Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Belden, CA – Sprinklers help keep fire from spreading at guest lodge April 21, 2015 viking210 A fire of unknown origin burned a cabin and mobile home adjacent to Belden Town’s guest lodge Sunday, April 19, crackling to life in the wee hours of the morning. Quincy Fire Chief Robbie Cassou said a sprinkler system helped to keep the fire contained. He said the owner was also spraying water on the building when fire crews arrived. Apartments connected to the main lodge also suffered damage. According to resort manager Richard Folen, guests were evacuated as soon as the fire was discovered. Folen said there were three rooms with guests in them. He said there were also guests in cabins on the far side of the lodge from the fire, but they were allowed to stay in their rooms. The fire affected Cabin 8 and the west side of the lodge. It included the master suite, which owner Ivan Coffman calls home. Firefighters from communities all over the county responded to the fire along with the U.S. Forest Service and a Cal Fire crew from Butte County.
Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing Rockford, IL – Sprinklers help contain fire to loading dock at uniform business April 21, 2015 viking210 A fire at a local uniform business at 1:45 AM Sunday caused significant damage and engulfed several tractor trailors. Crews were able to keep the fire from spreading thanks to the sprinkler system which activated in the fire. No injuries were reported and there is no word on the cause of the fire.
Auto Dealership, Retail Eureka, CA – Sprinklers help limit damage in fire at auto body shop April 21, 2015 viking210 An alert passerby coupled with a sprinkler system helped quell what could have been a much worse fire at Fred’s Body Shop on Saturday night. A malfunctioning paint recycler — an apparatus which separates and reclaims solvents from waste paint for reuse — at the shop, located on Indianola Cutoff, was the cause of the fire but the business’ commercial fire sprinkler system suppressed much of the flames. A passerby reported smoke and a small amount of fire coming from the shop and, at about 6:40 p.m., units from the Humboldt Bay Fire and Arcata Fire headed to the scene. The first arriving battalion saw smoke coming from the roof vents and forced open a door and found the fire in the back of the shop. Additional crews arrived and extinguished the flames with 15 minutes. As a result, Indianola Cutoff was closed for about an hour and a half. Damages were estimated at $6,000 but fire officials note the early notification and fire suppression system greatly minimized the damage potential for the body shop.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Barrie, ON, Canada – Fire contained to equipment room by sprinkler system April 20, 2015 viking210 The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has been contacted, following a late night fire at Global Electric Electronic Processing in Barrie. Barrie fire crews were called to John Street on Saturday night, around 10 p.m. to contend with smoke and flames. Officials say a sprinkler system contained the fire to an equipment room until firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames. Staff evacuated the building quickly and no injuries are reported. The OFM will sift through the debris on Monday to determine a cause and damage estimate. A private security firm has been hired to secure the property during the investigation. This is the fourth time in the last 12 months that Barrie fire crews have been called to Geep.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Hays, KS – Laundry fire at Holiday Inn Express extinguished by sprinkler system April 20, 2015 viking210 At 10:04 p.m. Saturday, the Hays Fire Department, assisted by the Hays Police Department, was dispatched to an automatic fire alarm at the Holiday Inn Express, 4650 Roth. First arriving police officers reported there was a fire in the building and that occupants were evacuating. At the same time, Holiday Inn Express staff called 911 to report a fire in the laundry room. At that time, additional fire crews and Ellis County EMS were alerted to respond. Police officers immediately began assisting with the evacuation of the building. Ellis County EMS assisted one guest with limited mobility in evacuating the hotel. There were no injuries as a result of the fire. Firefighters advanced one attack hose line to the laundry room and found the fire had been extinguished by two automatic fire sprinklers. After confirming that the fire was extinguished, firefighters worked to clear the smoke and shut down the fire sprinkler system. The laundry room suffered fire, smoke and water damage. The lobby area and portions of the first floor of the building suffered water and smoke damage. The most probable cause of the fire was the spontaneous combustion of laundry inside a clothes dryer. Five fire trucks and 18 firefighters responded. The last fire crew left the scene at 12:31 a.m. Sunday.
Apartment Building, Residential Phoenix, AZ – Sprinkler system helps control fire in three-story apartment building April 20, 2015 viking210 An apartment fire in North Phoenix left six residents displaced on Saturday morning, according to Captain Aaron Ernsberger with the Phoenix Fire Department. The fire happened on the third floor of a three-story apartment building near Tatum Boulevard and Union Hills Drive. Crews from the Phoenix Fire Department quickly got the fire under control, and immediately began trying to stop the water flow to the sprinkler system from damaging the lower units. The Phoenix Fire Department is assisting the residents on all three floors that were displaced because of the water damage. The cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation.
Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential Bloomington, IL – Residence hall fire at Illinois Wesleyan University contained by sprinkler system; 135 student residents safe April 20, 2015 viking210 No one was injured when a fire broke out Friday night in a residence hall on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. An automatic sprinkler kept the fire at bay until firefighters extinguished it. Students were evacuated from upper-level rooms in Gulick Hall, 109 University St., but were allowed to return about 10:30 p.m., said IWU spokesman Matt Kurz. A faulty office copier is blamed for the blaze that caused an estimated $50,000 in damage. The Bloomington Fire Department reported damage to the building and contents with smoke and water damage throughout the first floor and offices of Residential Life. The building’s design prevented much smoke from entering the living areas, Deputy Chief Les Siron said. Smoke was so heavy when firefighters arrived about 9 p.m. that they had to use a thermal imaging camera to find the fire, Siron said. The fire was reported via an automatic alarm. Gulick is a first-year hall with capacity for 135 residents, Kurz said.
Apartment Building, Residential New Braunfels, TX – Sprinklers assist in extinguishing apartment blaze; No injuries reported April 20, 2015 viking210 New Braunfels Firefighters were called out to the Ranch at the Guadalupe at 1355 Ranch Parkway for a fire last Tuesday afternoon. Crews were dispatched at 3pm. for a fire alarm. When they arrived on scene, officials say there was smoke showing from a 3rd floor apartment, but that a fire-sprinkler system had activated. A microwave is being blamed for starting the fire in the kitchen. Fire crews finished extinguishing the blaze, and called the fire under control at 3:21pm..
Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing Woodstock, ON, Canada – Fire in laser cutter at machining business contained with help from sprinklers April 19, 2015 viking210 The Woodstock Fire Department said they responded to a structure fire at Harvan Engineering Ltd. Thursday at around 5 p.m. When they arrived, fire crews found that staff had been evacuated and the sprinkler systems had been activated, allowing firefighters to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be the result of a spark from the cutting process melting an oxygen supply line, igniting the oxygen supply and spreading to the machine housing. “This is an excellent example of a building’s life-safety systems minimizing the spread of a fire,” said Woodstock fire’s Deputy Fire Chief Jason Whiteley. “A working and properly maintained sprinkler system prevented the fire from leaving the piece of equipment and potentially destroying the facility.” The Woodstock Fire Department said they would like to remind everyone that all fire and life-safety equipment should be checked monthly and have annual maintenance performed to ensure it will operate when needed.
Other - Residential, Residential Framingham, MA – Cooking fire in rooming house contained by single sprinkler April 19, 2015 viking210 Damage from a fire in a 12-unit rooming house in Framingham Wednesday was minimized due to sprinklers, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Framingham Fire Chief. A cooking fire occurred in a 12-unit rooming house at 260 Union Avenue in Framingham, just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15. Fortunately, the building is equipped with residential sprinklers and a single sprinkler head contained the fire, said Framingham Fire Chief Gary Daughtery. “Fire sprinklers minimized the damage to the building, used less water to control the fire than we would have, and minimized the time these residents were displaced from their home,” said Daughtery. The resident panicked and instead of putting a lid on the pan tried to put the grease fire out with water, which quickly spread the fire onto the counter and cabinets, according to the state’s fire marshal’s office. The 12 occupants were temporarily displaced while, repairs were made to the kitchen and will be moving back home today, April 16, said a release from the state fire marshal’s office. Damage was confined to a small area around the stove and no one was injured in the fire. “Residential fire sprinklers are the future of fire,“ said Daughtery. “They keep fires smaller and cooler so they are less dangerous for both the people inside the home and responding firefighters.”
