Category Archives: Other / Not Specified

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Champaign, IL – Potentially dangerous laboratory fire held in check by sprinkler system

The fire marshal said the cause of a fire in a research building on Champaign’s north side was accidental. John Koller said firefighters were called to Obiter Research, 2809 Gemini Court, at 3:07 p.m. Monday.

The company specializes in custom contract chemical research and manufacturing of difficult or complex chemical compounds. “When we got to the building, there wasn’t any fire showing,” Koller said. “The sprinkler system kept the fire in check. We soon found a small amount of fire and mostly smoke.”

Koller said the smoke was limited to one lab room that was walled off from the rest of the building. “There was an alcohol-based substance in the lab that a spark got to and ignited it,” he said.

He said firefighters had the blaze under control within minutes. “There was no structural damage to the building,” he said. All employees were evacuated.

“We had worked with them on an emergency plan in the past, and the employees effectively carried it out,” Koller said.

According to Koller, one man who was in the room where the spark ignited was “shaken up” and checked by paramedics at the scene, but the man did not need to go to the hospital. No firefighters were injured, he said.

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Glen Ellyn, IL – Fire in maintenance building at golf course extinguished by sprinkler system

A working sprinkler system is credited for preventing further damage at the Village Links Golf Course following a fire on Saturday.  FIrefighters responded to the maintenance building at the golf course, which is owned and operated by the village of Glen Ellyn, at 12:37 p.m. on Saturday, according to a Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company press release.

When they arrived, they reported a light haze showing. The fire had already been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system and was contained to the area where it started, according to the news release. No one was injured in the blaze. Damage costs are not currently available but fire officials reported minimal fire and water damage.

There are 750 buildings in Glen Ellyn that are equipped with fire sprinklers. And there are currently over 500 new homes that added fire sprinklers since the village of Glen Ellyn passed a fire sprinkler ordinance, according to fire officials. In large structure fires, sprinklers operated 91 percent of the time and were effective in 87 percent of those fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

“Nationwide, sprinklers are credited with saving countless lives and property,” according to the news release. The cause of the fire at the Village Links Golf Course, 485 Winchell Way, remains under investigation.

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Wilsonville, OR – Sprinklers limit damage in paint room fire at building materials supplier

Authorities are crediting a fire sprinkler for preventing a Thursday morning blaze at OrePac in Wilsonville from causing major damage. Just before 6 a.m., firefighters with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue responded to reports of a fire in a paint room at the business at 30160 S.W. Orepac Way, according to a news release.

Initial reports indicated that the paint room contained a gas line, paint products, air guns and pressure tanks, all of which could pose potential hazards for firefighters and workers. Upon arriving on scene, firefighters found light smoke coming from the industrial building.

Thanks to a fire sprinkler in the paint room, along with employees using fire extinguishers, the fire was out when firefighters entered the paint room. A TVFR investigator determined that the fire resulted from the spontaneous combustion of improperly disposed rags that been used for staining. Due to the minimal damage caused by the blaze, no repairs will be necessary, according to the news release.

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Chattanooga, TN – Sprinkler system helps contain fire at non-profit center for disabled individuals

Clean up continues at the Orange Grove Center after a small fire Wednesday afternoon left the facility with smoke and water damage.  The fire happened around 2 p.m. when employees were working to install a new conveyor belt in the Materials Recovery Facility.  Fire officials believe sparks from the torch used to install it started the fire. 

The fire damage was only around the conveyor belt, but fire officials say it will take some time for Orange Grove to clean up after the smoke damage, and water from the sprinkler system. There were no injuries.

The fire happened around 2 p.m. when employees were working to install a new conveyor belt in the Materials Recovery Facility. Fire officials believe sparks from the torch used to install it started the fire.  The Orange Grove Center is a private non-profit organization, serving adults and children with intellectual disabilities. Nearly 225 people were evacuated from the Orange Grove Center, after a conveyor belt caught fire.

“You could see the belt was on fire itself and the material on it was on fire,” said Bruce Garner, Public Information Officer for the Chattanooga Fire Department. “This involved a lot of combustibles with petroleum based products; computers, plastics, things like that. They burn hot and put out a lot of smoke. It’s like burning a tire.”

 

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Barrie, ON, Canada – Fire contained to equipment room by sprinkler system

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has been contacted, following a late night fire at Global Electric Electronic Processing in Barrie. Barrie fire crews were called to John Street on Saturday night, around 10 p.m. to contend with smoke and flames. Officials say a sprinkler system contained the fire to an equipment room until firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames.

Staff evacuated the building quickly and no injuries are reported. The OFM will sift through the debris on Monday to determine a cause and damage estimate. A private security firm has been hired to secure the property during the investigation. This is the fourth time in the last 12 months that Barrie fire crews have been called to Geep.

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Everett, WA – Sprinklers help contain fire that jumped from burning vehicle to building

At 4:15 a.m. cell phone callers reported a loud boom and truck fire in the alley next to a building on the 2700 block of Rockefeller Avenue.

Everett Police were the first to arrive on scene and reported a truck fire spreading to the building. The fire was able to spread to the basement and second floor setting off the fire sprinkler system. The first arriving engine made an aggressive offensive attack knocking down the fire within minutes. The incident commander ordered a search of the building while the fire attack was in progress. Firefighters used chainsaws to open the roof looking for any hidden fire. The fire was completely controlled in approximately 20 minutes.

Due to a quick response by firefighters and the fire sprinkler system the fire was contained to the exterior of the building. The rest of the building was impacted by smoke and water damage.

There were no reports of injuries. Everett fire and police detectives are investigating. There is no estimate of a dollar loss at this time.