All posts by viking210

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinklers extinguish apartment fire before fire department arrives (Edina, MN)

The Edina Fire Department was dispatched to the apartment fire at approximately 6:15 p.m. Sunday, arriving to find a fire on the stovetop of a first-floor unit had already been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. “The building’s sprinklers saved countless lives and property,” Assistant Fire Chief Darrell Todd said. “This really shows the impact sprinklers have on fires by keeping it from spreading to other units. Had the building not been sprinkled, the fire could have spread quickly, endangering lives.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Apartment electrical fire contained by sprinkler system (Novato, CA)

A stacked washer-drier unit in an exterior closet caught fire next to a downtown Novato apartment, and the only loss was a few clothes. Firefighters responded to the call and found that a sprinkler system had done most of the work on the electrical fire, which took place on the patio of an apartment. Battalion Chief Jeff Veliquette said the fire remained contained to the exterior closet. “The sprinklers knocked it down,” Veliquette said. “The take-home message is that sprinklers did their job and held it off long enough for us to do our job. Otherwise this could have easily spread into the apartment.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Sprinkler system extinguishes laundry room fire at Alzheimer’s care facility (Edmonds, WA)

Dozens of residents at a Alzheimer’s care facility escaped injuries in an early-morning laundry room fire that was quickly extinguished by a fire sprinkler system. “The building’s fire sprinkler system really made a big difference in the outcome of this fire. It kept the fire from spreading, prevented injuries and limited damage,” Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1, said in a news release. No injuries were reported.

This is not the first time a fire sprinkler system has extinguished a blaze at the facility, fire officials said. In August 2011, a sprinkler put out a fire in a hot water tank near the facility’s kitchen.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Fire in fifth-floor hotel room extinguished by sprinkler system (Pittsburgh, PA)

Pittsburgh firefighters responded to a fire in a fifth-floor room of an Upper Hill District hotel shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. Sprinklers at the hotel extinguished the fire, and no one was injured, according to an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher. The county’s 911 center received the call at 11:06 and firefighters reported that the fire was out 15 minutes later.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fire sprinklers and working smoke alarms save child playing with matches (Salisbury, MD)

Fire crews were called to a two-story five unit apartment building just before 8:30 a.m. for a report of a fire. When firefighters arrived they found the fire was already extinguished in the four-year-old child’s bedroom. Fire Marshals investigating the scene concluded that the child had been playing with matches and set a bed on fire. Working smoke alarms alerted the parents to the blaze and they were able to escape with the child and warn neighbors. A sprinkler in the child’s bedroom put out the fire.

“This is yet another example of the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinklers in residential occupancies. The presence of not only sprinklers but working smoke alarms and a home escape plan undoubtedly prevented a more tragic outcome” stated William E. Barnard, Maryland State Fire Marshal.

Residential, Single Family Home

Residential fire sprinklers make the difference in house fire (Tucson, AZ)

A Tucson family’s home was saved after their fire sprinkler system extinguished a fire. Drexel Heights Fire responded to the house fire around 3 Saturday afternoon. According to Tracy Koslowski with Drexel Heights Fire, the homeowners called 9-1-1 after finding their fire sprinkler system had extinguished the fire while they were away from the house. Koslowski said the family could have found the house in flames, had they not had a fire sprinkler system.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fire extinguished by sprinkler system at apartment complex (Happy Valley, OR)

Firefighters are crediting a residential sprinkler system for putting out a two-alarm apartment fire. Brandon Paxton, Clackamas Fire District 1 spokesman, said the sprinklers in the Town Center Station Apartments worked so well that the fire already was out when firefighters arrived after receiving a 10:22 p.m. 9-1-1 call. Firefighters found combustible materials on a kitchen range that ignited when the stove was turned on accidentally. “The key here was early detection,” Paxton said. “The sprinkler system already in place did its job.” Paxton said the fire was contained to one apartment, but easily could have spread to other units if the sprinkler system hadn’t controlled it. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinkler system contains apartment fire (Perryville, MD)

The quick containment of a Monday morning laundry room fire in a Perryville apartment building is evidence that sprinkler systems save lives, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal. The cause of the 5:30 a.m. fire is still under investigation, although it is not considered suspicious, said Deputy Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire. Firefighters evacuated residents from the eight apartments in the building, including one elderly woman who was confined to her bed.