Category Archives: Government/Military

Government/Military, Prison / Jail

Sioux Falls, SD – Fire inside state penitentiary carpentry shop put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A portion of the South Dakota State penitentiary was damaged by a fire Friday night.

Authorities were called to the carpentry shop in the penitentiary at 10 p.m. after prison staff noticed the fire on security cameras, according to scanner traffic. 

Staff responding to the fire encountered smoke, and the fire department was called, according to a release from the Department of Corrections.

The Sioux Falls Fire Department and a sprinkler system extinguished the blaze by 10:45 p.m., the release said. No staff or inmates were in the shop at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. 

The carpentry shop suffered fire and smoke damage, but the amount of damage hasn’t been determined, the release stated.

The carpentry shop is part of Pheasantland Industries, which provides work opportunities and job skills for state prison inmates and makes road signs, customized wooden furniture and printed products.  

Government/Military, Prison / Jail

Stock Island, FL – Electrical fire in county jail contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A small electrical fire broke out at the Monroe County jail on Stock Island on Sunday morning.

No one was injured in the blaze. The fire started at 6:41 a.m. in an electrical box at the sally port of the jail on College Road, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Linhardt said. The fire started right under a sprinkler head fore a fire protection system, which allowed the fire to be easily contained, Linhardt said.

Firefighters arrived within minutes and quickly extinguished the blaze, Linhardt said. The fire did damage some electrical equipment and the jail was operating on back-up generators on Sunday, Linhardt said.

Government Office, Government/Military

New York, NY – Fire sprinkler system keeps fifth floor office fire to a minimum; No injuries reported

A fire in a Department of Buildings headquarters on Monday afternoon caused damage to several offices after computer paper somehow caught fire, FDNY officials said.

The fire was mostly contained to a fifth floor storage area at 280 Broadway, but was kept to a minimum by the building sprinkler system that a requirement in all commercial buildings over 40 feet high, including city-owned buildings.

No injuries were reported, though traffic on Broadway at Chambers Street was snarled for nearly an hour.

The fire went to an “all-hands” bringing in more than 50 firefighters on scene, who conducted a search throughout the building and were able to establish that the offices were safe to return. There were few workers in the building because of the Presidents Day holiday.

DOB officials did not respond as to how much damage the offices may have incurred.

The building, the former newspaper headquarters for the New York City Sun from 1833-1950, still has the original clock on the building, but hasn’t worked in years.  The City Sun was resurrected from 2002 to 2008 by investor Conrad Black, but then shut it down. The Department of Buildings later established their headquarters in the building. The building was made a landmark in 1986.

At one point, firefighters were unable to remove a hose that was connected to a fire truck. Efforts to remove the hose resulted in the hydrant exploding from underneath, causing a geyser in front of the building. It was quickly controlled, though DEP would be called to repair and hydrant.

Government/Military, Public Library

Charlevoix, MI – Fire sprinklers contain electrical fire on second floor of Library

Fire suppression sprinklers at the Charlevoix Public Library played a key part in containing an electrical fire on the building’s second floor early Saturday, but did cause water damage on both the library’s upper and lower levels.

The library remained closed through Monday for cleanup following the fire, and reopened with regular operating hours on Tuesday.

Charlevoix Township Fire Department Fire Chief Dan Thorp said that if it was not for the library’s sprinkler system — and given the time of day that it started — “the entire library could have burned down and they would probably have had to build a whole new library.”

“It would have been a good half-hour before anyone even noticed it burning. It is an old building with all the books — it would have had to be rebuilt,” Thorp said.

Thorp commended the library for its maintenance of fire suppression equipment, noting that “the library has done an outstanding job in keeping their equipment up to date.”

The fire chief said his department got called to the library for a fire alarm activation at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday.

“We were there until about 1:40 a.m.,” he said.

Thorp added, “By the time we got there and got into the building we heard water running and saw smoke that was coming out the front door.”

The fire chief said the sprinkler system had already put the fire out by the time firefighters entered the building.

“As we investigated, we saw that on the second floor in the director’s office area they had two humidifiers and the one on the lower level, powered by electricity, had some malfunction that we are not quite clear of,” said Thorp. “That malfunction caught on fire and there was a sprinkler head in that room which then was activated and put the fire out.

“The fire department did not have to spray any water to put out the fire.”

When firefighters walked into the building, only the sprinklers in the mechanical closet in the director’s office on the second floor were activated.

Thorp said, “Wherever the fire is, it reaches a certain temperature and sets the sprinklers off in that location.”

Charlevoix library director Ryan Deery said none of the technology or book collections were damaged. The only fire damage occurred in the maintenance closet and water damage occurred in the hallways on the first and second floors, said Deery, also stating about an inch of water flooded both floors in those areas.

Deery said clean-up company Serv Pro was on scene immediately the following morning and set up dehumidifies, heaters and other equipment which ran all day Saturday, Sunday  and Monday.

“Most of the items do not need to be replaced.” said Deery.  However, “some of the walls may still have water in them”.  Serv Pro will be assessing the scene on Feb. 19 to determine if further steps need to be taken to rid the walls of moisture. 

On Facebook, the library noted that Servpro was helping with the fire follow-up, and indicated: “We are confident that all the collections are safe and did not sustain any damage.”

A Sunday post on the library’s Facebook page read, “Thanks again to all of your support and offers of help. We are incredibly thankful both that the damage was not worse and that we are able to continue functioning as the hub and heart of the community so quickly.”

Deery said he is heartened by the outpouring of support from the community.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Woodland Park, CO – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at bank overnight; No injuries reported

An investigation continues into an internal fire that occurred inside the Park State Bank & Trust facility on the early morning hours of Jan. 27.

Authorities still haven’t determined the exact cause of the incident, which didn’t result in any injuries.

On the upside, the bank has returned to normal operations, after undergoing some intense mitigation efforts for several days.

According to Park State bank officials, the fire occurred under a soffit on the east side of the building shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 27. The fire damage was mitigated by the bank’s sprinkler system. In an official statement, bank president Tony Perry said, ‘The sprinkler system did such a great job that we are now assessing the damage, root cause, and have begun mitigation efforts.”

The fire, though, did cause extensive damage in parts of the facility.

After being closed on Jan. 27, only the drive-through was operating both Tuesday and Wednesday, as teams were assessing interior damage and air quality was low, according to bank officials. All first-floor flooring has to be removed and will be replaced. As of Thursday, operations resumed for team members with all employees working on the second floor.

Yellow tape was displayed in front of the bank entrance during much of last week to allow experts to assess the damage.

In a statement on the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce’s Grapevine page, the bank offered thanks to emergency service officials, insurance and damage exerts and    local customers.

“PSBT wishes to thank Chief (Tyler) Lambert and the NE Fire Protection team for responding quickly and preventing the fire from spreading throughout the building. Thanks are also due to both Joy Pickett of The Insurance Center, who quickly had a team out to assess the claim, and Michael Whittemore and his 1-800-Water Damage team which immediately began mitigating damage and preparing to return the building to full service as quickly as possible Thank you also to the city of Woodland Park and the many, many bank customers who offered help. It is a privilege to be a part of this wonderful community.”

The one casualty is the forthcoming Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce After Hours gathering, originally planned at the bank next month.

Due to building repairs, the Chamber After Hours event for Feb. 18 will still be hosted by PSBT, but the event will occur at the Ute Pass Cultural Center. This is the third time the site for the forthcoming February After Hours has been changed.

Fire / Police Station, Government/Military

North Bend, WA – Fire at volunteer fire station contained by sprinkler system

Eastside Fire & Rescue crews responded Tuesday to a report of a fire in North Bend – and when they arrived on scene they found smoke and flames pouring from one of their own fire stations.

The incident unfolded just before 3 p.m. Tuesday when firefighters responded to a fire alarm at a building at 42804 SE 172nd St. in North Bend. Turns out that’s the address of Eastside Fire’s Station 88 in the Wilderness Rim area – a volunteer station that is not staffed full time.

Smoke was billowing from the building when crews arrived on scene. The flames were extinguished, and firefighters discovered that the flames had erupted from an ambulance parked inside the building’s apparatus bay.

The station’s sprinkler system prevented the blaze from spreading.

Fire officials say no one was in the building when the fire started, and it’s unclear why the ambulance burst into flames.

Government Office, Government/Military

Washington, D.C. – Sprinkler activation contains fire at US General Services Administration building; No injuries reported

A fire is under control at a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) building in downtown D.C. Monday morning, fire officials said about 6:20 a.m.

D.C. Fire and EMS crews were called for a fire on the sixth floor of the 10-story GSA Regional Office Building at 301 7th St. SW. It wasn’t immediately known what time they were called.

Sprinklers inside the building were activated and contained the fire, officials said. “Once again Sprinklers proved effectiveness in containing a potentially major fire in a key facility. Sprinklers save lives and property,” D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted about 6:30 a.m.

There are no reports of injuries.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Kearney, NE – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at court house; No injuries reported

Crews responded to an early morning fire in Kearney.

According to the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, correction officers called the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department after seeing smoke in an office around 2:30 a.m.

When fire crews arrived, the Sheriff’s Office said the small fire had been extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system.

Water from this system caused damage to the office’s furniture and carpet.

While crews are investigating the cause of fire, the Sheriff’s Office said they do not believe the flames were criminal.

The Sheriff’s Office said the jail on the property was not damaged but crews remained on scene to continue check air quality.

No injuries were reported.

Government/Military, Prison / Jail

Sturgeon Bay, WI – County jail kitchen fire put out by fire sprinkler system

There was a bit of a mess, but a sprinkler system in the kitchen at the Door County Jail worked as it was intended to Saturday morning. At about 9:50AM, the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department was paged out and sent two trucks and four firefighters to the kitchen at the Justice Center at 1201 South Duluth Avenue after a fire was reported there. On the way, the fire crew was informed that the fire was out, but another problem had surfaced, the sprinkler system was still dropping water on the kitchen. Upon arrival, the firefighters were able to stop the flow of water in short order. They were told that butter was being melted when it ignited. The container with the burning butter was placed on a nearby cart and the location caused the sprinkler system to activate. The damage was said to be minimal with a little soot above and plenty of water below. The fire crew cleared the scene at 11:09AM Saturday.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Pasco, WA – Vending machine fire at US Post Office put out by fire sprinkler; No injuries reported

 Postal workers were forced to evacuate the US Post Office in Pasco after a soda machine fire.

It ignited around 6:15 Saturday morning near Court Street and Road 36. According to Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear, they believe the origin of the blaze was the Coca-Cola machine.

The fire was contained to the break room. However, smoke traveled through the building, causing the evacuation. Gear said the sprinkler system put out the fire.

Thankfully, no one was injured.

KAPP-KVEW spoke with a long-time postal worker who said mail could be delayed by a day. Gear said no mail was damaged.

It’s unclear when employees will be able to go back inside. Firefighters are ventilating the building. Walla Walla County District 5 responded due to the need for large fans to help ventilate the building quicker.