarm at 7:47 p.m. and arrived under 4 minutes, the department said.

“Engine 14 found an alarm sounding with smoke from a roll up door,” EDF stated. “The crew called for a full commercial alarm assignment bringing 3 additional engines, 2 trucks, 2 BCs and an ambulance.”

Crews made entry in to the building and were confronted by heavy smoke from a fire within a machine shop.

Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire which was held in check by the sprinkler system.

Crews are working to clear smoke and overhaul the fire.

There were no injuries and the fire is under investigation.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Vancouver, WA – Sprinkler system extinguishes arson fire at church

Authorities are searching for a suspect accused of breaking into a church and trying to start a fire. It happened early Sunday morning in Vancouver. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office says someone broke into the City Harvest Church by breaking a window. They then allegedly tried to start a fire inside the building, but a sprinkler system quickly extinguished the flames. Authorities are investigating the incident as arson.

Apartment Building, Residential

Seattle, WA – Sprinkler system activated for fire inside apartment building; No injuries reported

Crews fought a fire inside an apartment in Downtown Seattle early Tuesday, causing residents to spill out onto the street.

At 3:30 a.m., crews were called to the building in the 1400 block of Madison Street. A fire was found inside a fourth-floor unit.

When firefighters arrived, the flames were under control, thanks to the building’s sprinkler system, according to the Seattle Fire Department. Crews put out the remaining fire.

No one was hurt.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Storage / Warehouse

Boonville, MO – Sprinkler system activated for fire at fireworks warehouse; No injuries reported

The vice presidents of operations of Spirit of ’76 Fireworks confirmed the warehouse in the 1600 block of Mid-America Industrial Drive in Boonville caught fire on Monday afternoon.

VP of Operations John Walker said no one was hurt and everyone was able to get out of the building safely.

An ABC 17 News reporter was able to hear fireworks going off at the scene.

Walker at the scene said the business was alerted around 1 p.m. Monday that fire alarms were going off and found a fire contained to one area. Walker said the fire was contained to one area of the building.

A cause of the fire was not known as a Monday afternoon. Walker said it appeared that the sprinkler system went off as it was supposed to, and that 20 employees were working in the building at the time.

No injuries were reported.

The fire was still burning as of 6:20 p.m. Firefighters have not been able to go inside the building because conditions are not safe, according to Cooper County Fire Protection District Lt. William Johnson. Firefighters are expecting to be on the scene until 10 p.m. It will likely take days to determine the cause of the fire, Johnson said.

“We are on the scene of a working structure fire at Spirit of 76 fireworks. This is mutual aid to Boonville Fire,” the Cooper County Fire Protection District wrote on its Facebook page.

Laurie Little works at the Holiday Inn on Mid-America Industrial Drive near the warehouse.

Little said she was at work at the time, when she remembers hearing a ‘pop,pop,pop’ and seeing an “explosion” in the sky when she looked out the window. She said she soon recognized the sound as fireworks because her family used to own a fireworks company, but it was concerning at first.

“It was scary at first because I was like if somethings exploding in that building and there’s the capacity to just keep exploding we’re not too far away from that,” Little said. “So, you know it was a little bit unnerving at first but then you know I thought at the time it’s gotta be fireworks because once the initial explosion kinda cleared… right like you could see it more drifting off like firework smoke.”

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Penetanguishene, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for suspicious fire in former hospital; No injuries reported

Fire officials say they battled flames at a former hospital in Penetanguishene on Monday, believing it suspicious.

Around 9:30 p.m., the Penetanguishene Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at 58 Church Street, fire chief Richard Renaud wrote in an email to Barrie 360.

He says crews arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the front door.

“The building, a sprinklered former hospital (Beechwood Hospital), was vacant and for sale at the time of the fire,” said Renaud. “Initial reports were that people were possibly inside. That information turned out to be false.”

Firefighters quickly knocked down the blaze and searched the building.

“The building’s operating sprinkler system kept the fire isolated to the area of origin,” said Renaud. “There were no operating smoke alarms in the building.”

The fire is considered suspicious, according to Renaud. The fire marshal has been contacted and OPP are securing the scene.

He added that there were no injuries to civilians or firefighters.

“[I] would like to remind everyone to make sure they have working Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms in their homes,” said Renaud. “Early detection is key in surviving a fire. Test your devices today.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Columbus, IN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

A residential sprinkler system limited fire damage at a Columbus apartment complex on Monday night.

Columbus Fire Department investigators said that the fire was caused by an improperly discarded cigarette, said Capt. Mike Wilson, fire department spokesman.

At about 6:47 p.m., Columbus firefighters were called to the St. Barts Apartments, 745 Sycamore St., for a fire alarm activation. When the first arriving firefighters arrived on the scene, they reported water flowing from a third floor balcony.

Firefighters used a ground ladder to gain access to the balcony and found an activated sprinkler head, smoldering cardboard boxes and minor fire damage on the exterior of the apartment. Firefighters moved the charred debris to allow water from the sprinkler to extinguish hot spots located within the empty cardboard boxes. When firefighters were sure that hot embers were fully extinguished, firefighters stopped the flow of water from the sprinkler system.

Columbus Fire Department investigators spoke to the apartment’s tenant, who shared that he had been smoking on the balcony approximately 30 minutes prior to the sprinkler system activation. The apartment’s tenant told fire investigators the he was storing empty cardboard boxes on the patio from a recent move.

Fire investigators determined that the tenant had been using an empty cardboard box to discard used cigarettes. The tenant told investigators that he believed he had fully extinguished the cigarette before discarding the cigarette in one of the empty boxes. Investigators have classified the fire as accidental in nature as a result of the improper disposal of smoking materials. Damage to the property is estimated at less than $5,000. No injuries were reported.

The fire incident commander, Capt. Dave Dwyer, said that the sprinkler system operated appropriately and helped to avert a more significant fire. “ With plenty of fuel and oxygen, the fire could have easily spread to other combustible materials or potentially entered the living space, if not for the sprinkler system,” said Dwyer said. The Columbus Fire Department has responded to two fire incidents in the past week that were extinguished by automatic sprinkler systems.