College/University (on campus), Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant, School / University Urbana, IL – Fire at campus restaurant held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported April 22, 2019 viking210 The basement of the nearly 80-year-old Illini Union at the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign has reopened after a fire forced it to close for several hours. Chief Urbana Fire Investigators Jeremy Leevey told the (Champaign) News-Gazette that crews responded to a small fire at Einstein Bros. Bagels at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday. Leevey says the union’s sprinkler system and firefighters were able to put out the fire. He says the cause is undetermined. Leevey says the restaurant has smoke damage but the dollar loss was minimal. The university’s Illini Alert system issued a message about 6:30 a.m. Thursday saying there was a fire at the union and to avoid or leave the area immediately. No injuries were reported. Officials say the union is fully operational.
Restaurant San Antonio, TX – Sprinkler system keeps overnight restaurant kitchen fire from spreading April 11, 2019 viking210 Food left cooking on a stove all night long is believed to be the cause of a fire at Scuzzi’s Italian restaurant overnight. Firefighters say they found a small fire inside the restauarant, located near Loop 1604 and NW Military, when they arrived shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday. They had to break open the front door of the business, then quickly knocked down the fire. Firefighters said it appears someone left the stove on all night with food cooking on it, and that is what caused the fire. The sprinkler system activated and kept the fire from spreading, firefighters said. A food inspector from San Antonio Metropolitan Health District was called in to have a look around after the fire. The outcome of that investigation will determine what repairs need to be done before the restaurant can reopen. From outside, the damage appeared to be minimal, although the fire did leave an odor of smoke throughout the building.
Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Madison, WI – Restaurant kitchen fire kept in check by sprinkler system until fire crews arrived April 8, 2019 viking210 An east Madison restaurant sustained significant damage in an early morning fire Friday, officials said. The Madison Fire Department said the fire at Sumo Steakhouse and Sushi Bar on Parkside Drive was kept in check overnight by an automatic fire sprinkler. According to the report, it’s unknown how long the fire had been burning before a passerby called 911 at 2:30 a.m. to report smoke in the area. A crew went to the roof of the restaurant and entered the building through a hatch, officials said. That’s when they discovered light smoke coming from a kitchen vent. Firefighters pulled an attack line and proceeded to the kitchen, where an automatic sprinkler was holding a fire at bay, according to the report. Crews extinguished the remainder of the kitchen fire. Meanwhile, firefighters found fire in the kitchen exhaust system and were able to put it out it with a water can extinguisher. Fire officials said the kitchen suffered significant damage, but without the automatic sprinkler holding the fire in place while nobody was around to report the fire, it is believed the entire building would have been consumed by fire. Public Health Madison-Dane County was notified of the incident. The fire department said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant East Greenwich, RI – Fire at restaurant extinguished by sprinkler system before fire crews arrived April 3, 2019 viking210 Police were called to Besos Kitchen and Cocktails on Main Street to assist East Greenwich Fire with a call for a fire to the exterior of the building by the front door. Firefighters said the fire started in a planter near the front door and spread to an exterior wall, setting off the overhead sprinkler. The sprinkler put out the fire before firefighters arrived. The fire marshal said he thought the fire may have been caused by a cigarette dropped into the planter.
Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Nicholasville, KY – Overnight fire controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported April 3, 2019 viking210 A Nicholasville restaurant will be closed for a while after an overnight fire left the building damaged. Fortunately no one was inside when the fire broke out at Copper River Grill. The fire started after the restaurant had closed. Crews tell us they responded to the scene just before 2:00 a.m. Firefighters say when they arrived they saw smoke coming from the back building. They think the fire may have started in the kitchen. “The sprinkler system did activate and help control the spread of the fire,” says Fire Battalion Chief Johnny Adams. Crews tell WKYT the restaurant will probably be closed for a while for cleanup and repairs. They say inspectors will determine when the restaurant will reopen. Fire investigators are trying to determine what started the fire.
Restaurant Cross Plains, WI – Overnight fire at tavern knocked down by sprinkler system March 29, 2019 viking210 A kitchen fire at a Cross Plains tavern has caused it to close Tuesday, according to employees at Coach’s Club Bar and Restaurant. Fire crews were called to the scene on Highway 14 at about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday. Officials said the sprinkler system was able to knock down the flames in the kitchen, but the building suffered smoke and water damage. No word on what caused the fire. An employee at Coach’s told 27 News they plan to have the bar and restaurant open again on Wednesday. CROSS PLAINS (WKOW) — Crews responded to a fire at a restaurant in Cross Plains early Tuesday morning. The eastbound lane of Highway 14 was blocked while firefighters worked to make sure the flames were out at Coach’s Club Sports Bar and Restaurant. A fire official on the scene told 27 News they were called to the “small kitchen fire” at about 12:45 a.m. They said no one was in the building when it started and the sprinkler system was able to knock down the flames. The scene was cleared at about 2:20 a.m. No word on the extent of damage at this time.
Restaurant, Retail, Shopping Mall Huntington Station, NY – Restaurant fire in strip mall extinguished by sprinkler system March 20, 2019 viking210 Multiple fire departments were on the scene of a fire at a strip mall in Huntington Station last Friday afternoon. Suffolk Police say a 911 call came in at 2:46 p.m. reporting a fire at 1760 New York Ave. “Manor firefighters responded to a report of smoke from a building on New York Ave and West Hills Road on Friday afternoon. Chief Chuck Brady determined that heavy smoke was coming from the Don Juan Pupuseria and transmitted a working fire. Firefighters entered the building and searched for the seat of the fire. A fire was found to be burning in the kitchen. A majority of the fire was extinguished by a sprinkler system with a crew from Engine 3 hitting remaining hot spots. We were assisted by Huntington and Melville firefighters at the scene and Greenlawn firefighters stood by at Manors Headquarters. Huntington Community First Aid Squad provided an E.M S. standby at the scene. There were no reported injuries. All units were under the command of Chief Jon Hoffman.”
Restaurant Meridian, ID – Sprinkler systems assists firefighters in extinguishing kitchen fire at entertainment venue March 9, 2019 viking210 A kitchen grease fire caused some damage at Big Al’s Meridian Wednesday, but the restaurant and entertainment venue was able to open Thursday. Meridian Fire responded at about 11:30 p.m. Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer said the fire was extinguished within five minutes. There was minimal smoke damage from the fire and a sprinkler activated, he said. Kelly O’Callaghan, Big Al’s general manager, said staff think a piece of equipment might have malfunctioned causing the fire, but they’re not sure. An employee noticed the fire after kitchen staff had cleaned up and gone home. O’Callaghan said Big Al’s is open and serving food from its snack bar. He said they plan to have the main kitchen back up and running by Saturday.
Restaurant Rostraver Twp, PA – Fire in unoccupied restaurant is extinguished by sprinkler system March 7, 2019 viking210 A fire erupted at a Rostraver Township restaurant on Monday before it was quickly extinguished by the business’s sprinkler system. Rostraver Central Fire Department said in a mid-afternoon posting to its Facebook account that its members had answered a 911 call placed by employees of Sweeney’s Steakhouse on Rostraver Road. The department said restaurant staff reportedly arrived for work to find signs of the extinguished fire. The state fire marshal is investigating. The department made no mention of the fire causing any injuries at the restaurant, which appears to have been unoccupied whenever the fire started. Firefighters didn’t immediately return a message left at the station. The department’s post said Collinsburg Volunteer Fire Company, which is also located in the township, assisted. The restaurant was founded in the 1930s. Debra Hardy, the now-former wife of billionaire 84 Lumber founder Joe Hardy, has owned it since 1994.
Restaurant Westerly, RI – Fire in kitchen area of restaurant is put out by sprinkler system March 4, 2019 viking210 A wok fire at New China Pavilion caused a bit of a stir just before lunchtime last Wednesday, but a sprinkler helped douse the fire, preventing any damage to the restaurant. Westerly firefighters were dispatched to the restaurant at 105 Franklin St. around 11:15 a.m. with reports from police that smoke was visible at the building. They arrived to find that a small fire had occurred involving a wok in the kitchen area, but the flames were out before officials arrived. The restaurant staff vented much of the smoke quickly and emergency responders were cleared from the scene in approximately 15 minutes. The restaurant resumed normal operations.
