All posts by viking210

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fairborn, OH – Suspicious overnight fire at senior apartment complex put out by sprinkler system

… The second fire call came in at 1:56 a.m. as a piece of furniture on fire by the complex elevators. The fire department received further updates that there was heavy smoke and the sprinkler system had been activated.  “Someone had tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but it was actually the sprinkler that put the fire out for us,” (Fairborn Operations Chief Dave) Reichert said.

Residents were evacuated again due to the amount of smoke. In order to get the occupants out of the weather, fire crews cleared and opened the facility gymnasium.

“This one more significant than the other,” said Reichert. “Pretty much everything used to furnish a home today is made of a petroleum product that gives off a massive amount of smoke, with a lot of energy and a lot of fuel. Our crews did an excellent job of, number one, taking care of the occupants, making sure they were safe while we continued to do our work getting the remaining smoke out of the building.”

The exact causes of the two fires are still under investigation. Due to the suspicious nature of the fires, the State Fire Marshal was called in to investigate. “It’s definitely odd to have two fires, a couple hours apart, in two different locations in the same building,” Reichert said.  No injuries were reported during either incident.

Office Building

Fort Worth, TX – Fire at Mutual of Omaha high rise contained by sprinkler system

Emergency crews in Fort Worth responded to a fire alarm at a 12-story building on Thursday morning. It happened at about 3:45 a.m. at the Mutual of Omaha Bank building, located in the 6300 block of Ridglea Place.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and found a small fire in a cabinet on the building’s third floor. The flames were enough to start the building’s automatic sprinkler system and set off the fire alarm.

Crews had the fire extinguished within about 10 minutes of its discovery. After an extensive search of all floors, workers determined that the building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The overnight cleaning crews had already left the premises, and there were no reports of injuries. Investigators determined that the fire was an accident.

Workers have now moved on to damage assessment. Fire crews helped clear smoke from the building and a contractor was brought in to assist with water removal. An estimate of the damages has not yet been released.

Robert Pike is a CPA with offices in the building. He said that the timing of the fire could not be worse, as the last weeks of March and start of April are busy days for tax preparers. Delays from the incident could put financial workers behind in their work.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Elmhurst, IL – Fire in middle school science lab doused by sprinkler system

A “chemical reaction” caused a small fire in a science classroom at a west suburban middle school Wednesday morning, causing a lot of smoke, but no injuries.

The Elmhurst Fire Department was called about 9:45 a.m. to an activated fire alarm at Sandburg Middle School at 345 E. St. Charles Rd., a statement from the department said.

Firefighters found “heavy smoke coming from a science classroom located on the lower level,” though the fire had already been doused by the school’s sprinkler system, the statement said.

All students and staff were evacuated from the building as firefighters ventilated the area, replaced a sprinkler head and cleaned up.

A fire department investigation showed a chemical reaction had triggered the fire, though no students were present in the classroom at the time.  No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at apartment complex

Fargo firefighters got a quick knockdown on a fire thanks to an automatic sprinkler system that controled most of the stove fire. The fire was reported just after 6 p.m. Wednesday in a second floor apartment at 5018 Amber Valley Parkway South in Fargo.

There were no injuries. The fire started when the tenant was cooking and stepped away from the kitchen. She noticed the fire when she heard her smoke detectors go off.

Battaliion Chief Tim Binfet says if the sprinklers had not activated, the fire would have spread throughout the apartment. Damage is estimated at $15,000. The Red Cross assisted the tenants with temporary lodging.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Atlanta, GA – Fire at CDC laboratory controlled with help from sprinkler system

1 Comment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention closed one of its laboratory buildings Wednesday after an overnight fire. CDC officials say the fire broke out around midnight in the Rubella lab in Building 18. They say the laboratory’s water sprinkler system functioned properly, and local fire and CDC officials responded accordingly.

No one was injured and there was no release or loss of containment of any germs. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire but say early indications point to a piece of laboratory equipment that malfunctioned. The building houses about 470 employees. In addition to rubella, scientists in the building also work on measles, mumps, HIV, meningitis, hepatitis, norovirus and other pathogens.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Pierre, SD – Hotel boiler room fire extinguished by sprinkler system

The Pierre Fire Department spent about an hour at the Clubhouse Inn and Suites early this morning after fire alarms sounded in the building around 1:30 a.m.  Pierre Fire Chief Ian Paul says when firefighters arrived at the hotel, light smoke was noted in a boiler room near the pool area on the building’s main floor. 

Paul says a small fire had occurred and that produced enough heat to trip the fire sprinkler suppression system.  Paul credits the system with putting the fire out before it spread.  Guests were temporarily evacuated into the hotel’s lobby until it was determined the fire was completely extinguished.

Paul says he doesn’t have an estimate of damage to the boiler and says water damage from the sprinkler system was confined to the area near the fire and was not extensive.  Firefighters remained at the hotel for a time to make sure the fire was completely out.  As for the cause, Paul says it appears to have been an electrical malfunction in the unit, but says the establishment’s insurance company will investigate further.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Merrifield, MN – Sprinklers contain fire at metal stamping business to front entry

Five fire departments quickly mobilized Tuesday night to tackle what could have been a commercial structure nightmare, but a sprinkler system did its work. Flames were visible out the front entrance of a two-story vestibule at Clow Stamping. The fire was reported at 9:04 p.m. Tuesday.

Twyla Flaws, Clow Stamping personnel manager, said at least 70 employees were working in the plant at the time and evacuated without incident. The fire call came between shifts as another crew comes in for the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift. Flaws said it’s not unusual for the 10 p.m. crew members to arrive early and she thought one of those early arrivals may have been the one to spot the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pasadena, TX – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system

2 Comments

** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department Reported **
On Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 7:34 pm, the Pasadena Fire Department responded to a reported Automatic Fire Alarm at 3271 Shaver Street in Pasadena.  Upon their arrival firefighters were advised that it was a false alarm but that the water flow alarm was also activated.

Investigation by fire department personnel revealed that there had been a small fire in the kitchen of one of the apartment units which activated a single sprinkler head and extinguished the fire. No Injuries were reported. Fire damage was confined to the top of the stove and the cooking container and water damage was confined to the apartment of origin. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental.

This incident shows the importance of an automatic fire sprinkler system and demonstrates that if the building did not have an automatic sprinkler system, the outcome could have been completely different.

Furthermore there is no doubt whatsoever that at the very least the presence of a sprinkler system saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the building owners and potentially prevented citizens and firefighters from being injured or killed.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Durham, NH – Fire at University of New Hampshire contained with help from sprinklers

A small oven fire broke out in Rudman Hall at the University of New Hampshire on Sunday evening.  Durham Fire Chief Corey Landry said the department received a call about a fire in an oven on the third floor of Rudman Hall around 7:25 p.m. Located on College Road, Rudman Hall is home to the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.

Landry said the caller was using a commercial-sized oven and had placed plastic tubes inside. Landry could not comment what the caller was doing specifically with the tubes.   The tubes had melted and started a small fire, but it was contained to the oven, Landry said. The fire set off the sprinkler system, but the water was drained through drains in the floor.

Landry said the building was evacuated, but there was no one inside. The only damage sustained was to the plastic tubes.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Beaumont, TX – Sprinkler douses fire at Candlewood Suites; Guests return to rooms within the hour

At approximately 8:00 AM, Beaumont Fire Rescue units responded to KJP Hospitality Hotel located at 5355 Clearwater Court.   When firefighters arrived, they found a fire in a room on the first floor.  The sprinkler system had activated and controlled the fire, confining it to a small area of one room but there was smoke throughout the first floor.

The manager reported there were 30 rooms occupied at the time of the fire.   All occupants were able to evacuate without injury. The fire appears to have been caused by a heating unit attached to a massage bed.   The smoke was cleared and occupants were allowed to return to their rooms within the hour.