Category Archives: Office Building

Office Building, Other Business

Penticton, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system helps limits spread of fire in 75-year old building

A fire in Penticton’s Cannery Trade Centre was contained before it could spread through the heritage building.  John Cain, one of the owners, said there was no downtime for businesses located in the building. They were able to open Monday morning.

“Everybody has co-operated marvelously, and our tenants have been outstanding and understanding. Everybody is working,” said Cain. “Jill Bateman, the administrator, has been looking after this miraculously.”

Penticton firefighters were called to the Cannery, which houses a variety of businesses in the 75-plus-year-old building, at about 1 a.m. on June 25. They arrived to find alarms ringing and the sprinkler system activated.

When they entered the building, they also found smoke, which they were able to trace to the second-floor residence.  Crews were able to fight the fire from the interior and contain it to the area of origin, though it was scaled up to a third alarm. Capt. Dennis Smith of the Penticton Fire Department said that was because of the potential of the fire to grow into a major event, especially considering the size and age of the building.

“We were travelling right through the building,” he said. “We just called out some help sooner rather than later.

“It’s always a bit of a challenge to figure out what the structure is composed of when we are into those buildings. Especially an older one like that. It’s been here for decades, with lots of additions and alterations.”

Smith said the fire sprinkler system played a big part in helping contain the fire to a limited area. “We have fire inspections regularly, and I can tell you the building management down there is on top of things there as far as fire systems and maintaining their building,” said Smith. “That’s one of the reasons that fire was handled efficiently and quickly, and without a huge loss. The fire prevention aspects were all functioning well.

Smith said the fire appears to have started on the exterior of the building, spreading up through the soffit and into the attic. But the exact cause will have to come from the fire inspector, who was on scene Monday morning.

Office Building

Manchester, NH – Fire in law offices on 18th floor of office building limited by sprinkler system

A fire caused extensive smoke and water damage to the offices of a prominent law firm in an iconic high-rise building downtown early Saturday, according to fire officials.  Paul E. Voegelin, chief operating officer at Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green, said Saturday that the firm will reopen for business on Monday as usual thanks to the quick response of firefighters and property management.  When firefighters first arrived just before 4 a.m. they found a water flow on the 18th floor of the Brady Sullivan Plaza, 1000 Elm St., a 22-story office building. First responders located the fire in the offices of the law firm.

A rapid response limited fire damage to the office where it accidentally broke out, according to District Fire Chief Hank Martineau.  It took 38 minutes to bring the fire under control, but cleanup took until 5:36 a.m., officials said. There was an extensive effort to salvage and preserve records and equipment on the floor below the fire.  The 18th floor office suffered smoke and water damage and there was water damage to offices on the 16th and 17th floors, officials said. Officials estimated the damage at $50,000.  Sheehan Phinney’s COO credited all those who dealt with the emergency.

“The fast and excellent response by both the Manchester Fire Department and Brady Sullivan Properties kept the fire quickly contained, keeping damage to a minimum,” Voegelin said in a statement. “We are relieved that no one was in the office at the time and pleased that our office will be open on Monday, conducting business as usual for our clients. Our sincere appreciation goes out to the Manchester Fire Department and Brady Sullivan Properties.”

Martineau said the building’s sprinkler system played a critical role in limiting the fire to the office where it started. There were no injuries. Brady Sullivan Plaza opened in 1972 as the Hampshire Plaza and was for 20 years the tallest structure in all of northern New England. Public Service Co. of New Hampshire built it to serve as a New Hampshire headquarters. Brady Sullivan Properties purchased the building in 2006.

Office Building, Other Business

Montpelier, VT – Fire on fourth floor of downtown office building extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire broke at the National Life Building in Montpelier Saturday. According to firefighters, the call came in around 2:45 p.m. for smoke on the 4th floor of the Davis Building. that section of the building houses state offices. Multiple departments responded to the scene. A National Life spokesperson say the building’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire. There is considerable water damage on the east side of the second, third and fourth floors of the Davis building. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Government Office, Office Building

Ponoka, AB, Canada – Fire in recycle bin at government building extinguished by sprinkler system

Ponoka RCMP are investigating a small fire that occurred at the Ponoka Provincial Building Wednesday around lunch. Along with police, the Ponoka County East District Fire Department were called to the scene where a blue recycle bin appears to have burst into flames. The building’s fire sprinkler system was set off, which extinguished the fire, and also covered a portion of the main floor. What was left of the bin was moved outside while RCMP investigated. A small amount of water was left on the floor near the sprinkler that went off.

Office Building, Other Business

Trenton, NJ – Sprinkler system helps control fire after SUV crashes into building

A woman was injured after her vehicle crashed into a Trenton building that is home to the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission headquarters. The crash took place at 10:10 a.m. last Tuesday at 225 East State Street, said Trooper Alejandro Goez, a spokesman with the New Jersey State Police. A Honda CRV driven by 40-year-old Jennifer Rosa of Plainsboro crashed into the building. Trenton Fire Battalion Chief Todd Willever said the vehicle caught fire after crashing through the plate glass window and was partially extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. Firefighters took care of the rest.

The building is also home to Blimpie Subs & Salads and The Renaissance Grill, among other offices and businesses. Rosa was taken to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, Goez said. No other injuries were reported.

The building was briefly evacuated, Willever said. The driver was removed from behind the wheel by good Samaritans, before first responders arrived. Mairin Bellack, a spokeswoman with the MVC, said operations at field offices around the state were not interrupted Tuesday. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Office Building, Other Business

Uwchlan Township, PA – Electrical fire at software company office put out with help from sprinkler system

An electrical fire forced the evacuation of an office building in the Eagleview Complex Thursday. Firefighters were called to Bentley Software at 685 Stockton Drive for a fire at 12:36 p.m.

Lionville Fire Company Deputy Chief Michael Holmes said the fire was contained to the electric room on the second floor of the building. All employees safely evacuated, the building sprinkler system activated and firefighters used dry power extinguishers to contain the fire until PECO was able to respond an turn off the power, Holmes said.

Holmes said the fire was under control in 20 minutes. He described the damage to the structure as minimal, but that there was extensive damage to the electrical system of the building, Holmes said. The company’s main computer servers were located in another building in the complex, he said.

Firefighters checked the roof for extension of hidden fire and fans to remove smoke.

Jeff Purcell, Pennsylvania State police Fire Marshal, said there was no information on the cause or amount of damage at this time. The fire is being investigated by the Chester County Fire Marshals office and the State Police Fire Marshal.

Lionville was aided by Minquas and West Whiteland Fire companies.

Office Building, Other Business

Chicago, IL – Parking garage fire at John Hancock Tower held in check by sprinkler system

A car caught fire Sunday morning at a parking garage inside the John Hancock Center on the Magnificent Mile. Over 150 firefighters responded about 9 a.m. to the two-alarm fire on the 7th floor of the parking garage at 149 E. East Delaware St., where heavy smoke conditions had been reported, according to Chicago Police and the Chicago Fire Department.

“The sprinkler system here did what it was supposed to do,” CFD District Chief Dan Cunningham told reporters “It kept the fire in check and it allowed us time to stretch a hose line to extinguish the fire.”

The fire was quickly struck out, but the “serious smoke conditions” on the 7th and 8th floors of the garage moved to other areas of the building, Cunningham said. People who were on the upper levels of the Hancock Center, including the 94th floor observation deck, requested help, but their calls were unfounded and no one was actually in distress. No injuries were reported, authorities said.

Ten people who were subjected to medical evaluations at the scene refused further medical treatment, Cunningham said. The Hancock Center was expected to reopen Sunday morning, Cunningham said.

“It will be business as usual as soon as we leave out of here,” he added.

Office Building

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler systems assists firefighters in suppressing office building fire

A sprinkler system and quick response by firefighters limited damage from a fire to an office building Saturday in San Diego, authorities said. At about 5:15 p.m. a passerby noticed flames coming from the side of a building at 9449 Balboa Avenue, fire officials said. It went to a second alarm at 5:31 p.m. and the flames were out within 20 minutes.  Fire damage was confined to the third floor exterior deck and water damaged a couple of law offices next to the deck, firefighters said. No injuries were reported, they said. The fire was caused by discarded smoking materials, officials said.

Office Building, Other Business

Henderson, KY – Fire during AA meeting contained by building’s sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire broke out an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting place during a session Monday afternoon. No one was injured.  Henderson Fire Chief Scott Foreman said firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 401 Hoffman Drive around 12:40 p.m.  “It started in the suite where the AA meetings are held,” he said. “We understand there was a meeting in progress, but everyone got out safely.”

Foreman said the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.  “The fire was contained by the building’s sprinkler system and flames were contained to the AA suite,” he said. “There were some flames visible at one time.”  Foreman said there is smoke and water damage throughout several of the businesses contained in that building.

Office Building

New York, NY – High rise fire near Grand Central Station extinguished by sprinkler system

As reported by CBS 2 New York – Crowds gathered to observe firefighters tackle a fire in a high-rise building at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. The fire broke out on the mezzanine level of the 31-story Graybar Building next to the Grand Central Terminal at around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday morning. The blaze grew to two alarms, before the sprinkler system extinguished the flames a short time later.

Chief Roger Sackowich said the fire started in an electrical supply room. “All the wiring and boxes and things that were in that room – so you had a very strong, acidy smell due to the PVC coating of the electrical wires. And that — really the smoke was very difficult to breathe,” he said.

Six people were checked out after complaining of breathing problems. Three of them were taken to a hospital. The fire prompted some evacuations of the building and heavy smoke. The fire prompted some evacuations of the building and heavy smoke. “The smoke was thick and it smelled a little, like, electrical, someone mentioned it smelled like it was electrical, it didn’t smell good,” Harry Borque said.

“We left. We had to walk down through the smoke. It was all very orderly, very organized,” said a woman named Beth. “It was thick — you had to walk through thick smoke… I covered my mouth.” Workers were allowed back into their offices after about an hour and a half. Grand Central Terminal was not impacted.