Category Archives: Other / Not Specified

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Lexington, KY – Truck fire inside FedEx facility suppressed by sprinkler system

FedEx was forced to suspend operations after a panel truck caught on fire inside a building. Lexington Fire officials say it happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The panel truck was inside the building when it caught fire to the engine and set the sprinkler system off.

When firefighters arrived the sprinklers had contained the flames. The truck is totaled and FedEx was forced to cease operation until the scene is cleared. The truck was empty, except for a couple of boxes that didn’t catch fire. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Fire officials are ventilating the building to get the smoke out. The truck will be towed.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Eden Prairie, MN – Sprinkler system contains fire at business with hydrofluoric acid

Six firefighters were taken to a hospital after they were exposed to hydrofluoric acid on Wednesday, July 15, during a business fire call in Eden Prairie. Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen said the call of a commercial building fire at SVT Associates, 7620 Executive Drive, came in around 4:37 p.m. and the first arriving engine and chiefs got there in less than five minutes. The fire was in one room of an office space occupied by the company.

“The fire sprinkler system was holding the fire in check and fire crews were able to make short work of the remaining fire. After the fire was knocked down and as overhaul was beginning several firefighters began to experience symptoms consistent with a chemical exposure,” he said. “Five firefighters from EP and one from Bloomington were transported to Methodist Hospital where it was determined they had been exposed through their skin with hydrofluoric acid.”

Esbensen said the acid is commonly used in metal etching and stripping. All six firefighters were treated and released by 11:30 p.m. the same day. They have since returned to duty.

There was some loss of equipment as a result of the chemical exposure. Turnout gear that was exposed to the chemical will not be able to be cleaned and there are 13 sets that need to be replaced. Additionally the department is waiting to hear what parts of the self contained breathing apparatus can be cleaned as well as other tools. The department doesn’t have exact replacement costs yet on the gear, but the estimate is around $50,000, Esbensen said.

“There are other items that were impacted but we haven’t determined the best course of action on those yet,” he said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Virginia Beach, VA – Sprinkler system contains HazMat fire at business

The Virginia Beach Fire Department HazMat teams responded to three separate HazMat incidents Thursday.  Around 2 p.m., fire crews were dispatched to a reported commercial fire at a business in the 2700 Block of Sonic Drive.

Crews found smoke showing from the warehouse area of the business that contained cleaning chemicals. The fire progressed to the ceiling, and sprinkler heads in the building activated to contain the fire. The fire involved cleaning solvents (mineral spirit) and floor wax. HazMat crews monitored the business and surrounding area to ensure the water run-off and atmosphere was not hazardous.

Fire officials said the building suffered minor to moderate fire damage.  There are no hazards to area businesses and no one was injured.  The fire was ruled accidental and unintentional.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Cleburne, TX – Sprinklers help extinguish fire caused by welding in paint booth area

A Saturday fire at Greenbrier Rail Services caused minor injury to one worker. Cleburne firefighters responded at about 4 p.m. to the 100 block of Park Street on reports of a structure fire.  Firefighters used about 2,500 gallons of water extinguishing the fire, which was also in part extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

 Firefighters arrived to find heavy black smoke emitting from a building used to paint rail cars.  All employees exited the building before firefighters arrived. A contractor was installing “fall protection” in the paint booth area, according to reports, a process that requires welding. One of the employees was on a scissor lift welding when the fire started, a fire apparently sparked by a spark that came into contact with air filters in the paint booth.

The man on the scissor lift told firefighters the fire spread so fast that he was unable to access the scissor lift’s controls. The man climbed down the side of the scissor lift to escape suffering minor burns in the process. The man was treated on scene and not transported to the hospital.

Another employee standing watch on fire guard told firefighters that the fire spread so quickly that he was unable to extinguish it with an extinguisher.

 

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Alexandria, VA – Sprinkler system controls fire at historic Gadsby Tavern Museum

A fire started Monday morning in the attic of Gadsby’s Tavern, according to the City of Alexandria. The City charactered the blaze as a “small fire.” The museum’s sprinkler system discharged and the fire was quickly extinguished by the Alexandria Fire Department and City staff.

The Museum’s 1792 building, including Gadsby’s Tavern Restaurant, was affected by the water from the sprinkler system. City staff are following the Museum’s disaster plan to minimize damage to the building and its collection.

The Museum and the Restaurant will open to the public for regular operations on Tuesday, June 30; however, Tuesday evening dance classes at the Museum will be cancelled.

Gadsby’s Tavern is known as a historic treasure. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was the center of social and political life in Alexandria and the new Federal City of Washington. The tavern served as the premier gathering place for residents, including George Washington, and visitors to eat, drink, learn, and influence history. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum is located at 134 N. Royal St. in the heart of Old Town Alexandria.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Evans, GA – Tractor fire at construction business doused by sprinkler system

A tractor fire at Flint Construction & Forestry, just off William Few Parkway, was out pretty quickly.  In fact, according to fire crews, the sprinkler system did most of their work before they even arrived.  There was only one employee in the building and they alerted the alarm company, which then called for firefighters.  They don’t know what caused the tractor to catch fire but believe it may have been some sort of electrical short.  There were no injuries or significant damage to report.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Napa, CA – Sprinklers credited with extinguishing overnight fire at design center

An automatic sprinkler is credited with putting out a fire in the pre-dawn hours in a business at Tannery Row, 101 S. Coombs St., the Napa Fire Department reported.  The call came in at 3:48 a.m. Thursday as a water flow alarm, suggesting that heat had triggered a fire sprinkler, said Capt. Roger Reichenberg, whose engine crew responded from Station No. 4 on Gasser Drive.

Firefighters discovered water flowing from under a wall at VonSaal Design Center. When they forced open a door, they found that a sprinkler had extinguished a small blaze at a work bench, Reichenberg said.

The owner, Richard Von Saal, had been working late into the night on items for this weekend’s Auction Napa Valley, when a spark apparently jumped from one bench to another, creating the fire that blazed after he left the building, he said. The fire was contained to the single work bench and apparently did no damage to Von Saal’s creations, Reichenberg said. 

Firefighters stayed on the scene to vacuum up water that also had seeped into a space rented by ZuZu restaurant and tapas bar, he said.

Other / Not Specified

Leavenworth, KS – Fire at community center is fully extinguished by sprinkler system

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a small fire Monday night at the Riverfront Community Center, a Leavenworth Fire Department official said. The fire was reported at 10:31 p.m. Monday at the community center, 123 S. Esplanade St.

Assistant Fire Chief Mark Nietzke said the fire was contained to a storage room on the main floor of the community center. Nietzke said the fire was extinguished by water from a sprinkler system. The fire was already out when Leavenworth firefighters arrived on scene.

“The fire was contained to a pretty small area,” Nietzke said. Nietzke said fire investigators are in the process of eliminating other possible causes to determine what led to Monday night’s fire. “It’s taking us a little while to get through everything,” he said. The Riverfront Community Center is owned by the city of Leavenworth. City spokeswoman Melissa Bower said employees will be doing cleanup work this week, but the fire will not result in the cancellation of any events at the Riverfront Community Center.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Lewiston, ME – Sprinklers help extinguish fire in mixed-use downtown building

The fire began just after 6:30 p.m. at a four-story building at 221 Lisbon St. The Lewiston Fire Department told News 8 improperly disposed of smoking materials landed in dry mulch. Embers from the fire were kicked up by high winds and were blown into the basement.

The building’s sprinkler system extinguished most of the flames. The fire caused a few thousand dollars in damage and no one was injured.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Victoria, BC, Canada – Spontaneous combustion fire in mixed-use building suppressed by sprinkler system

The spontaneous combustion of improperly stored or discarded construction materials is suspected in a fire early today in a commercial space on lower Yates Street, reports the Victoria Fire Department. The fire was suppressed by the room’s sprinkler system, according to the fire department.

The fire will be ruled accidental and the cause stated as undetermined but the spontaneous combustion of stored or discarded materials remains “a probable cause,” said Victoria Fire Lt.-Insp. Brad Sifert.

No one was injured. At 2:14 a.m., Victoria firefighters raced to a fire on the main floor of 524 Yates St., just above Wharf Street. The building, adjacent to Waddington Alley, is commercial on the main floor with condominiums above.

The office space was under renovation, with the new owner scheduled to occupy the space in about a week, according to Battalion Chief Dave Bicknell. The floor was being finished with a highly flammable drying oil and it is likely that the fire was the result of spontaneous combustion from the disposal of these materials, Sifert said.

Fire crews arrived to find smoke in the commercial space. Firefighters traced the blaze to a small smouldering pile of construction materials and waste including discarded window dressing. “I couldn’t find anything but the garbage,” Sifert said.

Sifert interviewed two labourers who had been working on the floor until about 3 p.m. Monday. As part of their normal protocol, the workers said they put the oil-soaked rags in water in pails outside the building. “I can’t rule it out just based on what they’re saying,” Sifert said. “A rag could have been left in there.”

Fire crews used a hose line to completely extinguish the fire, which was contained to a one-metre-square area on the floor.