Apartment Building, Residential Butte, MT – Sprinkler system praised for minimizing fire damage at off-campus housing January 4, 2017 viking210 A sprinkler activation system successfully limited the damage after an early-morning house fire broke out at off-campus Montana Tech student housing at 1038 Missoula Ave. on Friday. At 5:42 a.m. Friday, firefighters quickly extinguished the fire in apartment 1032 and kept it from spreading to the interior of the apartment and adjoining apartments. The fire originated in an exterior barbecue used the previous evening, according to Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department responders. One of three male occupants suffered from smoke inhalation and was treated, and A-1 Ambulance transported him to the hospital, according to a county press release. The fire damaged exterior siding, two large exterior windows, the front door, and an overhead awning. It resulted in water damage, but the sprinkler system confined the fire to the exterior and kept it from engulfing the entire residential complex, saving lives and limiting property damage, according to the report. Fire crews cleared the scene after 7 a.m. Responders included the BSB police and the Big Butte Fire Department. “We thank Montana Tech for having a properly installed and maintained automatic fire sprinkler system,” said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Doherty. Total cost damages to the involved structure were minimal, he said. A-1 Ambulance transported the injured civilian to the emergency room. His condition is unknown.“ This is a great sprinkler success story. The facilities sprinkler and alarm systems did their jobs,” said Doherty. “There were no fatalities, minimal amounts of property damage, and after some minor clean-up, this apartment should be back up and running quickly. This is a great example of how sprinklers save lives; they are efficient, effective, and essential in protecting both lives and property.” Friday afternoon, cleaners from Dayspring Restoration were tearing out damaged carpets and cleaning up smoke damage. Workers Matt Popham and Patrick Hennessey estimated the cleanup would take two weeks to a month.
