Winnipeg fire crews were kept busy Saturday battling a pair of high-rise fires.
The first fire broke out just before 1 p.m. on Saturday in a seven-storey hotel in the 500 block of Main Street.
When crews arrived, they found the fire in one of the suites. The fire had been kept under control by the building’s sprinkler system and firefighters were able to quickly put out the remaining hot spots.
Some residents of the building self-evacuated, others sheltered in place. No injuries were reported.
According to officials with Murfreesboro Fire-Rescue, the sprinkler system worked perfectly, and it came on and put-out the fire.
Firefighters used fans to clear smoke from the building.
A building fire was reported around 6:50 a.m. at the Renaissance on Paradise Road south of Desert Inn Road, Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Warren Whitney said in a statement.
The first arriving engine investigated and found the room where the fire alarm was activated. They found a “light ballast” that malfunctioned and caught fire.
A fire sprinkler nearby activated and put out the fire before the crews made it to the room, according to Whitney.
The fire did not spread to anything else and no injuries were reported. Damage has not yet been estimated.
Ocala Fire Rescue in Ocala, Florida — located some 80 miles northwest of Orlando — received a call Tuesday at approximately 3:24 a.m. to reports of a structure fire at the Hilton Ocala hotel located on 3600 SW 36th Ave.
“Units arrived at the nine-story hotel to find audible and visual alarms, an active sprinkler system, and Ocala Police Department members assisting guests in evacuating the premises,” Ocala Fire Rescue said in a statement on social media.
Firefighters encountered “moderate smoke” as they entered the lobby of the hotel and began to make their way down a first-floor hallway near the banquet rooms to try and find the source of the fire which was worsening as they approached, authorities said.
“Using a thermal imaging camera, crews located the seat of the fire,” Ocala Fire Rescue said. “In conjunction with the sprinkler system, crews used a water can to smother the flames, which consumed a couch and scorched an adjacent wall.”
The fire was extinguished entirely within seven minutes of arrival, officials said, but given the deliberate nature of the blaze, the Ocala Police Department treated the fire as arson.
Following a brief investigation, Ocala Police ended up arresting a 16-year-old girl who was visiting from Peoria, Illinois. Police said she allegedly started the fire after fighting with her mother, though authorities did not say what caused the fight and what could have led her to allegedly set a sofa on fire in the building because of it.
“The damage to the hotel is estimated to be a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Ocala Police said. “Thankfully, no one was injured … and hotel guests were able to return to their rooms the same morning.”
Authorities credited an effective evacuation plan carried out by hotel staff in the early hours of the morning for helping to keep the situation under control and the estimated 320 guests safe.
The teenage girl has been charged with arson and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Assistant Fire Chief Mike McIntosh said in a news release that GFFR received a water flow alarm at 9:25pm, and Engine 4 arrived at the scene at 9:32pm.
Firefighters saw people vacating the hotel, but they did not see any visible smoke or fire.
Firefighters discovered that a small fire occurred in room 318. The fire started in a nightstand located next to a bed, which was close to an exterior wall.
The fire had generated enough heat to activate the building’s fire sprinkler system, which functioned as designed, and quickly extinguished the fire.
The fire damage to the room was minimal, but there was significant water damage to the second and third floors.
Hotel management was able to move the majority of guests affected by the water from the sprinkler system to other rooms within the hotel; one guest was relocated to another hotel.
There were no injuries as a result of the fire, and restoration crews are are continuing to assess the damage.
The occupant of room 318 could not be located when GFFR and Great Falls police officers were at the scene of the fire. They have tried to contact the room occupant, but have not yet been successful.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. We will update you if we get more information.
According to authorities, a fire in the couch of an unoccupied room set off the hotel’s sprinkler system, which extinguished the blaze before firefighters arrived. The hotel immediately evacuated more than 100 people including those who had gathered for a function in a meeting room and a 10-year-old’s birthday pool party.
Tired guests wanting to sleep stood and sat outside of the hotel on all four sides. Firefighters scrambled to shut off the sprinkler system as water poured out of the room and into the first floor hallway.
The room was reported to have been heavily damaged. Fire department officials on Friday night said they had not determined how the fire started in the unoccupied room.
Firefighters made sure the fire was completely out before guests were allowed back in the hotel at 10:01 p.m.
The night wasn’t a complete disappointment, as firefighters let the birthday girl and her guests sit in a fire truck before they left.
The cause of the fire is under investigation; no injuries were reported.
The Hampton Inn in Grand Chute was evacuated Saturday after a first-floor laundry room caught fire.
According to a release from the Grand Chute Fire Department, crews were dispatched to the scene after an employee found a fire located in the hotel’s main laundry room.
The fire was being controlled by the building’s automatic sprinkler system. Fire crews from GCFD and the City of Appleton and Village of Fox Crossing Fire units worked to locate and extinguish the remaining pocked of fire.
Despite being contained to a small area of the hotel, smoke extended to all floors and the building was evacuated as a precaution. Personnel remained on scene for several hours ventilating the building to remove the smoke and overhauling the fire area to ensure the safety of the hotel’s guests and staff.
There were no injuries reported and fire investigators are continuing to determine the cause of the fire.
Charleston Police officials said the call came in at 12:54 p.m.
Crews have gotten the fire under control and ventilated the building.
Investigators are on the scene to determine the cause of the fire.
CFD says the fire sprinkler system was activated to contain the fire. No injuries were reported.
Chillicothe Fire Chief Eric Reeter said a sprinkler system extinguished the blaze after a maintenance crew in the hotel attempted to use a fire extinguisher but were not successful.
While firefighters were en route to the blaze, the police department advised officers were on the scene, stating there was a fire in room 304. Officers had evacuated occupants from the building by the time firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.
Chillicothe firefighters were on the scene for nearly two and one-half hours. An investigation was underway by the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s office.
Comfort Inn and Suites is located at 250 East Business Highway 36 in Chillicothe.
At 6:48 a.m., the Rochester Fire Department responded to a structure fire call at the Days Inn Hotel at 3595 Commercial Drive Southwest. Firefighters on scene found smoke coming from a third story window in the back of the building.
The hotel has an automatic fire sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire in the third floor hotel room by the time firefighters arrived, according to the fire department’s press release. No occupants were found in the room or adjacent rooms.
The sprinkler system limited the fire damage to only the room of origin. An investigation determined that the fire started on a cooktop range. The department said the occupant of the room left the hotel and possibly left a burner on the stove.
Guests were evacuated from the hotel when crews arrived. No injuries were reported.
Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service and Rochester Police Department also responded to the fire.
