Category Archives: Hotel / Restaurant

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Santa Monica, CA – Hotel room fire controlled by sprinkler system after microwave caught on fire

A small fire broke out inside a Santa Maria hotel room Tuesday morning, injuring one man and causing significant flooding from the sprinkler system, according to a spokesman. 

Crews received an alert for a fire inside a second-story room of the Hampton Inn and Suites located at the corner of North Broadway and Preisker Lane shortly before 5 a.m., according to Santa Maria Deputy Fire Chief Todd Tuggle. 

The blaze initially triggered a smoke alarm and was quickly followed by a water flow alarm, which is connected to the alarm company and alerted the Fire Department. The Department sent two engines, a truck and a battalion chief to the scene. 

Upon arriving, firefighters noted smoke and located the hotel room with the fire, which was kept in check by the sprinkler system but was eventually put out by crews. 

Additionally, firefighters found a man in his 30s in the hotel lobby who was pulled out of the smoke-filled room by a bystander awakened by the alarms, Tuggle said. 

The man was treated by firefighters for smoke inhalation, abrasions and minor lacerations, then transported to Marian Regional Medical Center via American Medical Response ambulance for further treatment and released. 

An investigation revealed that the room was being rented out by a good Samaritan for a homeless veteran, who was microwaving something and lost track of time, according to Tuggle, causing the microwave to burst into flames and catch the desk on fire. 

The man became trapped in the hotel room and tried to escape out of the window, suffering lacerations in the process. 

Tuggle said the sprinkler system caused significant damage to the room, with the adjacent room and downstairs lobby also suffering significant water damage. 

Two more Santa Maria Fire engines and an investigator and a Santa Barbara County District Attorney arson task force investigator also responded to the scene, Tuggle said. 

“We are currently understaffed in our investigations divisions,” Tuggle said, adding that the District Attorney’s investigator assists with fires that cause significant damage and start under suspicious circumstances. 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Falmouth, MA – Hotel fire doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system douse a fire in a room of a Falmouth hotel. Firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at the InnSeasons Resort Surfside on Menauhant Road sometime after 5:30 PM. The fire was out when crews arrived and no injuries were reported. Inspectors were called to check damage from the fire and water damage from the sprinkler. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

In a statement, Falmouth Fire-Rescue tells CWN that 5:13 PM on July 13th, they responded to a fire at the InnSeason Resort Surfside, 134 Menauhant Road in East Falmouth. A guest was cooking on the stove and the oil caught fire. The guest tried to move the pan to the sink. This caused the fire to spread and activate the sprinkler system. The fire was put out by the single sprinkler head. After a quick investigation by the first arriving crew, the sprinkler system was shut down. The fire and smoke damage was limited to the kitchen area and the water from the sprinkler was contained to the room and the hallway directly outside the room.

This incident brings up 2 very important issues. The first being what to do when a pan catches fire. The best and safest way to extinguish a pan on fire is to place a lid on it and then turn off the stove. The lid will smother the fire by restricting the oxygen. Never move a burning pan, you can spread the fire. Never use water to put out a grease or oil fire, it will spread the fire.

The second important issue is that Sprinklers saves lives. This single sprinkler head protected not only the family staying in the room, but the other guests in the building. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have an ongoing campaign to increase the use of residential sprinklers.

Some facts about residential sprinklers from the NFPA:
• The civilian death rate was 81 percent lower in homes with fire sprinklers than in homes without them.
• The average firefighter injury rate was nearly 80 percent lower when fire sprinklers were present during fires.
• When sprinklers were present, fires were kept to the room of origin 97 percent of the time.
• The home fire death rate was 90 percent lower when fire sprinklers and hardwired smoke alarms were present. By comparison, this death rate is only 18 percent lower when battery-powered smoke alarms are present but automatic extinguishing systems weren’t.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Napa, CA – Hotel fire sprinklers, activated by heat, contained fire to bathroom

Guests at the Hampton Inn and Suites in south Napa were evacuated when smoke activated a fire alarm at 8 p.m. Sunday, the Napa Fire Department reported.

Napa Fire said the smoke was discovered to be coming from a locked guest room. Firefighters found a small fire in a bathroom that had been partially put out by the automatic sprinkler system, Fire Capt. Steve Becker said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Guests were able to return inside after 90 minutes, Becker said.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system puts out restaurant fire after oil rags caught on fire

A northwest Bend restaurant’s bagged, laundered kitchen rags still had enough oil on them to spontaneously combust and spark a fire early Thursday morning that was stopped quickly by a sprinkler head, an official said.

Bend Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched around 4 a.m. to the report of a possible structure fire at Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café on NW Pence Avenue, Battalion Chief Trish Connolly reported.

Crews arriving on scene saw smoke in the building, forced entry into the business and found a small sprinkler-controlled fire in the dining area, Connolly said.

The sprinkler system also set off all alarms in the building, alerting occupants in the apartments above the business, who evacuated with the help of police as fire crews arrived on scene. They were able to return to their apartments within an hour, Connolly said.

Fire crews made sure the fire was out and ventilated the businesses to reduce smoke damage, Connolly said.

The sprinkler system put out the fire, which began in the dining room from kitchen rags placed on a table, in laundry bags. Connolly said the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion from laundered rags which still had kitchen oils on them and were not separated after being dried.

Because the linen rags were in laundry bags and were not separated, the heat from the rags rose high enough to ignite the bags of linen.

Connolly said it’s more likely to occur in restaurants, spas and businesses where linens are used to clean up combustible substances, such as oils.

“Laundering does not get out all the residual oil, especially when the rags are used over and over with oil substances, so the residual oil builds up over time,” Connolly said.

Suggested laundry safety guidelines say separating rags after being laundered is important to avoid such fires.

Damage was estimated at $5,000 to the restaurant and $2,500 to the contents.

Fire damage to the building was minimal due to the quick dousing of the fire by the sprinkler system. On average, Connolly said, fires are controlled by activation of one or two sprinkler heads, which not only put out the fire but keep water damage to a minimum.

Apartment Building, Hotel / Restaurant, Residential, Restaurant

Ocean City, MD – Two separate fires within a week extinguished by sprinkler system, one at a restaurant, the other an apartment

The Ocean City Fire Department responded to two separate fires in a downtown restaurant and apartment building over the course of the last week.

The first fire happened late last week in the early morning hours of June 5th, at Flavors of Italy Bistro, located at 513 Atlantic Avenue. Ocean City firefighters forced entry into the building, discovering that the fire sprinkler had activated in the kitchen area and extinguished the fire. Damage was contained to the appliance and adjacent kitchen hood.

The second fire happened just before 3 p.m. on June 8th, at the Trimper’s Apartments in the 700 block of the Ocean City Boardwalk. Firefighters arrived on scene and found smoke on the second floor of the apartment, but on entry they discovered that an activated fire sprinkler had extinguished the fire. Damage was contained to a small area above the stove.

As a result of the quick response of the fire sprinklers and the fire department, the restaurant and apartment building did not sustain serious damage. Both fires have been ruled accidental.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Victoria, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler stops fire from spreading at hotel that houses the homeless

A fire at the former Comfort Inn and Suites Tuesday morning was confined to one fourth-floor room, but up to 20 units could need some form of water remediation, says Victoria Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Atkinson.

The site also had a fire May 24 that didn’t spread beyond a single room.

The building at 3020 Blanshard St. offers accommodation to people who were previously living in tents in Topaz Park or along a stretch of Pandora Avenue, a transition made possible after the provincial government bought the facility last month for $18.5 million.

Residents are supported by Our Place Society and the Victoria Cool Aid Society.

Atkinson said the first 911 call was received about 8:20 a.m. and crews were able to put the fire out quickly. One occupant had been in the unit but got out safely.

“It was a room-and-contents fire and it did activate the sprinkler system,” he said. “The sprinkler system did a really good job of not allowing it to spread too radically.”

Remediation in the other rooms could range from pulling up the carpet and bringing in fans to working on drywall and paint.

He said there is bound to be a fair bit of damage, “being that it was on the fourth floor and water runs downhill.”

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Houston, TX – Single sprinkler head controls restaurant grease fire; No injuries reported

The Harris County Fire Marshall released video of a fire at a local restaurant to remind people why you don’t put water on a grease fire.

Investigators were asked to assist Cypress Creek Fire Department with a fire at Pho X Trang on Monday in the 21500 block of SH 249.

There were a couple of lessons learned from this incident.

  • Never throw ice or water on a grease fire
  • Fire sprinklers save lives. The fire sprinkler system activated one sprinkler head, controlling the fire until the fire department arrived on the scene.

The fire was ruled an accident and there were no injuries reported.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Las Vegas, NV – Fire sprinklers contain fire from unattended candle to bedroom at resort; No injuries reported

5:42 A.M.
The Clark County Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at the Villas at Flamingo, located at 5525 W. Flamingo Rd. Crews found that a residential sprinkler head contained the fire to a bedroom, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was determined to be a candle that was left unattended.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Belgrade, MT – Hotel sprinkler system stops fire from spreading to hotel after car catches fire under portico; No injuries reported

Crews quickly snuffed out a car fire Friday afternoon at a Belgrade hotel.

Witnesses said a car under the portico caught fire at the La Quinta Inn and Suites off Jackrabbit Lane shortly after 3 p.m.
The building’s sprinkler system kicked in protecting the hotel but the fire spread to the hotel van parked under the portico and into the roof.

Officials say there was a hotel evacuation, but no injuries were reported. Bozeman Fire responded with big extension ladder truck along with Central Valley and Hyalite Fire.

The fire remains under investigation at this time.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

West Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system helps contain fire in Resort Spa after improper disposal of oil soaked rags

West Kelowna Fire Rescue were called into action around 12:30 at the Cove Lakeside Resort on Thursday.

According to officials, reports of smoke in the resort’s spa area prompted the call to emergency crews who found a waste paper basket fire upon arrival.

The building’s fire protection sprinkler/early detection system helped contain the fire before it could be extinguished by WKFR firefighters.

An investigation determined the small fire was started by spontaneous combustion due to the improper disposal of oil soaked rags and concluded.

It’s not being considered as suspicious.