Category Archives: Hospital/Care Facility

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Edmonton, AB, Canada – Arson fire at women’s shelter controlled with help from sprinkler system

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

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

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.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Washington, GA – Fire at personal care home minimized with help from sprinkler system

Sprinkler, staff keep fire at Harper’s from becoming danger to residents Quick work by staff members and a good sprinkler system kept an early-morning fire from becoming disastrous at a local personal care home, Washington Fire Chief C.J. Gilland said.

Harper’s Personal Care Home Inc  

Assisted Living Facility

Address: 186 Bootlegger Ln E, Washington, GA 30673

 

 

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

St. Helens, OR – Early morning fire at mental health treatment center extinguished by sprinkler system

Columbia River Fire and Rescue crews responded to a structure fire at Cornerstone, Columbia Community Mental Health’s residential treatment facility, on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 5:15 a.m. When crews arrived at 271 Columbia Blvd., smoke had filled the two-story building. A small fire had ignited on the first floor in a bedroom on the northwest corner in the bedding of one of the residents. The fire triggered the sprinkler head system in the building, extinguishing the flames. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

CRFR Fire Chief Jay Tappan said the sprinkler system worked as it was designed to, alerting residents when the system sounded. Two staff members and 16 residents evacuated the building during the fire and no injuries were reported. Tappan said staff at the facility followed emergency evacuation orders quickly, which likely helped prevent injuries.

Water damage to the building was estimated to be $25,000 for property and $15,000 for personal contents. Building residents were temporarily displaced and relocated to other facilities due to the damage and the need to reset the sprinkler system, Tappan explained.  Five fire engines, six support vehicles and 24 fire personnel were on scene.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

North Sydney, NS, Canada – Hospital laundry fire contained with help from sprinkler system

The Nova Scotia Health Authority says a small fire overnight in the laundry room of the Northside General Hospital in North Sydney caused only minor damage. The fire was caused by the spontaneous combustion of linen, according to the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

In a statement, the authority said the fire marshall has determined the fire started accidentally in a hamper of clean laundry and was “linked to the spontaneous combustion of linen.” Fire damage was limited to a small dryer room, although the main laundry area sustained smoke and water damage, and smoke travelled to some other areas of the hospital.

The fire triggered the alarm and sprinkler system around 4:30 a.m. The authority said a hospital security guard was checked for smoke inhalation but needed no further treatment, and there were no injuries.

The hospital has temporarily moved outpatient blood collection, located next to the laundry, to a nearby room, but the emergency department remains open.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

San Leandro, CA – Room fire at mental health hospital controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

The Villa Fairmont Mental Health Rehabilitation Center remained fully functional after a room caught fire Tuesday night. Fire crews responded to a report of a fire at 7:01 p.m. at the center located in the 15000 block of Foothill Boulevard in unincorporated San Leandro, according to the Alameda County Fire Department. The blaze was confined to a room near a fire sprinkler and firefighters quickly extinguished it. There were no reports of injuries. The cause of fire was still under investigation as of Tuesday night. One room suffered moderate smoke and water damage.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Bend, OR – Sprinklers credited with saving medical radiology business from overnight fire

Bend Fire officials credit the sprinkler system for saving a northeast Bend business. Firefighters responded to an alarm at Central Oregon Radiology Associates (1460 NE Medical Center Dr.) just after 3 a.m., Friday. When crews arrived, they found that a garbage can had caught fire under the overhang of the building and had activated an exterior sprinkler head.

Investigators say the sprinkler activation prevented what could have been a very expensive fire, given the imaging systems inside the business. The cause of the fire is believed to be an improperly disposed of cigarette.

Dep. Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki says sprinkler heads react to heat; units not exposed to heat don’t activate, which allows minimal amounts of water to be applied to a small fire and keep it from growing. This minimal amount of water also prevents extensive water damage. When water started flowing, the alarm company notified 911.

He reminds business and building owners to keep sprinkler systems well maintained, especially during frigid temperatures. He says frozen systems render them inoperative and/or can result in broken pipes. Derlacki says most fire sprinkler systems that do freeze are the result of lack of maintenance

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Wildomar, CA – Fire in storage closet at hospital suppressed by sprinkler system

On Dec. 14, firefighters responded to Inland Valley Medical Center regarding the report of a commercial structure fire at the location.

The hospital is located at 36485 Inland Valley Drive, near Clinton Keith Road in Wildomar. Inland Valley Medical Center is a 122-bed, General Acute Care Hospital with Basic Emergency Services and a Level III Trauma Center. The hospital serves most of Temecula Valley and surrounding areas.

In a press release from CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department, press information officer April Newman explained at about 5:27 p.m., 10 firefighters from two engine companies and one truck company responded to the reported fire.

The first arriving engine company found a single-story commercial building with no signs of fire or smoke showing. Upon further investigation, firefighters determined a small fire had occurred in a storage room at the hospital.

According to Newman, the fire was contained to the storage room by the hospital’s fire suppression sprinkler system. No damage was reported to have occurred as a result of the fire, however the fire sprinklers caused minor water damage to items within the storage room.

Fire department resources reportedly remained on scene for approximately one hour to assist with water salvage and cleanup.

There were no reported injuries associated with this incident.

 

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Other - Residential

South Williamsport, PA – Sprinkler system quickly suppresses fire at care home; No injuries reported

Insinger’s Personal Care Home, 6 E. Central Ave. in South Williamsport, was safely evacuated when a small fire broke out in a second-floor bedroom about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday. The home’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the fire, which involved some linen, fire officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The home’s estimated 30 residents were placed with relatives, friends or were spending the night at the First Ward Fire house because the electrical system has to be inspected before the home resumes operation, officials said.