Category Archives: Hotel / Restaurant

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Ridgefield, CT – Hotel fire controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The cause of a fire that broke out at the Days Inn by Wyndham on Route 7 Thursday night is under investigation.

It all started around 10:40 p.m., when an automatic fire alarm went off at the 34-guestroom hotel at 296 Ethan Allen Highway.

The Days Inn has a Ridgefield address, but Redding firefighters were first to respond.

While en route to the scene, dispatch informed them that smoke was coming from the hotel and had activated the sprinkler system.

A working fire was discovered in one of the rooms around 10:50 p.m., and mutual aid from Ridgefield was requested. Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department also responded.

Ridgefield sent two engines and an ambulance, said Ridgefield Fire Chief Jerry Myers.

West Redding Engine 1 stretched a single hose-line into the building and the fire was contained to the unit.

The fire was knocked down shortly after 11 p.m.

Firefighters shut off the hotel’s alarm and sprinkler systems, and started clearing the scene around 11:06 p.m.

There were no reported injuries.

Ridgefield and West Redding Fire Marshal Mickey Grasso is investigating the cause of the fire, but he could not be reached for comment Monday morning.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bowie, TX – Sprinkler system contains fire at local pizzeria

The City of Bowie Fire Department responded to an early morning fire at Milano’s Pizza in downtown to find the sprinkler system had contained a small fire in the back of the building.

Fire Chief Doug Page said the fire call came in at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The alarm company reported a water flow alarm indicating the system had been activated. 

Firefighters found the outside indicators show water was flowing in the system. 
Page said the firemen made entry and found a single sprinkler and the fire it contained on a back stairway in the building going to the third floor.

“There were two, five-gallon buckets filled with kitchen rags on the stairwell and at this time we believe there was spontaneous combustion that started a fire. For restaurants this is a common finding which is why there are recommendations on how to store them,” said Page. 
There was very little damage added the chief other than a burn on the landing and the plastic had melted. 

“Without the sprinkler system going off the fire could have easily run the building before it was found. This is the second building in downtown where a sprinkler system contained a fire,” concluded the chief.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Haverhill, MA – Restaurant basement fire kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A basement fire in the Roma Restaurant interrupted dinner for several dozen customers Thursday evening.

The sprinkler system did its job and kept the blaze from causing more extensive damage, according to Deputy Fire Chief Eric Tarpy. Employees and diners left the 29 Middlesex St. restaurant quickly and there were no injuries, Tarpy said.

It was too soon Thursday night to say whether the popular restaurant, a fixture in Haverhill for more than 50 years that specializes in Italian cuisine, would be able to reopen, Tarpy said. City inspectors will assess the situation, he said.

The fire was reported at 7:33 p.m. Engine 3, from the main station on Water Street, was the first to arrive and firefighters encountered heavy smoke in the kitchen, Tarpy said. A thermal imaging camera helped firefighters get to the source of the fire in the basement, he said.

They hooked up a line to a hydrant located in front of the Roma and doused the fire. Firefighters then went to work ventilating the building.

An alarm at the restaurant alerted the Fire Department, Tarpy said. Telephone callers also reported the fire, he said. The single-alarm blaze brought a full response from the city’s firefighting force. Besides Engine 3, Engines 2, 4 and 5, Ladder 1 went to the scene. Three Trinity ambulances also responded.

Companies from Groveland, Lawrence and Methuen provided coverage at the 16th Street, High Street and Water Street stations while Haverhill firefighters were deployed to the Roma. Salem, New Hampshire sent its ladder truck.

Many of the diners and employees went to the parking lot across the street from the restaurant. Daniel Stanford, who has been a cook at the Roma for six years, said it appeared the compressor on an ice machine in the basement caught fire.

The sprinklers activated quickly and doused the fire, he said, but it still produced thick, black smoke.

Sharyn Linzey, of Haverhill, a regular customer at the Roma, said she had just finished eating a pizza when the smoke alarms went off. Employees ordered “everybody out!” she said.

“I didn’t get to finish my soda,” she said. “I hope they reopen tomorrow (Friday) because they have karaoke at 9.”

Terry Connolly and his wife Peggy were sitting at the bar sipping wine, waiting for dinner.

“Her salad had just come out. Next thing I know, the alarms go off,” Terry said. He never did get to enjoy his garden salad with chicken, he added.

The Connollys, of Haverhill, have been regular customers at the Roma for many years. They generally eat there once a week, they said.

“Everybody was good about getting out,” Terry said.

Fire engines began leaving the scene by around 9 p.m.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Ocean City, MD – Single fire sprinkler extinguishes fire at hotel restaurant, minimizing fire damage

A properly functioning sprinkler system is being credited this week for saving a restaurant in a beachfront hotel early Tuesday morning.

Around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, the Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) was dispatched to a fire alarm activation indicating a fire sprinkler waterflow at the Castle in the Sand Hotel. While firefighters were responding to the initial call, a second call came in minutes later from hotel staff advising they had investigated the source of the fire alarm activation and could see fire burning in a restaurant in the basement of the lodging establishment.

When firefighters arrived, they found the alarm system sounding and the hotel occupants evacuating. Hotel staff directed OCFD responders to the basement where they found a single fire sprinkler had discharged and extinguished the fire, limiting damage to a small area in the rear of the restaurant. Ocean City Fire Marshal David Hartley credited the hotel’s working and updated fire suppression system for preventing further damage and potential injury.

“A properly functioning fire sprinkler system saved lives and property at the Caste in the Sand this morning,” he said on Tuesday. “The hotel’s diligence in servicing and maintaining its fire protection systems ensured that everything worked properly, which limited the damage and ensured the safe evacuation of hotel occupants.”

Once the fire was suppressed and safety was ensured, hotel occupants returned to their rooms within about 30 minutes of the initial call. The Beach House restaurant in the Castle in the Sand is expected to return to normal business following a brief cleanup.

Fire Marshal’s Office investigators have ruled the cause of the fire as accidental and attributed it to the spontaneous combustion of laundered, cooking oil-saturated cleaning rags, a scenario deemed fairly common in restaurants.

“This phenomenon is unfortunately a common occurrence in commercial kitchens,” said Hartley. We often see fires that begin due to cleaning towels that have soaked up vegetable-based cooking oils and spontaneously ignite, even after being properly washed and dried.”

As a result, the Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office is encouraging restaurant employees to minimize the likelihood of a spontaneous ignition incident by ensuring dryer cooling and tumbling cycles are utilized, towels are spread out to minimize pile sizes and also by storing clean and dirty towels in non-combustible hampers or other containers.


Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Manassas, VA – Sprinkler system keeps laundry room fire under control

The first blaze, at Wyndham Garden Hotel on Vandor Lane, started in a laundry room about 12:55 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke spreading through the building, Prince William County fire and rescue said in a news release.

A second alarm was initially requested due to the type of occupancy and smoke conditions. The fire was located and contained to the laundry room located in the hotel’s basement.

The fire had been kept under control by the building’s sprinkler system. Crews further controlled the scene and initiated smoke removal. The hotel was temporarily evacuated during the incident but occupants were allowed to return. Three occupants were evaluated on the scene but did not need to be hospitalized.

Fire damage was limited to the a dryer and was determined to be the cause of the fire as observed by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Enfield, CT – Hotel dryer fire contained by fire sprinkler activation; No injuries reported

Early Friday morning, crews responded to the Hampton Inn at 20 Phoenix Ave., for a fire in a laundry room. Firefighters from Shaker Pines, Hazardville, North Thompsonville and Thompsonville responded to the scene, Richards said.

“Crews encountered flames in a commercial laundry dryer. The fire spread outside the machine, causing the activation of the automatic sprinkler system, which contained the fire,” Richards said.

The inn was evacuated while crews removed smoke from the five-story building. There were no injuries and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Eureka, CA – Fire sprinkler prevents significant fire damage throughout hotel by confining fire to one room; No injuries reported

On 6/5/19 at 2:44 P.M. units from Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported structure fire at a hotel on the 2200 Block of Fourth Street. The first arriving engine found heavy smoke in one first floor room of the hotel. There was fire coming from a wall and window area. Bystanders had helped contain the main body of fire with multiple fire extinguishers. The automatic sprinkler system had also activated, assisting with keeping the fire confined to a single room. The room directly above it on the second floor had light smoke in it. The fire was controlled in approximately five minutes.

Fire personnel searched both the first and second floors for any remaining occupants, extinguished hotspots, and removed smoke from the other room. Personnel also secured the sprinkler system to minimize water damage. There were no injuries in the fire. One room and its contents were destroyed with damage estimates of about $15,000.

The cause of the fire appeared to be a malfunctioning heater unit. Although the sprinkler system caused water damage, because of its presence, it undoubtedly prevented much more significant fire damage throughout the hotel by confining the fire to one room.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Valdosta, GA – Sprinkler system extinguishes kitchen fire on fourth floor of hotel

The Valdosta Fire Department responded to an early-morning fire Sunday at a four-story hotel.

Crews arrived to the hotel at 1003 North St. Augustine Street just after 4:30 a.m.

Upon arrival, firefighters found that the sprinkler system on the fourth floor of the building had extinguished the small kitchen fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking.

Fire crews remained on scene to assist water removal personnel.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Green Bay, WI – Commercial dryer fire kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

People inside the Hilton Garden Inn on Lombardi Avenue were briefly evacuated because of a fire inside the hotel early Sunday morning.

Firefighters said it happened around one in the morning and the small fire started inside a commercial dryer.

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department said the fire was kept in check by the activated sprinkler system.

No one was hurt, and people were eventually able to go back inside the hotel.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Portsmouth, NH – Sprinkler system contains fire originating on outside wall of hotel

Firefighters on Thursday morning responded to a fire that appears to have started in an outside wall at the Anchorage Inn and Suites off Woodbury Avenue.

Interim Fire Chief Todd Germain said the department received multiple calls about the fire about 11:25 a.m.

When firefighters arrived, they saw “heavy flames” coming from a back wall at the hotel and they were able to quickly knock it down, Germain said at the scene.

Germain did not know immediately how many people were staying at the hotel at the time of the fire, but said everyone was evacuated safely.

After knocking the fire down, firefighters remained on scene as they dug into the outside wall to look into the interior and pour water on it.

“We’re just trying to make sure there’s no fires hidden inside the walls,” Germain said.

One sprinkler system did go off because of the fire, Germain said, but there appeared to be little or no significant damage to the inside of the hotel.

He planned to work with hotel management and city inspectors to see if hotel guests could return to their rooms Thursday, Germain said.

Firefighters could be seen washing down each other’s uniforms at the scene Thursday.

“That’s something we do as part of our protocol to make sure we’re not leaving any carcinogens on our uniform,” he said.

In addition to Portsmouth, firefighters from Kittery, Maine, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard responded to the one-alarm fire, he said.

The Anchorage Inn and Suites is near the Woodbury Avenue bridge, which was removed and is in the process of being replaced. The bridge closure did not slow the arrival of firefighters, Germain said.

“We know our way around,” he said with a smile.