Category Archives: Restaurant

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Rome, GA – Overnight restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Damage minimized

Even though passersby saw smoke and flames at Ryan’s Restaurant, 2305 Shorter Ave., early Saturday morning, a fire official said that when his first engine company arrived, they got inside and saw that the sprinkler system had activated and the fire was out. According to Rome-Floyd County Fire Department Battalion Chief Roger Haggard:

The call came in just before 3 a.m. Saturday. The caller said they could see smoke and flames coming from the roof of the building. The investigation, he said, tentatively points to something sparking flames in the ductwork.  “It burned off dust and some of the ductwork and plastic grills in the ceiling,” Haggard said.  What triggered the fire could not be pinpointed.  “It smoked the building up pretty good,” Haggard said. “Some ceiling tiles did fall to the floor.”  Estimated damages to the structure itself were minimal.  A sign on the door of the restaurant simply indicates the restaurant will be closed indefinitely.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Kingsport, TN – Arson fire in McDonald’s bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system

The Kingsport Fire Department is on the scene of a fire at the McDonald’s restaurant on Lynn Garden Drive. According to KFD’s public information officer Barry Brickey, the fire was intentionally set in the bathroom.  The fire department reports the fire sprinkler put out the flames before the crews arrived.  KFD’s Station 5 is next door to the restaurant.  The case is being investigated by the fire marshal.  Very few details are known at this time. News Channel 11 is following this story. We’ll post more details as soon as they become available.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Henderson, NV – Golf course clubhouse fire held in check by sprinkler system

Authorities in Henderson say a cigarette discarded near an outside laundry chute is to blame for an accidental fire at a golf course clubhouse.  Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Richards says the large two-story building’s fire sprinkler system kept the fire in check until crews arrived in response to an alarm early Saturday morning.  No smoke or fire was visible when the first crew arrived, but firefighters found the fire burning in an exterior wall and attic of the SouthShore Golf Course clubhouse in the Lake Las Vegas area.  An alarm monitoring service reported the incident after a sprinkler system’s water flow alarm was activated. The business was closed at the time and there were no injuries. Damage was estimated $60,000.

 

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Lufkin, TX – Fire at Outback Steakhouse caused by lightning strike controlled with help from sprinkler system

Three Lufkin Fire stations responded to an electrical fire believed to be caused by lighting on the front porch of Outbeak steakhouse.  No injuries were reported, but damage to paneling on the outside roof occurred according to Battalion Chief Eric Parrish.  “We believe the lights outside of the restaurant caught on fire signaling the sprinkler systems to activate,” Parrish said. “This in combination to response from our units are what extinguished the fire.”  No one was harmed, and those in the restaurant at the time the fire began all exited the premises safely. Parrish said he believes Outback will be closed for the next couple of days until damage is fixed, and the exact cause of the fire is determined.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bolingbrook, IL – Kitchen fryer fire at McDonald’s extinguished by sprinkler system

A Bolingbrook McDonald’s was shut down due to a kitchen fryer fire Saturday.  The Bolingbrook Fire Department responded to the fire at 3:21 a.m. and evacuated the building, located at 100 N. Bolingbrook Drive. The sprinkler system had activated and extinguished the fire, according to the Bolingbrook Fire Department.

Once firefighters ensured the fire was out, they ventilated the building. The Will County Health Department was notified and cleanup and repairs are continuing. McDonald’s management expects to have all necessary repairs completed by Wednesday. The store could reopen by Thursday.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Mississauga, ON, Canada – Restaurant fire kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

Mississauga Fire is at a scene of a restaurant fire on Shepherd Avenue in the Cooksville area.
Emergency crews responded to a call at approximately 6:11 p.m. for a fire that originated in the kitchen of a restaurant in the area.
The sprinkler systems had been activated and the fire was extinguished by the time the firefighters arrived.
There are no injuries reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

San Antonio, TX – Sprinklers activate when oven causes fire at restaurant south of downtown

An oven was to blame for a fire early Monday morning that damaged a building south of downtown, fire officials said.

When firefighters arrived around 6:30 a.m. at the King William Professional Building in the 800 block of South St. Mary’s Street, they found flames shooting from an air conditioning unit above Francis Bogside Pub.

Fire Chief Charles Hood said the fire was quickly extinguished, but there was significant water damage from the sprinkler system, fire officials said.

No one was hurt in the fire.

Hood said the fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Jackson, MI – Suspicious fire at downtown sports bar contained by sprinkler system

Investigators are calling a fire that damaged Chase Sports Bar in downtown Jackson suspicious. The fire started Sunday night just after 9 p.m. then spread to the back of the building.

“It was kinda like your worst nightmare,” said Owner Randy LeMaster. LeMaster was working at his other bar down Michigan Avenue when he got the call.  “The back next to the walk-in freezer was all up in flames,” he said.

Investigators say the fire started in a storage area outside the bar and just kept spreading. “It started to extend up the back side of the building which was a steel sided building. That presents its own problems because there are gaps between the steel and the brick behind it, so the fire mainly got into that gap space,” explained Deputy Fire Chief David Wooden with the Jackson County Fire Department.

Flames even got into the air ducts, but firefighters say the damage stayed to a back bathroom and the kitchen thanks to a sprinkler that went off. Investigators say they’re treating the scene as suspicious. “When you have a fire that started outside of a building, you don’t have the amount of accidental causes that could have started the fire,” Wooden explained.

Security cameras from both the bar and the apartment building next door could be key to helping investigators, they’re looking over all the video and hope it will show them just how the fire started. “We’re just hoping to see if there was anybody in the area to see if there’s something else we need to follow up on,” Wooden said.

Jackson called in 3 other fire departments through mutual aid because the fire was at a commercial building and there was a high-rise retirement apartment building next door. About 30 residents were evacuated but the fire never spread to the inside of the apartment building.

LeMaster says he’s just happy no one was injured. With significant smoke and water damage to the back of the building, he’s now focused on getting it repaired. But LeMaster is counting himself lucky since the flames didn’t spread to the main bar.

Still with the holidays coming up, he can’t afford to be out of business. “I’ve got a crew lined up to move forward on getting things cleaned up,” he said.  Chase will be closed for at least a month.  LeMaster tells News 10 he has about 30 employees at that bar and he’s trying to keep them busy with cleanup or get them extra hours at his other bar.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Hampton Beach, NH – Sprinkler system helps firefighters control fire at restaurant in historic building

Firefighters battled a fire Wednesday morning at the Purple Urchin Seaside Cafe at Hampton Beach.  The Purple Urchin is located on the second floor of 169 Ocean Blvd.

The fire started just before 8 a.m. and took crews an hour to put out. The fire went to three alarms in the iconic building that has been a part of Hampton Beach since the early 1900s.

In February 2010, a fire destroyed an entire block in Hampton Beach, and Fire Chief Jameson Ayotte said that fire was in their minds as they responded to the fire. Ayotte was the first person to spot the fire at the Purple Urchin.

“I was driving into work and saw smoke coming from the building,” Ayotte said. “The smoke was coming from the roof just over the Purple Urchin.”

Firefighters initially battled the fire from the front stairs. Authorities said sprinklers and the fire alarm system activated during the fire.  Firefighters from 16 New Hampshire and Massachusetts towns joined in the fight.  Ayotte said it appeared to have started on the second floor, but it didn’t stay there.

“The fire was in the roof structure and started to run along the underside of the roof, so you can see they’re placing cuts in the roof and going after it under the shingles,” he said.

The chief said the building was built in 1901, so firefighters had to deal with seasoned wood. But the building had a sprinkler system, which helped them get the fire under control.

Donnie Miller, who owns a few businesses in the building, said that his reaction was immediate.  “Panic, immediately,” he said. “You panic, and your mind thinks the worst, obviously. Your heart drops in your stomach, and you want to see what’s happening.”

Eventually, he was able to get a look inside. “What I could see from where we’re at, it’s just smoke damage, not any water damage,” he said.

Several adjacent businesses were damaged by water and smoke. Firefighters said the building was unoccupied at the time, as most of the seasonal businesses were closed for the winter season.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were treated and released. They are all expected to make a full recovery. Hampton fire officials, the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco of Firearms investigated the cause of the fire.

Officials said the cause was a beverage cooler, which had a power cord that short-circuited.