Category Archives: Restaurant

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Washington, D.C. – Sprinkler system activated at roof top bar

Fire broke out late Tuesday night in a commercial building in Washington around the corner from Farragut Square and three or four blocks from the White House.

The blaze broke out in a four story building in the 1700 block of I Street NW, the D.C. Fire and EMS Department said. One firefighter was taken to a hospital with a nonlife-threatening injury.

According to the department, the fire broke out in a rooftop bar, and came to involve parts of the walls and flooring. Sprinklers helped contain it, and it was “knocked down” by about 10 p.m., the department said. It was not clear whether anyone was in the bar when the blaze began.

As of late Tuesday no cause had been determined, the fire department said. Investigators were trying to find it, according to the department.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Loveland, CO – Sprinkler system doused flames at a sushi restaurant

A fire struck the Sushi JOOA restaurant at 198 E. 29th St. on Tuesday night, although the sprinkler system doused the flames before they threatened adjacent businesses in the Palmer Gardens shopping center.

The Loveland Fire Rescue Authority was dispatched to the restaurant at 11:19 p.m. after being alerted by an automatic fire alarm, according to operations chief Greg Ward.

Loveland Fire’s first engine arrived on scene at 11:25 p.m.

The alarm was upgraded to a structure fire when firefighters saw smoke and sprinkler flow within the restaurant, he said.

Just after midnight, firefighters located the area of the extinguished fire in the space above the ceiling, Ward said Wednesday.

A sign on the front door of Sushi JOOA on Wednesday lets customers know the restaurant at 198 E. 29th St. in Loveland is closed after a fire broke out there Tuesday night. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

By Wednesday morning, crews had left Sushi JOOA, which will need clearance from the building and health departments before opening its doors to customers.

The Marine Corps Career Center adjacent to the restaurant suffered minor water damage, Ward said.

Dozens of businesses and offices in Palmer Gardens were unaffected and open for business, according to Loveland Fire Capt. Carie Dann, thanks to the single sprinkler head that contained the flames.

That sprinkler head activated when the air around it reached 160 degrees, she said.

“The whole building is going to be safe now,” Dann said. “People have jobs; the entire rest of the building remained open (Wednesday).”

Dann said even Sushi JOOA would be able to clean up and reopen “in a pretty rapid manner.”

That may not have been the case if the sprinkler system hadn’t been installed throughout the building when it was erected years ago.

“It could’ve been closed down for months,” Dann said. She said Loveland Fire encourages the owners of new buildings to install sprinkler systems for that very reason.

“A lot of times, people are hesitant to install sprinklers because they think there will be an accidental activation of the system,” she said, noting that accidental activation is extremely unlikely. “It’s not like in the movies, when every single sprinkler head goes off.”

Dann said Tuesday night’s fire was a good example of the value of sprinkler systems.

“You can always dry things out,” she said, “but you can’t unburn them.”

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Port Alberni, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system confines restaurant fire to one room

The Port Pub and CJ’s Place restaurant are closed indefinitely following a fire in a room above the pub on Saturday morning (July 7).

The Port Alberni and Cherry Creek fire departments responded to an alarm activation at the pub at around 8:30 a.m. “We found a fire had started in one of the rooms and the sprinkler had activated,” Port Alberni deputy fire chief Wes Patterson said. “Firefighters extinguished the fire.”

Patterson said there were no injuries in the fire, and it was caught early. “Fire and smoke damage was confined to one room, however with the water damage, power was shut off to the building,” he said.

“Thankfully the fire started in a sprinklered area of the building and the sprinkler minimized fire and smoke damage. It shows the importance of having a well-maintained sprinkler system.”

The fire happened in a room right above CJ’s Place and the kitchen. Manager CJ sat in the middle of her darkened restaurant late Saturday morning, tears filling her eyes as she looked around and thought about the damage. She opened her restaurant on May 1, taking over the former Port Sushi location and transforming it into a family restaurant.

“I’m devastated,” she said. “It’s my kitchen that got totally damaged; it’s all flooded.” Water was pooling in the area behind the front counter, down the hallway and in the kitchen. Water was dripping from the light fixtures in the storage room behind the kitchen.

CJ had come to the restaurant early to prepare an order for the Alberni Charity Golf Classic, taking place today at the Alberni Golf Course, but she wasn’t able to fulfill the order due to the water damage. She gave them a gift certificate instead.

“I’m sad because my staff aren’t working,” CJ said. She has four employees who work with her at the restaurant. “That’s my main thing. There’s going to be thousands and thousands of dollars of damage, I know.”

Patterson said the fire department is still investigating how the fire started. Fire restoration crews were in the pub by lunchtime, assessing damage.

CJ said she isn’t sure how long her restaurant or the pub will be closed, but said she will be ready to reopen as soon as she can.

“We’re going to rock this thing. I just want it open.”

Restaurant

Clifton, NJ – Sprinkler system hold early morning restaurant fire in check

A Lexington Avenue restaurant’s sprinkler system kept an early Wednesday morning fire in check until firefighters arrived and extinguished it, officials said.  Firefighters found smoke coming from Ya Hala restaurant on Lexington Avenue upon arrival at 4:39 a.m., said Deputy Chief Frank Prezioso  Firefighters investigated a hissing sound at first believing it to be a gas leak, Prezioso said. The hissing was coming from the sprinkler system, he said.  Sprinklers limited the fire to the kitchen area, Prezioso said.  The fire took a while to extinguish as it had worked its way above the drop ceiling, Prezioso said.  The deputy chief also said fire crews searched the property for possible victims but found none.  The fire was out by 6:30 a.m. Paterson and Passaic, assisted.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Erie, PA – Sprinkler system helps keep loading dock fire at restaurant from spreading inside

A smoky dumpster fire at Cheddar’s Saturday temporarily closed the Millcreek Township restaurant.  Smoke poured out of the loading dock area of the Interchange Road business.  A sprinkler extinguished most of the smoke, according to firefighters. Kearsarge and West Ridge firefighters cleared the scene within an hour.  Because one sprinkler head went off inside the restaurant, it was closed to clean things up.  We’re told no smoke entered the business, and will not have to be inspected by the Health Department. The manager told Erie News Now Cheddar’s expects to reopen Sunday.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant, Retail, Shopping Mall

Ottumwa, IA – Sprinkler system extinguishes kitchen fire in strip mall

A fire alarm and the smell of smoke kicked the Ottumwa Fire Department into action. They arrived at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at 1111 N. Quincy Ave. in Quincy Plaza.

However, a press release from the city says that when firefighters arrived on scene, they found no active fire or smoke being emitted from the structure. Due to the age of the fire suppression system, it didn’t show exactly where the alarm was coming from.

Firefighters used their key system to gain access to the shops of the strip mall in attempts to locate the source of the smoke smell. That’s how they found the source, which was located at the Little Caesars Pizza section of the strip mall.

Yet the fire suppression system was sufficient to extinguish the fire by itself: Firefighters located an active sprinkler head which had suppressed a small fire in the kitchen area of the business.

According to the city statement, the damage to the entire complex would have been much greater without a properly working fire sprinkler system.

The business suffered water, smoke and fire damage.

The cause, the OFD says, looks to have been spontaneous combustion of oily rags kept in a container in the back of the kitchen.

The Ottumwa Fire Department was assisted by the Ottumwa Police Departments dispatchers to gain communications with the building owner and tenants.

Residential, Restaurant, Townhouse / Condominium

Rochester, NY – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire into condominium building; Fire started in outside patio

Rochester fire investigators are looking into the cause of an early morning fire Friday that caused damage to a business and nearby condominiums.  No injuries were reported in the second-alarm fire at about 1:30 a.m. at Side Bar located downtown at 242 South Avenue.  Firefighters responded after a resident at the Capron Street Condominiums felt the heat and saw the glow from the fire and pulled the fire alarm, said Capt. Ted Kuppinger of the Rochester Fire Department.  The condos, that are next to the building the bar is located in, also overlooks the outdoor patio where the fire started. No one was in the outdoor patio.

Condo residents felt the heat and saw the glow from the fire and pulled the fire alarm.  One to two condos aren’t inhabitable due to water damage after their sprinklers went off, Kuppinger said.  The interior of the bar also received water damage as well as smoke and heat damage.  “If it had not been for the sprinkler system we would have had a much bigger fire,” Kuppinger said.  The fire was under control in 20 minutes.

Restaurant

Des Moines, IA – Evening restaurant fire suppressed with help from sprinkler system

Des Moines fire captain Randy Jones said the grease fire began once a hot pan was transferred from a stovetop to a sink. Sprinklers installed in the ceiling put out the flames, but the eatery, located at 310 Court Ave., had to be evacuated and closed for the day — about three hours earlier than usual. The sprinklers went off at about 6:20 p.m. Thursday.

“We had quite a bit of water to remove,” Jones said. “The fire was out — it’s more or less just water damage. They need to have the sprinkler system activated again and they also need to have the health department come out and inspect everything before they reopen.”

A couple dozen people were standing outside the more than 30-year-old Court Avenue fixture when the fire department arrived. Officials say they’re not sure how many customers were in the restaurant at the time of the fire.

Spaghetti Works managers said they plan to reopen the restaurant Friday.

Restaurant

Nashville, TN – Kitchen fire at downtown restaurant controlled with help from sprinkler system

Merchants in downtown Nashville is indefinitely closed due to a fire on Thursday morning.  The Nashville Fire Department responded to the Broadway establishment during the 8 a.m. hour to put out the fire.  The owners of Merchants said there was a small fire on the third floor kitchen caused by a smoker. The fire set off a sprinkler system and crews are busy at work cleaning all three floors and getting the building back in shape.  “The good news is, this building has seen much worse than this in the 100-plus-years that its been around, so we’ll be up and running in no time! We are trying to reopen for service tomorrow, June 1.” – Merchants  Currently, cause of the fire and extent of the damage has not been released.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Sacramento, CA – Sprinkler system contains restaurant fire; No injuries reported

Cosumnes Fire investigators determined that a discarded cigarette sparked a fire that damaged the BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse on May 11. The restaurant was evacuated that night and it was reopened the next day. No injuries were reported.

This fire first burned bark outside the restaurant on Laguna Springs Drive around 5 p.m. and then spread to the building. Cosumnes Fire Chief Mike McLaughlin said that evening’s strong winds fueled the fire and caused flames to burn a wall and spread into the attic.

“The fire sprinkler system worked as designed and contained the fire when one head activated,” he said.

Cosumnes, Sacramento City, and Sacramento County Metropolitan firefighters extinguished the fire.