Category Archives: Athletic Club/Sports Facility

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Port Hope, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system contains fire at sports complex to area of origin

The investigation into the cause of a “minor fire” in one of the family change rooms at the Jack Burger Sports Complex is continuing, as is clean-up following the fire. “Investigation by the fire department is ongoing at this point and the cause of the fire has not yet been determined,” said Kate Ingram, the communications and community engagement coordinator for the Municipality of Port Hope, just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6. Port Hope Fire and Emergency Services, along with other emergency crews, responded to the fire call after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Patrons at the sports complex were evacuated immediately and the facility was shut down. All programming, including the on-ice activities at the arena were cancelled until further notice, with emergency crews remaining at the scene at 60 Highland Dr. into the evening Tuesday.

“The facility will remain closed until the investigation is complete,” said the municipality Tuesday evening following the fire.

In an updated public notice about noon on Wednesday, the municipality confirmed all pool programs remain cancelled for the day.

“The pool accessible change room will be closed for an extended period of time for full remediation,” the latest public notice further states.

There was some smoke damage, Ingram confirmed Wednesday.

An additional update on details about the status of pool programming for Thursday, Feb. 7 is to be issued after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The arena, however, has reopened, “after required inspections to the fire monitoring system,” but residents are being encouraged to check in with their community program providers to ensure programming is ongoing given current inclement weather conditions.

There have been no injuries reported as a result of the fire.

Director and fire chief C. Ryan Edgar has confirmed the fire was contained to the area of origin and the “fire sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to do.”

The fire was out at the complex not long after the initial call went out.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, patrons who left behind any belongings during evacuation could contact staff at the Jack Burger Sports Complex to make arrangements to pick up items. Residents looking to make those arrangements or with inquiries can reach staff at 905-885-2474.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Kent, WA – Electrical fire at ice rink extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Kent Valley Ice Centre has reopened after a day after it was shut down by an electrical fire.

Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority responded to a sprinkler alarm at the popular ice rink at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The report was upgraded to a commercial building fire after reports of smoke coming from the compressor room used for the ammonia-based cooling system.

Staff safely evacuated everyone from the building and there were no injuries, according to Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.

Firefighters found a large electrical panel that had caught fire and activated the sprinkler system. The fire was quickly extinguished and there was no danger of an ammonia leak.

The damage has now been repaired and the ice rink has reopened, according to managers.

The fire is considered accidental, according to the investigator.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

East Hampton, NY – Fire at indoor tennis building contained by sprinkler system

Detectives are investigating a fire that broke out in an office building at East Hampton Indoor Tennis on Saturday morning — the second fire at the complex this year. 

At 5:01 a.m., the East Hampton Fire Department was called to an automatic fire alarm inside a building that houses the complex’s office at 174 Daniel’s Hole Road, near the East Hampton Airport. Brian Stanis, the second assistant fire chief, arrived to find “a heavy smoke condition” coming from the building, according to Chief Gerard Turza. He called for the rest of the Fire Department to respond. 

“Firefighters found the remnants of a fire inside of the structure that had been contained by the building’s fire sprinkler system,” Chief Turza said. 

He would not comment about the extent of the damage. There were signs of minor exterior damage to the building, including darkened siding, a blown out window, and damage to the door.

The chief would only say, “The cause and origin of the fire is currently under investigation by the East Hampton Town Fire Marshal’s office.”

Police set up yellow crime scene around the building. Suffolk police detectives were on scene, along with East Hampton Town police and the fire marshal. 

East Hampton Village Ambulance Association were also called to the fire. No injuries were reported, though. 

East Hampton firefighters responded to a fire in a different building in the East Hampton Indoor Tennis complex in January.  A corroded pipe leaked gas into a wooden building and, at the time, investigators said that it appeared that when a heater went on, it ignited the gas. There was extensive damage to that building, which was quickly repaired. The other buildings, including a bowling alley and sports bar that were being built on the property and have since opened, were not damaged.

It was business as usual at East Hampton Indoor Tennis and the Clubhouse Saturday morning. Scott Rubenstein, the managing partner, could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Allentown, PA – Sprinkler system knocks down pretzel oven fire at Coca-Cola Park

Allentown firefighters were dispatched to Coca-Cola Park on the city’s East Side on Wednesday evening on a report of a smoky fire touched off by a pretzel oven that was left unattended.

As firetrucks arrived about 6:10 p.m., the smoke was thick but the fire was out, fire officials said. No one was injured.

“When we got there, in one of the storage rooms, there was a heavy smoke condition,” fire Capt. John Christopher said. “What it was, was a pretzel oven. It remained plugged in, it overheated and bags on top of the oven caught fire.

“The sprinkler system kicked in, two sprinkler heads went off and the fire was out when we got there,” he said. “That’s what knocked the fire out. We didn’t have to do anything.”

Christopher said he didn’t know why the pretzel oven was on. He didn’t know of any event going on at the park at the time. He said officials ruled it an accident.

The oven fire reached into a wall, he said. Firefighters checked the walls for hot spots to make sure any hidden fire was extinguished.

Activation of the water sprinklers automatically set off the fire-alarm horns at the stadium, which serves the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team. It took several minutes to shut off the noise.

Just before 10 p.m., firefighters were called back to the stadium on another alarm, but there was no new fire. Workers were resetting the alarm system when it erroneously signaled another emergency.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility

New York, NY – Display case fire at Citi Field put out by sprinkler system

The Mets are in Atlanta for their series against the Braves, but back in New York, Citi Field was literally burning.  A fire broke out Wednesday on a display case near a stadium entry gate, and it looked like a significant fire.  Thankfully, the sprinkler system did go off to put out the fire. FDNY officials told NBC 4 that nobody was hurt.  This fire happened to occur amid a tough stretch for the Mets. They’ve lost seven of their past 10 games. The Mets gave up two walk-off home runs in this series with Atlanta alone and signed Jose Bautista due to their injury situation.  With that in mind, the Citi Field fire provided fans with plenty of comedic material.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Lake Stevens, WA – Sprinklers “do their job” in suspicious fire at Boys & Girls Club

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that damaged a portion of the Lake Stevens Boys and Girls Club on Monday afternoon. Investigators are calling the fire ‘suspicious.’  The fire started at approximately 2:30 P.M. Monday, investigators said.  When firefighters arrived on scene, they found two portable bathrooms on fire. Flames had spread to the overhang and the roof of the building nearby.

It appears the fire started inside the portable toilets, the Assistant Fire Marshal for Lake Stevens Fire told KOMO News on Monday night.  “The ones who are gonna pray the price are the kids. And that’s the sad part,” said Michael Hamel, who lives nearby and stopped by the club Monday night to look at the damage left behind. “We can clean up. Adults can pick it up. We can get on and rebuild, but it… this is against the kids. Why do something to ruin the summer for kids?”

The Lake Stevens Boys and Girls Club will be closed on Tuesday, the club’s executive director told KOMO News. He hopes to reopen the club on Wednesday. Parents should check the club’s social media pages for updates, he said.  Most of the damage from the fire is to the outside of the building, investigators said. But crews brought in vacuums Monday night to suck up water and debris that coated the gym floor after the fire was put out.

“The fire sprinklers did their job. They contained the fire to that one storage room. And that one sprinkler head did a fantastic job suppressing the fire,” said David Petersen, Assistant Fire Marshal for Lake Stevens Fire.  Half of the roof on the club’s storage unit was destroyed by the fire. Equipment had to be pulled out of the storage unit. Some of it likely can’t be saved.  No one was injured in the fire. No one was in the building when the fire started, investigators said.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Wayne, NJ – Laundry fire at 24-Hour Fitness is kept from spreading by sprinkler system

A fire broke out in the laundry room of the 24-Hour Fitness on Route 23 in Wayne on Thursday morning.  The two-alarm fire was contained to separate laundry baskets and was mostly kept at bay by the sprinkler system, said Wayne Fire Chief John Gabriel.  “It was a very easy fire,” Gabriel said. “It was knocked down in less than five minutes.”  No injuries were reported to firefighters or customers.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Houston, TX – Fire below concourse level of Toyota Center arena put out by sprinkler system

Arson investigators as of Monday had not determined the cause of a fire over the weekend at the Toyota Center. The Houston Fire Department was alerted to a fire around 8:30 a.m. Sunday in the lower level of the building under the concourse level. When units arrived, the fire was out due to the sprinkler system. The fire was contained to a small area of the facility. The sprinkler system was put back in service and the building is safe to use, according to officials. Officials said there is no structural damage.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other-Government/Military

Quincy, IL – Fire in pool pump room at community center extinguished by sprinkler system

A chemical fire Friday that led to a temporary evacuation of the Kroc Center was the first fire in the building’s six-year history. An automatic fire alarm went off around 9:30 a.m. at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center, 405 Vermont, and employees immediately began evacuating patrons as a precaution. When the fire was confirmed, the automatic alarm was upgraded to a general alarm and multiple fire trucks responded.

“Every time we show up, and we see that a proper evacuation has taken place, it takes a lot off our shoulders,” said Quincy Fire Department Capt. Mark Bigelow. “Then we get down to the business of extinguishing the fire and controlling it.” The fire, believed to be chemical in nature, broke out in a pump room near the swimming pool area, Bigelow said. The cause is still being investigated, but Bigelow said construction equipment in the pump room, like propane tanks, may have been involved. No construction was being done at the time.

Bigelow said damage will likely be minimal. Most of the equipment in the pump room is designed for moisture, he said. The fire was extinguished by a sprinkler. “Another win for automatic sprinkler systems,” Bigelow said. No injuries were reported.

Carolyn Carpenter, Kroc Center marketing manager, said the facility regularly practices fire drills with its employees.

Several dozen people were left outside for about 30 minutes in the single-digit temperatures because of the evacuation. Staff members began transporting some patrons to the Salvation Army Family Store, which is used as a warming center. Patrons who were evacuated from the pool were outside in swimsuits and shoeless. Staff members began loading them into vehicles and handing out blankets and socks.

“Everybody here did an outstanding job,” Bigelow said.

As soon as firefighters cleared the building, patrons were allowed to return but remained in the Kroc Center’s Worship Theatre while the investigation was conducted.

Bigelow said that while the department has responded to the Kroc Center many times for false alarms, he believes this was the first actual fire.