A West Yellowstone business has minor damages following a combustion fire.
Hebgan Rural Firefighters say they were able to limit the fire to just an appliance Wednesday night, because the business has sprinklers installed.
The firefighters say it’s a good time to remind everyone how important sprinklers are to fighting fires.
They recommend everyone installs them and inspects their sprinkler systems regularly.
“The leading of cause of residential fires in Manhattan and across the nation continues to be from unattended cooking,” said Manhattan Fire Chief Scott French. “It only takes a second to leave the kitchen to check on something in another room, and when you come back your stove and kitchen cabinets are on fire.”
Thanksgiving is the day that has the highest number of home cooking fires nationally, followed by Christmas Day, with unattended cooking being the leading factor according to the National Fire Protection Agency.
Ramona Fire Capt. John Sena said the fire started at about 5 p.m. when a small box was set on top of the kitchen’s stovetop. The box may have hit the stove’s knob and inadvertently turned on the burner, igniting the box, Sena said.
“Upon arrival at the scene we determined the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system, but our dispatch was not delayed,” he said.
He said several firefighting units, including firefighters from Ramona, Deer Springs and Cal Fire, were able to respond quickly because they were nearby fighting the Sawday fire. That fire started at 9:20 near Sawday Truck Trail and Littlepage Road, but was 100 percent contained by 7 p.m. on Oct. 25. Sena said crews had just been released from the Sawday fire and were returning to their stations when they were dispatched to the Ramona Boys & Girls Club at 622 E St. in Collier Park.
Sena said there was an undetermined number of occupants inside the Boys & Girls Club but all of them were safely outside the building when firefighters arrived and there were no injuries reported. He said the children were placed away from the building and accounted for. As the parents arrived to pick them up, club Manager Simone McCune released them to their parents, he added.
The crews spent 45 minutes removing one inch of water left over from the sprinkler system.
Through a thermal imaging device, Sena said firefighters determined there was no heat in the walls and that the fire was contained to the stovetop and box, which was removed.
“The fire marshal had the building officially closed until the manager contacted the sprinkler company to replace the sprinkler head,” Sena said. “The Boys & Girls Club was closed on the weekend. By Monday, they had a company out to mitigate the water issue and replace the sprinkler head and then they were allowed to open back up.”
He said the Boys & Girls Club opened by mid-afternoon Monday. Club activities had resumed after the Monday opening, with some of the activities taking place outdoors as weather permitted.
However, flooding of the facility, along with high winds and power outages, contributed to the cancellation of the club’s Haunted House scheduled for Halloween evening, Oct. 31.
“We had flooding in our facility and are unable to operate inside or set anything up for the event,” said McCune on Facebook the day before Halloween. “We considered a last-minute outdoor event, but with the high winds and power outages we were unable to secure vendors and inflatables. We apologize for the late notice. We were putting in our best effort to try and salvage the event (and the money spent), but couldn’t prolong the possibility of cancellation any longer. Please spread the word, and again, we sincerely apologize.”
Officials are investigating after crews responded to a fire at a gas station early Saturday morning.
Rural Metro crews said they arrived on the scene of a reported structure fire on the 2000 block of East Governor Highway and found the sprinkler system activated and flowing water.
Crews were already working a house fire in East Knoxville, so assistance was requested from the City of Knoxville and Seymour Volunteer Fire Department, according to reports.
Officials said crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire with the help of the sprinkler system.
The Marathon gas station was not open at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
Officials said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Lompoc Fire crews responded to a fire at a local business Monday morning.
At around 6:11 a.m., Lompoc Fire crews responded to a report of smoke coming from a commercial strip mall at 1133 North H Street.
Fire units arrived on scene to find smoke coming from within the building along with the fire sprinkler system active.
Fire officials located the fire in the office area of a dental office.
The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system.
The fire sprinkler system was shut down and the fire overhauled.
The business sustained extensive damage from the fire along with water damage from the sprinkler system.
Upon arrival, fire personnel noticed that the property had been broken into.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Officials say they are currently classifying this incident as arson.
“It could be worse,” she said. “I’m so happy and grateful it wasn’t worse.”
About 30 firefighters saw smoke pouring from the business in the 2200 block of North Commerce Parkway in Weston when they arrived shortly before 3 a.m., said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael B. Kane.
“Firefighters were able to quickly contain the small fire which was already mostly extinguished by the business’s fire sprinkler,” he said. “The direct cause is unknown but may be related to a piece of waxing equipment.”
Ruiz said all the equipment is usually unplugged at the end of the day, but she thinks one of the waxing pots was overlooked.
“I’m thinking someone forgot,” she said. “It was turned on because they didn’t unplug it.”
The fire alarm and fire suppression system activated, reducing fire damage to the building and adjacent businesses, Kane said.
“Without proper fire protection, this fire could have grown considerably and quickly devastated the strip mall,” he said.
There were no reported injuries and damage to the adjacent businesses was minor.
Ruiz and husband Carlos Arango were boarding up some glass doors and cleaning up the water inside the business before dawn. She expects to be reopen in a couple of days.
“I’m very optimistic and I know I can push to get it done,” she said.
The fire broke out around 3 a.m. at the Trinity nightclub in the 100 block of Occidental Ave. South, according to Seattle Fire officials.
Investigators say most of the fire damage was outside the front door and in a vacant part of the club. Luckily the building’s sprinkler system activated and helped prevent the spread of flames.
Firefighters arrived moment later and finished dousing the fire. No one was hurt.
Investigators are still looking into how the fire started but have described the fire as “suspicious.”
At about 11:43 p.m., the fire department shared video of smoke pouring out of Modern Auto Body Shop at 1020 Southpark Boulevard.
At about 1:42 a.m., officials said the fire was held “in check” thanks to the building’s sprinkler system which helped keep the fire in a small area of the building.
RFD responded to a building fire last night on the 3rd floor of this structure at 2000 South Promenade Boulevard. Thanks to a working fire sprinkler system, the fire remained small and the RFD was able to quickly locate and extinguish it. Today, several of the businesses are already open and the remainder soon will. Fire sprinklers save lives and property!
Fire crews responded to a fire alarm in a commercial building in the 1300 block of Greg Street about 3:15 p.m. The first crew saw light smoke from the roof and called in additional fire crews.
Fire crews got inside to find a fire had been doused by sprinklers.
Four fire engines and one firetruck responded for a total of 18 personnel on the fire, the department said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
