All posts by viking210

Department Store, Retail

Germantown, MD – Fire at Bed, Bath and Beyond store controlled by sprinkler system

Montgomery County firefighters say an electrical short in a light fixture sparked a fire on Tuesday morning at the Bed, Bath and Beyond store on Middlebrook Road in Germantown.

Fire and Rescue Spokesperson Pete Piringer said workers discovered the blaze and called 9-1-1. He said the fire was controlled by the building’s sprinkler system.

According to Piringer, the store’s employees evacuated the building and there were no injuries

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Reno, NV – Sprinkler system activates to help contain hotel fire

An investigation is underway into a fire Tuesday night in the Ponderosa Hotel in Reno’s Midtown district.  Crews responded around 8 p.m. after a fire was reported in one of rooms at the Ponderosa on South Virginia Street. 

(The fire sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire to one room.)

About 20 people had to be evacuated but the fire was contained to just the one room.  Firefighters say they got a quick jump on the fire and were able to keep the damage to a minimum.

“We were able to evacuate the people out of the floor the fire was on,” Battalion Chief Tim O’Brien said.  “We were able to quickly shut down the sprinkler system once the fire was out and prevent any further water damage to the structure,” he said.

The residents who had to be evacuated later were allowed to return to their rooms. As of late Tuesday, the fire’s cause had not been determined.  No one was hurt.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Delray Beach, FL – Kitchen fire at assisted living facility quickly contained by sprinkler system

Two floors of an assisted living facility in suburban Delray Beach were evacuated Monday night when a small fire started in the kitchen of an apartment, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue reports.

The fire started just before 9:15 p.m. in the 14000 block of Sims Road at Grand Villa of Delray Beach, north of Atlantic Avenue and west of Military Trail.

The building’s fire alarm and sprinkler system were activated and crews were quickly able to get the fire under control, said Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Fire Rescue. The first and second floors of the facility were evacuated as a precaution.

There was no fire extension into any of the other units, Borroto said.  At 10:30 p.m., the building was being ventilated and residents from the second floor were allowed back into their homes.  It was not known how many residents from the first floor remained displaced late Monday.

 

Apartment Building, Residential

Harrisburg, PA – Single sprinkler keeps apartment fire from spreading

A single fire sprinkler kept a kitchen blaze from spreading through a Harrisburg apartment complex on Monday night, city fire Chief Brian Enterline said. Crews responded to a building fire call in the 200 block of Mary Street at about 5:08 p.m. and found smoke pouring from a second-floor apartment.

However, firefighters found that a fire sprinkler head, which activates when the temperature reaches 155 degrees, quickly extinguished the blaze and stopped it from spreading to adjoining apartments, Enterline said. No one was injured, and Enterline credited the sprinkler for preventing what he called “catastrophic consequences.”

Firefighters used a ventilation fan and a wet/dry vacuum to help clean up the damage. Two apartments took on water damage and apartment management is assisting residents displaced by the fire. Affected residents should be able to return to their apartments by the end of the week, Enterline said.

“This fire could have had catastrophic consequences to both lives and property had it not been for the fast work of a single operating fire sprinkler head, which quickly contained and extinguished the fire,” Enterline said. “Firefighters were able to literally fight this fire with a fan and mop bucket.”

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

Hibbing, MN – Single sprinkler contains early morning fire at senior high rise apartment building

A fire at Hibbing’s Androy Building Sunday morning drew a full response from the Hibbing and neighboring fire departments. But when they arrived, they found the fire had already been contained by a single sprinkler head.

The Androy Building houses senior high-rise apartments, an Elks Club banquet center and an orthodontics clinic. According to the Hibbing Fire Department, firefighters arrived shortly before 6 a.m. when an automatic fire alarm was triggered. The found smoke coming from a vent near the kitchen of the Elks Club and tenants starting to to evacuate the building.

Inside, crews found smoke in the Elks side of the building but the fire down to a smolder. Crews put out the remaining smoldering material and ventilated the smoke from the banquet room. By 7:10 a.m., it was deemed safe enough to allow tenants back in.

Hibbing Fire Marshal Bryan Fagerstrom determined the case was accidental — a steam table had been left on which overheated and ignited the wood buffet table. He stressed the importance of having a properly maintained sprinkler system. “The sprinkler system in this fire was serviced and maintained per code and did exactly as it should by containing the fire and keeping it from spreading,” he said in the release.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Paia, HI – Firefighters credit sprinkler system in controlling restaurant blaze

Maui fire officials credit fire sprinklers for keeping a fire from spreading at a year-old Paia restaurant last Friday. At 11:11 a.m., firefighters responded to a reported structure fire at the Rock & Brews restaurant, at 120 Hana Highway.

Firefighters were on scene two minutes later and saw light smoke coming from the restaurant, according to fire officials. Employees reported hearing a loud pop then saw smoke in the air, and workers and patrons were evacuated.

Investigation found that the fire sprinklers had been activated in the attic space above the restaurant. Fire crews quickly entered the ceiling area and had the fire extinguished by 11:27 p.m, officials said.

Fire Capt., Ben Bland, said “It’s a true testament that fire sprinklers really do work and can make a difference to extinguish or slow a fire until fire department arrival. Fire sprinklers effectively prevented this fire from spreading throughout the attic and to the rest of the building.”

The fire was determined to be accidental and caused by a fault in electrical wiring. Damages were estimated at $10,000 to structure, $10,000 to contents. No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rowesville, SC – Sprinkler system aids firefighters in challenging industrial fire

North American Container is cleaning up after a blaze early Saturday morning.  The Rowesville Fire Department responded to the Garland Road facility at about 2:30 a.m. following the report of an explosion, Orangeburg County Chief Fire Operations Officer Teddy Wolfe said.

The first units reported heavy fire near an exterior wall of a building at the facility.  The facility had a working sprinkler system that activated and was able to hold the fire at bay until firefighters were able to assemble for an interior fire attack, Wolfe said.

LP gas cylinders near the fire exploded, leading to structural damage near the source from both the explosions and heat. The large amount of stacked wood products created a challenge for firefighters during salvage and overhaul, Wolfe said.

More than 35 firefighters responded in all. Wolfe said one person received a very minor injury after the initial attack. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

North American Container Corp. employs 400 people in the manufacture of bulk shipping containers.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire to kitchen; No injuries

Wilmington Fire Department crews responded to an apartment fire located at 106 N. Water St around 2:45 p.m. Saturday. Battalion Chief Chris Nelson said a sprinkler system located in the apartment controlled the fire, keeping it contained to the kitchen where the fire started, until firefighters arrived on scene.

The occupant was home at the time, but no one was injured. A total of seven trucks responded as well as units from NHRMC EMS and Wilmington Police Department.  Nelson said there was minimal fire damage to the apartment and some water damage to apartments below where the fire started.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Napa, CA – Sprinkler puts out fire in hotel caused by unattended candle

A lit candle on Friday morning ignited a hand towel in a guest room at the River Terrace Inn on Soscol Avenue, according to the Napa Fire Department.  The hotel was evacuated. There were no reported injuries.

Firefighters, who responded to the fire at 11:17 a.m., found an operating fire sprinkler-head in the bathroom of an occupied room on the third floor, said Fire Marshal Darren Drake.

The sprinkler put out the fire, he said.  One room was damaged, and 74 out of 105 rooms were rented when the fire broke Friday morning, Drake said.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

North East, MD – High school has second sprinkler save in six weeks; Dryer fire extinguished

A commercial dryer caught fire in a Rising Sun High School laundry room on Wednesday night, sending dozens of firefighters and several pieces of equipment to the scene, according to school officials.  The small fire in the malfunctioning dryer was quickly extinguished by a sprinkler head above the appliance, school officials said, adding that it also activated a smoke alarm. The fire call occurred about 9 p.m.

The school was open on Thursday for a regular schedule, thanks to cleanup and ventilation efforts.  There was no fire or water damage to the school at 100 Tiger Drive, off Route 272, in Calvert, school officials said. The sprinkler, however, did leave water on the hallway floor near the laundry room, which is located at the north end of the building.

Firefighters were sweeping that standing water out a back door on Wednesday night. They also were running industrial fans to ventilate the smoke inside the building.  A Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office investigator arrived late Wednesday night and started an investigation to determine how the dryer fire started.

The dryer fire on Wednesday night has no connection to an electrical system fire in March, which was also contained by the school’s automatic sprinkler system.

(BLOG NOTE: Media report incorrectly stated that smoke caused the sprinkler to activate. Sprinklers are heat activated. Only the intense heat from a potentially damaging and deadly fire can cause this type of sprinkler system to operate)