Apartment Building, Residential

Berkeley, CA – Sprinkler extinguishes kitchen fire in fourth floor apartment; No injuries

The Berkeley Fire Department responded Monday to an apartment fire on University Avenue.  Interim Berkeley Fire Chief Avery Webb said the fire department received a report just before 10:40 a.m. of a water-flow alarm from the fire suppression system at 1122 University, just east of San Pablo Avenue.

The city dispatched a single-alarm assignment for a possible structure fire.

When firefighters got to the 5-story building — four stories of residential over ground-floor commercial — they found light smoke on the fourth floor, and water flowing from under an apartment door. 

Webb said firefighters used forcible entry to get into the apartment. They encountered heavy smoke inside the apartment and an activated fire sprinkler head.

The fire had occurred on the kitchen stove, Webb said, but was extinguished by the activated sprinkler.

The fire was confined to the stove top, and smoke affected a small portion of the building. But water from the fire sprinkler affected the fourth floor and all floors below it, causing the majority of the building damage, Webb said.

Webb said damage was estimated to be approximately $100,000. No injuries were reported.