Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Bend, OR – Early morning fire at hospital held in check by sprinkler system August 25, 2016 viking210 A fire broke out in a washer for surgical instruments at St. Charles Bend early Wednesday, but a fire sprinkler kept the damage from being far more severe, officials said. The blaze prompted closure of some areas of the hospital for a time, as well as the cancellation of all elective surgeries for the day. Shortly before 6 a.m., Bend fire crews responded to the reported fire at the hospital on Northeast Neff Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy Kettering. They arrived to find light smoke coming from the lower level of the facility. A machine used to clean surgical tools caught fire, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Goodman. A single sprinkler head activated in the area and held the fire in check until crews arrived, Kettering said. There was some smoke and water damage to the lower level of the facility, and fire crews helped clear remaining smoke from the building. Investigators determined a heating element within the unit had overheated and failed, causing the fire, Kettering said. As with any alarm at the hospital, numerous Bend firefighters responded to the scene, clearing the area of smoke and water by about 6:40 a.m. No one was injured, Goodman said. As a result of the fire in the hospital’s central processing area, elective surgeries were canceled for the day, with only emergency procedures to be performed. The hospital’s lower-level floor, including the in-patient pharmacy, was closed for a time but had reopened by 7:30 a.m. Goodman said the hospital had resumed normal operations and that all scheduled caregivers should report to work as usual. Kettering said the fire was a clear example of the value of fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems,” which helped to isolate the fire area and quickly move to protect staff and patients. The sprinkler system minimized damage and will allow operations to resume in a timely manner. “Without a properly maintained and operational fire sprinkler system, the damage from today’s fire would have undoubtedly been far more severe,” Kettering wrote in a news release.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Orlando, FL – Sprinklers activate to help stop fire at Lake Nona VA Medical Center; No injuries July 21, 2016 viking210 A fire struck the fourth floor of a domiciliary at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lake Nona Wednesday, according to the Orlando Fire Department, and residents are likely to be moved from the center to another yet-to-be opened facility at Lake Baldwin. Just before 11:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at the residential facility at 13800 Veterans Way, according to the fire department. It is on the same campus as the newly opened VA hospital center, but is in a separate building. Fire sprinkler alarms were activated in the fire that struck the patient intake processing area of the facility, VA medical center spokesman Mike Strickler and the OFD said. Once firefighters arrived on the scene, they extinguished the flames by 11:40 a.m., according to the OFD. There were no injuries reported in the fire, Strickler said.
Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility Marshall, MO – Sprinklers help extinguish bedroom fire at home for developmentally disabled June 29, 2016 viking210 A bedroom fire at Northwest Community Services — previously known as the Marshall Habilitation Center — Saturday, June 25, could have resulted in more damage than was done. According to the Marshall Fire Department, firefighters arrived to a call at NCS shortly before 6 p.m., seeing light smoke. The incident occurred in unit 221, and the unit’s sprinkler system had activated by the time MFD arrived. “We were there for a while, because of the water damage,” Marshall Fire Chief Tony Day said, indicating there was more water damage than fire damage because the sprinklers “did their job.” MFD started ventilation, removed burnt clothing from the residential unit and turned the scene over to maintenance once they confirmed the fire was out. After further investigation into the cause of the fire, one of the residents admitted to setting her clothes on fire and flushing the lighter down a toilet, Day said. In addition to destroying clothes, the fire burned the armoire they were stored in and scorched the walls, but not badly. MFD left the scene at 7:15 p.m. There was an estimated property loss of $10,000, and content loss was estimated at $3,000. Northwest Community Services, a developmental disability facility, is located at 700 E. Slater Street, in north Marshall.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Spencer, IA – Laundry room fire at hospital contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported June 23, 2016 viking210 No patients or staff had to be removed from Spencer Hospital Saturday when the Spencer Fire Department responded to an early morning fire at the local medical facility. At 6:08 a.m., Spencer Fire and Rescue personnel were dispatched to Spencer Municipal Hospital following the report of a fire in the laundry room. While responding, firefighters were notified that the fire had been put out in the area when the sprinkler heads in the room were activated. There was still smoke in the area and Spencer fire crews were on site for approximately one hour working with Spencer Hospital staff and Spencer Police. The fire originated in the laundry area but the cause remains undetermined at this time. There was flame damage to the laundry room with some smoke entering the hallway and stairwell adjacent to the third floor. Fans were used to remove the smoke. No injuries were reported. The sprinkler system contained the fire and the smoke was contained by the closure of fire doors through the activation of the fire alarm system.
Adult Care/Rehab Center, Nursing Home/Senior Living Northampton, MA – Electrical fire at nursing home contained by sprinkler system May 31, 2016 viking210 An electrical fire forced several elderly residents to temporarily evacuate from the CareOne Nursing-Rehab Center in Northampton early Saturday morning. Mark Spees told 22News his wife lives there. He said he rushed to her side as soon as he heard what had happened. “Got up this morning got a cup of coffee, turned on the news… the coffee’s still on the table because I just started moving,” he said. When Spees got to the CareOne Nursing-Rehab Center, he was relieved to find out his wife was safe and sound. “Unbelievable, you know, all I could think was what’s happening? What’s going on? How’s my wife? When you’ve been married for 43 years you tend to worry,” he said. Northampton Deputy Fire Chief Timothy McQueston told 22News an air conditioning unit plugged into an outlet on the third floor sparked the fire. Fortunately, the building’s sprinkler system helped keep the fire from spreading, and no one was seriously hurt. Later that morning, crews were still cleaning up pieces of shard glass where firefighters had to bust open a window to rescue a woman trapped inside. She was one of three people taken to the hospital by ambulance, as the building’s staff ushered the other residents to safety. At least 30 people on the third floor of the building had to be moved to other locations temporarily because of the damage. The experience highlighted a fear that many children, husbands, and wives have as their family members get older and require extra care. Leann Worsnop of Easthampton told 22News it’s hard not to worry about your parents when they no longer live under your care. “It’s as if it was your own child, the same thing, the same feelings, just you know, what can you do? It’s a feeling of helplessness, and then the whole fear of what actually happened,” she said. The three residents who went to the hospital are expected to be ok. No one was else was injured.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Modesto, CA – Sprinkler system extinguishes suspicious overnight fire at Planned Parenthood May 27, 2016 viking210 The Modesto fire and police departments are investigating a suspicious, but apparently small, fire at the Planned Parenthood Modesto Health Center on McHenry Avenue early Wednesday. Signs on the doors of the center said it would be closed Wednesday, and a spokeswoman said staff members are assessing fire damage and working to reopen as soon as possible. At about 3:25 a.m., one fire engine was dispatched to a water-flow alarm sounding at the 1431 McHenry Ave. center, said Battalion Chief Jesse Nicasio of Modesto Fire. When additional reports came in from passers-by of flames and smoke coming from the building, the call was upgraded to a commercial working structure fire and additional resources were sent, Nicasio said. “Engine 5 found a broken glass door, the fire alarm sounding and fire sprinkler activation,” he said. The sprinkler system extinguished the fire, but crews ensured it was out, Nicasio said. Information was not immediately available as to where in the two-story building the fire started or what damage was done.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Montreal, QC, Canada – Arson fire at medical clinic performing gender change surgeries is extinguished by sprinkler system May 9, 2016 viking210 Police are seeking a male suspect in relation to a suspicious fire that targeted the Centre métropolitain de chirurgie in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough in Montreal, the only medical clinic in Canada that offers gender reassignment surgery. Firefighters were alerted to a fire at the clinic at 8:44 p.m. Monday. About 20 firefighters rushed to the scene, but the fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system. The fire was in an operating room, according to Montreal Fire Prevention Service spokesperson Mélanie Drouin. There were a few staff members and patients in the building at the time but they got out before firefighters arrived. Drouin said damages are estimated by fire department officials at about $700,000. Medical equipment was damaged by water and smoke, she said. The clinic provides a variety of plastic surgeries and body surgeries, including breast augmentation or reduction, facelifts, liposuction and gender reassignment surgery (GRS). The news spread quickly among members of the transgender community in Montreal and across Canada. Some are concerned that the fire will exacerbate the already lengthy waiting periods for gender reassignment surgery at the clinic. There is also speculation as to whether the clinic was targeted because it offers GRS. “It would certainly seem relevant that the arson targeted the only clinic in Canada that currently provides GRS and other trans-related surgeries — especially at a time when things are becoming increasingly polarized on trans issues,” said Mercedes Allen, an advocate for transsexual and transgender communities in Alberta who writes on equality, human rights, LGBT and sexual minority issues in Canada. “Something like this is certainly not going to help a community that already feels targeted. I also hope for the sake of the surgeons and staff that they too won’t have to start living in fear of violence. However, I’d also want to be careful not to be too quick to assume that this is hate-motivated,” Allen said. Constable Manuel Couture, a Montreal police spokesperson, said investigators are aware of the services offered by the clinic, but had not, to his knowledge, classified the fire as a suspected hate crime by Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t have any information right now to indicate that this was some kind of hate crime, but investigators are aware of that and as soon as they have the slightest suspicion that something could be a hate crime, they transfer it to the Hate Crimes Unit,” Couture said. “This is devastating for trans health care,” Sophia Banks, a Montreal-based photographer and trans-rights advocate told the National Post. “People are freaking out” about wait times and how long the clinic will be closed. She said they’re also concerned about why this happened
Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility Edmonton, AB, Canada – Arson fire at women’s shelter controlled with help from sprinkler system May 1, 2016 viking210 A fire believed to have been deliberately set has shut down a downtown Edmonton emergency shelter and displaced more than 60 women who were staying there. Early Tuesday, firefighters responded to a fire on the fourth floor of a building that provides temporary shelter to homeless women. When police arrived, they were told a lighter had been used to start a fire inside the building. Officers arrested a 33-year-old woman at the scene and charged her with arson. Police said the flames triggered a sprinkler. Water and smoke damaged several floors on one wing of the building. Damage is estimated at $6,000. CBC has not been able to reach staff at the shelter to find out where clients are now staying and when the shelter will re-open.
Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential Salt Lake City, UT – Fire at halfway house contained to bedroom by sprinkler system March 10, 2016 viking210 Twenty-six women residing at the Orange Street Community Correctional Center were relocated Wednesday evening after a fire damaged a section of the center. The fire broke out at approximately 6:30 p.m. in a bedroom at the center. A corrections officer used a handheld extinguisher to put out the fire as staff evacuated residents from the building. The fire was contained to a single bedroom. The building’s automatic sprinkler system activated and flooded the housing wing. Salt Lake City Fire Department responded. Investigators declared the fire accidental and say it was caused by a charging electronic device. The officer who extinguished the fire was taken to a local hospital to be checked out as a precautionary measure. The residents were allowed to gather a bag of belongings and then were taken to the Atherton Community Treatment Center in West Valley City. It is unknown at this time when the center will reopen.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Middleburg Heights, OH – Possible arson fire at hospital contained with help from sprinkler system February 29, 2016 viking210 The city’s detective bureau is reviewing a Feb. 21 fire at Southwest General Health Center. An employee saw smoke in an Emergency Department’s hallway at 8 p.m. He and another staff member located the fire in the clean utility room in which the sprinkler system sprayed water throughout the room. The emergency area, which became flooded, was evacuated. The city’s fire department arrived and extinguished a burning clean linen cart in that room. One of two carts had melted plastic on it and charred towels, blankets and gowns that were scattered across the room. The scene was cleared at 9:38 p.m. An officer went to the hospital at 12:21 a.m. Feb. 22 and recovered evidence from the fire. He found items that may have been used to start the fire.
