Category Archives: Hotel / Restaurant

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Rochester, MN – Single fire sprinkler keeps fire at Rochester’s oldest hotel confined to break room kitchen

A high-rise fire broke out Sunday at Rochester’s oldest hotel.

The blaze was reported around 8:45 AM on the 11th floor of the Kahler Grand Hotel.

The Rochester Fire Dept. says firefighters “encountered floor to ceiling smoke” when they reached the 11th level of the downtown hotel. The fire was found in a staff kitchen area and RFD says a single sprinkler head kept the flames confined to that room.

No monetary estimate was given but damage may have been extensive. According to the RFD report, there was “damage to the breakroom kitchen on the 11th floor including cabinets, appliances, and other furnishings. Smoke damage in the common hallways on the 11th floor along with water damage on the 11th floor and 10th floor from the sprinkler system.”

One resident was treated on scene for minor injuries.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Glendale, WI – Fire contained to maintenance closet on third floor of motel thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A Motel 6 in Glendale caught fire Tuesday morning, Dec. 17. Thankfully, the building’s fire sprinklers did their job. 

The alarm came at about 11 a.m., sending the North Shore Fire Department to the motel on Port Washington Road. 

Everybody inside the building was evacuated; some of them elderly and some in wheelchairs. 

The fire was confined to a maintenance closet on the third floor and the sprinkler system helped crews control the fire quickly. 

“Unfortunately one of the things that comes with fire sprinklers is a lot of water, because they’re doing their job to put the fire out. So we’re dealing with a lot of water damage. Not a ton of fire damage, it’s just primarily contained to that affected room,” said Capt. Dan Tyk, North Shore Fire and Rescue. 

One occupant of the hotel reported a minor injury that occurred while evacuating the building. She was evaluated by paramedics on scene and declined transportation to a hospital. There were no other injuries reported.

Fire and smoke damage is minimal, but there is extensive water damage on all three floors due to the activation of the fire sprinkler system.  

The preliminary damage is estimated around $100,000. 

The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation by North Shore Fire/Rescue and the Glendale Police Department.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Yuma, AZ – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in restaurant’s walk-in freezer

Just after 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, Yuma Fire Department (YFD) responded to a fire alarm at the Del Taco restaurant on East 32nd Street.

YFD personnel found the Del Taco filled with smoke coming from a commercial walk-in freezer unit.

YFD says the fire began in the freezer unit and had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.

YFD Fire Inspectors arrived shortly after the alarm sounded and shut down power to the freezer and the water supply to the sprinkler system.

Firefighters confirmed the fire did not spread from the original wiring where the fire started.

The flame only set back taco sales for a few hours, as the Del Taco was able to reopen a short time later in the afternoon.

YFD says fire systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them.

Thanks to the sprinkler system, this Yuma Del Taco wasn’t destroyed.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Grand Rapids, MI – Kitchen grease fire at downtown restaurant quickly extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A kitchen grease fire at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids caused minor damage late Tuesday, Nov. 26.

The fire happened at about 8:20 p.m. and caused a sprinkler system to activate, Grand Rapids fire officials said.

The fire, on the first floor, was quickly extinguished and no one was injured. Firefighters also quickly shut off the sprinkler system.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any operations at The B.O.B. would be disrupted because of the fire.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Chehalis, WA – Restaurant sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading to other businesses

A fire Tuesday night at a restaurant in Chehalis’ Twin City Town Center left one business with fire damage and two more with water damage, but Chehalis Fire Department Chief Ken Cardinale said it could have been a different story altogether.

“The sprinkler system actually kept the fire in check,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the sprinkler system, the damage would have been far, far worse. … It would have most likely spread to the adjacent businesses.”

Fire crews responded at 8:22 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a fire alarm activation at the Twin City Town Center on Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis, according to Lewis County 911 records. 

While firefighters were on the way, they started getting reports of water flowing out of the affected business, then smoke.

“Just prior to arriving they saw a column coming up which bumped it up to a second alarm response,” Cardinale said. 

Fire crews from Napavine to Thurston County responded, he said, and entered the Kobo Teriyaki building to find an active fire. The sprinkler system had kept the fire controlled, and firefighters quickly extinguished what remained. Crews were on site until about 11:45 p.m.

This is a huge point,” Cardinale said. 

While builders might cringe at the added cost of a fire suppression system, Cardinale said, it doesn’t cost as much as they might think, and can potentially save a building in the event of a fire. 

“Actually on residential new construction it only adds an additional 50 cents per square foot for a home,” he said. “The advantages of a sprinkler system is over 90 percent of the time if an occupancy has a sprinkler system and the fire does occur it will keep the fire in its incipient stage, or small stage, until firefighters arrive.”

Kobo Teriyaki’s building was damaged by the fire and smoke, and neighboring Rue 21 and PetSense both suffered water damage. 

Cardinale said investigators were on the scene Wednesday morning, and that the preliminary investigation points to the fire being electrical in nature. 

The fire likely caused $30,000 to $50,000 in damage, he added. 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Durham, NC – Fire at hotel contained by fire sprinklers

A fire broke out in a Durham hotel room, but the sprinkler system kept it from damaging the rest of the building, authorities said.

The Durham Fire Department said 33 firefighters responded to Marriott at Research Triangle Park, at 4700 Guardian Drive, after a structure fire was reported around 5:30 a.m. Friday.

When crews went to the room on the second floor, they found smoke but no fire.

The sprinklers put out the fire quickly, authorities said, and damage was limited to the room.

Officials said the hotel has been under construction, and there was a problem with the heater in the room.

People in the hotel were evacuated but were later allowed in the lobby.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Sparks, NV – Fire sprinklers in motel room prevented fire from spreading to other rooms; No injuries reported

The Sparks Fire Department responded to a motel room fire at the Windsor Inn on Victorian Avenue early this morning. The fire sprinkler system in that room prevented the fire from spreading to any adjoining rooms. The room was unoccupied at the time and under renovation. There were no reported injuries to civilians or fire department personnel and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Several other rooms on the first floor sustained water damage from the sprinkler activation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Vancouver, WA – Fire sprinklers keep fire from spreading at local restaurant

A fire Wednesday morning set off a sprinkler system inside Lindo Mexico in east Vancouver, drenching the restaurant.

Staff has worked hard over the past two days, and the restaurant plans to reopen Friday morning.

“We were here from early morning (Wednesday) to 6 or 7 p.m., and then all day today cleaning everything up,” waiter Alex Armeta said.

The sprinkler system flooded the business with a couple inches of water but prevented the fire from spreading, Armeta said.

Vancouver firefighters were dispatched shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday to the Bridgeport Retail Center at 316 S.E. 123rd Ave., for a report of a water flow alarm.

The first fire crew to arrive found water on the floor and smoke in Lindo Mexico, Vancouver Fire Department firefighter Eva Scherer said. Crews requested an upgrade to a commercial fire response for additional resources, she said.

One occupant evacuated from the restaurant, and businesses adjacent to the restaurant were also evacuated as a precaution, Scherer said.

Firefighters extinguished a wood stove that was burning and noted several sprinkler head activations in the restaurant and water throughout the structure.  They remained on scene to help with water removal from the building.

Fire damage was confined to a garbage can, pull station for a kitchen hood fire extinguishing system, nearby supplies and a serving counter, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said. There was water and smoke damage throughout the rest of the suite, but no other businesses were affected, Scarpelli said.

The fire was caused when the business owner placed ashes from the wood pellet-fired stove into a garbage can in the kitchen. The owner then left the restaurant to get supplies and returned after fire crews had arrived, according to the fire marshal.

The incident caused $58,510 worth of damage, Scarpelli said. The sprinklers likely saved about $5.8 million in potential total loss to the building and its contents, she said.