The call for the first fire came in around 6 p.m. Monday, and crews were sent to an apartment on the 400 block of West College Avenue, TFD says. As they arrived, firefighters realized the building’s sprinkler system put out the fire. TFD says the crews worked to remove smoke and water from the apartment.
All the people escaped from that fire safely. TFD determined the fire started from cooking in the kitchen.
Just after 1:30 a.m. Monday, firefighters responded to a water alarm at the apartments in the 800 block of Southeast Stephens Street, Roseburg. When they arrived, they found water flowing from the upper floors, into the stairwell and out of the front doorway.
When firefighters searched the building they discovered remnants of a fire that had likely started inside an upstairs closet where a used cigarette had been tossed into a garbage bin, according to a press release.
The apartment complex had an automatic sprinkler system installed and when it sensed smoke from the fire it activated and extinguished the fire. The sprinklers caused water damage throughout the building, including several rooms and common spaces, but quickly doused the flames and prevented it from growing, said Fire Marshal Brian Jewell.
“This is a great reminder that sprinkler systems can not only save lives, it can reduce damage to property if functioning properly,” he said in a press release.
Jewell said it’s important to check wastebaskets and cushions in rooms where people have been smoking and look for embers that are still burning.
“Cigarettes can smolder longer than most bedding materials can upholstery can resist igniting,” he said.
The general fire alarm dispatched the Standard Fire Response Unit (2 engines, 1 truck and 1 ambulance and a total of 8 personnel) to the Marshfield Clinic. While en route, dispatch informed crews that Clinic security had a water flow alarm on the ground level.
Upon arrival, fire crew searched the ground floor finding nothing remarkable. Then, additional information came in that the water flow alarm was coming from the 2nd floor at the Ben R. Lawton Center. As the crew arrived on the 2nd floor, they were met with mild smoke and the signs of a sprinkler system flowing water.
A sprinkler head was flowing water above a contained dryer used in the cleaning process of specimen trays in the lab. This sprinkler head flow was stopped by the fire crew responding to the call.
Once it was determined that the fire was out, the fire crew initiated the process of removing water from the structure and protecting property. Fire units remained on-scene for more than 3 hours.
As of a result of the fire, the room where the fire originated has heat and smoke damage. Additionally, water damage is present on the 2nd, 1st and basement levels. A preliminary estimate of $50,000 in damages was reported.
There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire call.
Austin Fire Department’s latest station is officially in service as of noon Sunday.
AFD says its Fire Station 51, located at 5410 Highway 290, will serve citizens in the Travis Country and Sunset Valley areas of southwest Austin.
Firefighters from Station 51 also responded to their first fire Sunday, which was in the kitchen of the CK Thai Cuisine located at 5207 Brodie Lane.
This is the second of five new high priority Fire-EMS stations approved by Austin City Council. The first opened last year for Del Valle and southeast Austin.
When construction started in 2019, AFD told KXAN response times to most calls in that area fell between 13 and 14 minutes, considerably slower than its goal of eight minutes.
The plan was to keep people and property safe, and also reduce insurance rates.
In 2018, a report found 175 homeowners were at risk or had already seen their rates rise as much as $1,000 because they lived more than five miles from a fire station.
According to the Clark County Fire Department, the Combined Communications Center was notified of the fire around 3 PM.
Crews headed to the hotel’s fire control room upon arrival, where control panels indicated sprinkler activity coming from the 12th floor.
Fire personal headed up to the 10th floor by elevator then proceeded to walk up the stairs to the 12th floor.
Crews headed inside the room where the fire was reported and found an extinguished mattress fire that was put out by the sprinklers.
The room occupant was taken downstairs where she refused medical treatment. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire, as well as the estimated damage, is still under investigation.
According to Captain Kevin Cavagnac, firefighters received a call around 10:00 p.m. Tuesday night of fire and smoke on Winter St. at the ‘A Royal Flush’ warehouse, which stores portable restrooms. Cavagnac said the sprinkler system in the building was able to contained the fire and minimized the damage on the property.
No one was inside the warehouse at the time of the fire but two trucks inside were damaged. No injuries were reported.
The Holyoke Fire Department will continue to investigated what caused the fire.
According to Amiee Erfourth, superintendent of Benzie Central Schools, a report from the fire marshal stated spontaneous combustion of chemicals used for cleaning started a fire in a maintenance area.
“We think linseed oil was partly to blame,” Erfourth said. “It’s not a chemical we usually use, but it was used to clean some cutting boards. It has a low flashpoint.”
Erfourth said any time linseed oil is used in the future, any paper towels or rags used with it will be stored in water.
Smoke and water damaged flooring and cabinets in the maintenance room and several adjacent rooms.
“We’ll need new flooring in the band room and maintenance room, and we’ll have to repaint the maintenance room,” Erfourth said. “We’ll have to completely re-do the life skills room by replacing the flooring and cabinetry and painting the wall. We’re hoping to have it all done by the time school starts, but that will depend on supply timeline for flooring and cabinetry.”
Erfourth is still working with insurance adjustors to come up with the total cost of repairs. The school is currently working with flooring and cabinetry companies and taking bids for the work needed.
The Benzonia Fire Department responded to an alarm at around 5 p.m. on June 30 at the high school. At first they did not see a fire, but after moving to the back of the building, they saw a fire in a maintenance area. The school’s automatic sprinkler system had put most of the fire out. After the fire department finished putting out the fire, they worked to drive smoke out of the building.
The Frankfort and Homestead fire departments also responded to the call and helped vent smoke and clean up excess water as well.
According to CFD an automatic alarm alerted units to waterflow at the building. Units arrived shortly after 9:15 p.m. and found “water near the rear of the structure.”
Crews went inside and “discovered a vehicle that had caught fire that was extinguished by the building’s automatic sprinkler system.”
Fire Marshals are investigating the cause. No injures were reported.
No tenants were hurt or displaced as city firefighters quickly put out both blazes.
Both of those fires took place at the 83-unit Charles T. McQueeney Towers Apartments at 358 Orange St. downtown. The public housing authority property is home to low-income seniors and people with disabilities. It also hosts on its groundfloor the headquarters of the Housing Authority of New Haven.
The first fire took place at around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday. The second took place at around 7:58 p.m. on Tuesday. Both occurred on the high-rise’s 10th floor.
Here’s what happened, according to city Fire Chief John Alston.
On Saturday, he said, the fire took place in a non-residential office space on the 10th floor.
The fire was consistent with an overloaded electrical outlet and extension cord, he said. The extension cord was not Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certified.
“It overheated and caused a fire in that area,” Alston said.
Because that 10th-floor office space was empty at the time, Alston said, “the fire burned undetected until it activated the sprinkler system and the alarm system.”
Firefighters contained the blaze, he said, but there was “a lot of water damage” due to the activation of the sprinklers. A lot of the water got into the building’s elevator shaft, he said, leading to the elevator being taken out of service for a few hours.
Thanks to the hard work of an elevator tech and firefighters who “dewatered” and dried the elevator shaft and checked all of the apartments below the fire, the elevator was brought back online within a few hours and no tenants were displaced. (McQueeney Towers has two elevators but, at the time of the fire on Saturday, one elevator was already out of service and awaiting repairs.)
The Tuesday evening fire at McQueeney also took place on the building’s 10th floor, Alston said.
This time, the blaze occurred on a residential apartment’s outdoor balcony.
“A large amount of materials were burned,” he said. “Fortunately, because it was outside, the fire was contained to the outside.”
There was “minor water intrusion” into the unit, he said. Again, no injuries, and no displacements.
This second fire is still under investigation, Alston said. It appears to have taken place in a large, plastic storage container on the outdoor balcony. Firefighters did not find any grill on the balcony, he said.
While the department is not yet sure whether the fire was intentional or accidental, Alston said, the cause appears to be “by human hand.”
Does the fire department think these two 10th-floor fires were related?
“At this time, it’s inconclusive” whether or not they are related, he said.
While the department is confident that the “ignition source” of Saturday’s fire was electrical, he said, the department is still investigating what exactly was the ignition source of Tuesday’s balcony blaze.
How would he describe city firefighter responses to both fires?
“In both instances, tremendous responses,” he said. “Quick response. Quick knock down [of both fires]. I’m very proud.”
Asked for comment on both McQueeney fires, Housing Authority of New Haven Interim Director Shenae Draughn told the Independent: “The fire yesterday was contained to a balcony and was extinguished quickly. The fire on Saturday activated our sprinkler system that extinguished the fire. Both are under investigation.
“Once the investigation is completed, we’ll implement mitigating procedures. Our team, police and fire did an exceptional job with ensuring resident’s safety and that their subsequent needs were taken care of.”
At 4:38 p.m., the city fire department was notified of a fire that broke out in a rack of clothes inside the men’s section of the store at 1116 First St., according to Capt. Erik Mortimore. Napa Fire units began arriving at Kohl’s within two minutes, and about 30 customers, alerted by smoke alarms, evacuated the building along with employees, he said.
Firefighters entering the store found a light haze of smoke inside, and learned that two sprinkler heads had activated above the clothing rack, which was extinguished within 10 minutes, according to Mortimore. Although fire hose lines were pulled into the building, no outside water was used on the fire, he said.
Fire crews entered to shut off the sprinklers and prevent further flooding, and the last remaining crews left the scene at 7:26 p.m., according to Mortimore.
“We got off pretty easy given what it could have been,” he said Wednesday night.
No injuries were reported to customers, staff or firefighters.
Napa Police officers went to the scene along with Napa Fire units, said Mortimore. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday night.
Kohl’s was expected to remain closed Thursday as work continues to clear water out of the building, according to Mortimore.
