Category Archives: Hotel / Restaurant

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Greensboro, NC – Motel fire caused by cigarette doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Sprinklers doused a fire inside a motel room and kept it from spreading to others, firefighters said. Firefighters responded about noon Saturday to the In-Town Suites at 501 Americhase Drive for a reported fire. Chief Jim Boggs with the Greensboro Fire Department said some of the fire trucks that were en route were called off because the sprinklers took care of the fire. He said the fire was accidental and caused by a cigarette.

“It was controlled pretty quickly,” he said. The fire was contained to one room at the motel which had 133 guests at the time, including the one in the damaged room, according to a fire department news release. The occupant of the damaged room had to be relocated. Boggs said there was some fire and water damage to the room. No injuries were reported. To avoid such fires, the department urges people to use fire safe cigarettes, smoke outside and not smoke when sleepy or after having consumed medicine or alcohol. Firefighters also say people should check furniture before going to bed to make sure smoldering cigarette butts have not fallen out of sight.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Tampa, FL – Fire at Courtyard Marriott hotel limited by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire forced guest and staff to evacuate a Tampa hotel. Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a fire at the Marriott Hotel located at 3805 W. Cypress Street on Thursday night. The fire started around 9:15 p.m. Firefighters said a flight attendant who was staying at the hotel started the heater/AC unit and it sparked. She immediately called 911 about the fire. “My husband and I were in there. We were watching TV and heard some commotion. I opened up the door and a lady was running down the call, everybody out!” said Yvonne Wesley Payne, a hotel guest. Firefighters said the third floor had water and smoke damage. The sprinkler system worked. Firefighters believe the cause of the fire was electrical/mechanical malfunction of the room heater. No one was hurt.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Brockton, MA – Sprinkler system keeps overnight hotel fire from spreading

A sprinkler system is being credited for averting a possible major fire or disaster at a downtown hotel early Friday morning. The Brockton Fire Department received a 911 call about 1 a.m. reporting there was an unknown fire in one of the rooms at the Elmcourt Hotel, at 33 West Elm St. When firefighters arrived, they learned that the sprinkler system had been activated on the fourth floor.

“The contents of the room, including the mattress, were on fire,” said fire Capt. Jeff Marchetti. “The sprinkler heads were flowing and kept the fire from spreading.”

The fire was caused by the careless disposal of smoking materials, the captain said.

The actual fire was contained to only the one room on the fourth floor. Firefighters had to tap into a standpipe system in the building to use a small amount of water to extinguish the parts of the fire that the sprinkler didn’t, Marchetti said.

The fire was extinguished about 12 minutes after the initial 911 call reporting it.

Although the fire was contained to one room, there was a large amount of water damage to multiple floors due to the sprinkler system, Marchetti said.

“Because of the water damage from the sprinkler heads flowing, they had to shut down power to some of the hotel,” he said.

The fire is estimated to have caused about $100,000 in damage, Marchetti said.

Fire officials said several people had to be relocated because they couldn’t stay in the rooms directly below where the fire occurred due to water damage.

But Chip Yannone, the owner of the Elmcourt, said everyone was able to stay in the hotel, some just had to switch rooms.

“We are fortunate enough to be able to keep everyone here,” he said.

Yannone said that insurance adjusters hadn’t been to the building as of late Friday morning and he wanted to wait for their investigation to be complete before discussing the possible damages.

Restaurant

Waterloo, ON, Canada – Suspicious early morning fire at restaurant controlled by sprinkler system

The Ontario Fire Marshall has deemed a fire in a Waterloo restaurant suspicious. Firefighters were called to a restaurant on King Street North, south of University Avenue just before dawn Friday morning. Fire officials say a sprinkler was able to mostly keep the fire under control before firefighters arrived at the scene. No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Houston, TX – (no media coverage) Hotel kitchen fire contained by single sprinkler

***Fire Department Reported – No Media Coverage *** The Harris County Fire Marshal’s office reported a sprinkler save at the TownPlace® Suites by Marriott at 11040 Louetta Road in Houston. The fire was caused from unattended cooking, causing a grease fire. The occupant fell asleep while cooking chicken strips. A single sprinkler activated containing the fire to the stove area.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Marlborough, MA – Sprinkler system activates; Assists firefighters in controlling hotel fire

Firefighters made quick work out of a fire in a fourth-floor apartment at the MacDonald Hotel Wednesday night that forced Main Street to be closed for several hours. There were no injuries from the fire that broke out around 8:30 p.m., but 30 to 40 residents were displaced from the 276 Main St. building, according to Battalion Chief David D’Amico. The Red Cross arrived to lend a hand. “The first engine company went up to investigate and they found smoke …. on the fourth floor,” D’Amico said. “They found the apartment where the fire was.” The fire, contained to one apartment, was under control within a half-hour, but crews remained on hand for several hours to make sure it didn’t reignite, D’Amico said. Firefighters don’t know what sparked the blaze Wednesday night. The state Fire Marshal’s inspector was called to the building.

“Right now, we are in the investigation stage,” he said. D’Amico said it’s unknown how long the building will be uninhabitable. “The sprinkler system did activate. The water damage throughout the building still has to be checked,” he said. “We still have to get into all these apartments.” Because of frequent false alarm, many people refused to evacuate, which became a challenge for firefighters. “Getting into this building while people are coming out that is always a challenge,” D’Amico said. Around 25 residents gathered in the nearby Marlborough House of Pizza to stay warm and wait for news from the department. Fire Chief Kevin Breen told the residents they would be able to enter the building to retrieve medications and personal belongings, but would not be allowed to stay the night.

“I was sleeping and I heard a small explosion,” said Andy Alley, who has lived on the third floor of the building for five years. “When I opened the door the smoke was floor to ceiling. This is the second fire since I’ve lived here.” Another resident said several people tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Southborough and Northborough Fire Departments also sent crews to help with the two-alarm fire.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Escondido, CA – Kitchen fire at restaurant suppressed by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire damaged a Mexican eatery in Escondido, but a sprinkler system helped suppress the flames before firefighters arrived and made quick work of it, a battalion chief said Thursday. The blaze was reported just after 10 p.m. Wednesday at Paulita’s Restaurant at 636 N. Broadway, Escondido Battalion Chief Art Holcomb said. The first crews on scene found smoke coming from a large vent pipe on the roof of the small diner that was already closed for the night. “The units on scene made access to the building and located a small fire that was being held in check by a commercial kitchen suppression system,” Holcomb said. “Aggressive action by the firefighters contained and controlled the fire in approximately 20 minutes.” The cause of the fire was still under investigation Thursday, but it likely started near a stove in the kitchen, Holcomb said. Firefighters reported moderate damage to the kitchen and minor to moderate smoke damage throughout the rest of the restaurant. No injuries were reported and there was no immediate estimate of the cost of damages

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system stops ‘ball of fire’ at downtown restaurant

A cooking oil fire ignited on the stove of a downtown Bend restaurant’s kitchen Monday morning, creating what a fire official called “a ball of fire that roared out from under the range hood” — but also setting off a fire sprinkler head that put out the blaze and prevented far worse damage.

Bend Fire Department crews responded around 10 a.m. to the reported fire at Mother’s Downtown Kitchen on Northwest Minnesota Avenue, next door to The Oxford Hotel, said Battalion Chief Dave Howe.

First-arriving crews reported some smoke coming from the building, but soon reported the fire already was out.

Cooking oil in a pot on the stove was ignited, possibly by a few drops of water, which caused the “ball of fire” that  set off the sprinkler head, Howe said. It also activated the range hood extinguishing system, putting out the oil still burning in the pot.

Losses were estimated at $30,000 in contents, but none to the building itself, both of which were insured.

The sprinkler, designed to open at 165 degrees, “saved the structure from what might have been a devastating loss,” Howe said in a news release.

The fire alarm system also quickly notified Deschutes County 911, as did a couple of customers.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Fort Walton Beach, FL – Restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Firefighters from the Fort Walton Beach and Ocean City-Wright fire departments responded to two fires on Tuesday … At 3 p.m. firefighters responded to a grease fire on a stove at the Ocean Buffet at 309 Miracle Strip Parkway S.W., Soria said. By the time they got there, the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, but the crews remained on the scene to make sure it was out.  Damage was minimal.  Nobody was hurt in either blaze.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Orange, CT – Sprinkler system contains fire at TGI Fridays during busy Saturday night

A fire Saturday night at TGI Fridays was accidental and started in a kitchen exhaust hood, likely because of a malfunction, Fire Marshal Tim Smith said Sunday.

“It had nothing to do with cooking,” Smith said.  An alarm at the restaurant set off by the sprinklers being activated came into fire headquarters just about the same time an astute manager noticed water dripping from the ceiling was discolored, indicating fire, Smith said.

Smith said that because it is a wooden building, the restaurant at 348 Boston Post has sprinklers above and below the ceiling, as required by law.  He said that while the fire was contained to the ceiling area and extinguished quickly between sprinklers and firefighters, there is extensive smoke damage to the entire restaurant, the electricity had to be cut off and the food can’t be kept, so there is no saying when the business will reopen, Smith said.

 It was a busy Saturday night and all customers and employees evacuated safely, as employees handled the event well, he said. “If that building didn’t have sprinklers, it would have been a different outcome now,” Smith said. He said even if not required by code, sprinklers are a great idea.

Fire agencies from Orange, Woodbridge and West Haven responded to the call that came in at 8:44 p.m., Smith said.

Although the sprinkler system worked as it should have, firefighters had to open the roof up to locate the fire and assure the fire was out.

Smith said cleanup by a restoration company is underway.