Category Archives: Other Business

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Fargo, ND – Fire at recycling facility contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire leaving a road in Downtown Fargo partially closed down Tuesday afternoon.

Fargo Firefighters responded to a blaze at Minnkota Recycling at around 12:30 p.m. Officials say the fire began inside a cardboard compactor, then spread to cardboard material outside.

The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire contained to that area, but as of 2 p.m. crews were still working to put it out.

4th Avenue North was closed down at 10th Street North due to the flames and crews working the scene.

No injuries have been reported.

Office Building, Other Business

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire in office building

Kelowna fire crews quickly knocked down a blaze at a business along Harvey Avenue on Saturday evening.

Firefighters responded to a fire in the back of a unit at 1950 Harvey Avenue at 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, activating a sprinkler as they arrived.

The sprinklers were able to contain the fire to the rear office area but did cause some water damage.

Three fire engines, a rescue unit and a command vehicle, as well as the RCMP, responded to the fire.

The Kelowna Fire Department has deemed the fire “accidental in nature,” but did not provide any further details as to what sparked the blaze.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Bar Harbor, ME – Sprinkler system activated for fire at laboratory; No injuries reported

Shortly after 9:12 p.m. on Tuesday, the Bar Harbor Fire Department arrived at The Jackson Laboratory to investigate a fire alarm call coming from the laboratory.

Bar Harbor Fire Department Chief Matthew Bartlett said on Wednesday that the department responded as they normally do for a fire alarm call but soon realized there was an actual fire. “As our crew entered the building, they found the fire burning in the location. Our crew radioed back saying they had found fire in the building with sprinkler flow,” which, said Bartlett, prompted a call for additional resources.

That call brought the Mount Desert Fire Department, Southwest Harbor Fire Department, Ellsworth Fire Department and Northeast Harbor Ambulance Service to the scene. Bartlett said the Trenton Fire Department and responders from the Somesville Fire Station provided standby coverage.

“Mutual aid departments were not needed, so they were quickly released,” he said.

Though many departments were called, only about five or six responders entered the building.

“Our crew had to go in and put out the fire that the sprinkler system couldn’t fully extinguish,” said Bartlett, adding that it was primarily the contents of a shelving unit that caught on fire.

Around 10:30 p.m., the flames were doused and the departments cleared the scene.

All the research mice and employees were found to be safe.

The lab’s Executive Vice President and COO Catherine “Katy” Longley said that the lab community is grateful to the local fire departments and emergency personnel for their swift response. “We are thankful that all employees are safe,” she said.

On behalf of the fire department, Chief Bartlett said he was also appreciative of what the lab’s crew did Tuesday night to help the emergency personnel. “It was a team effort between The Jackson Lab and ourselves. Their staff did a great job in helping us get to where we needed to be,” said Bartlett.

“We got a fire alarm, the sprinkler system activated, we went down to investigate, found a little fire burning and luckily we were able to get in there and put the remaining fire out. The system worked as it was just designed to do.”

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Akron, OH – Sprinkler system extinguished fire at compost facility; No injuries reported

The sprinkler system put out a fire at a compost facility on Riverview Road in Akron Sunday.

The facility’s alarm company contacted the Akron Fire Department shortly before 2 p.m., according to an Akron Fire media release. The alarm company said they had talked to someone at the plant and that they could not turn the alarm off.

The fire department sent an engine and found a room in a building full of smoke, the release said. The fire had been extinguished by an overhead sprinkler.

No one was injured.

Office Building, Other Business

Hutchinson, MN – Lone sprinkler contains large blaze at commercial business complex

A lone sprinkler head may have been the difference between a small, contained fire and a large blaze Sunday night.

According to Hutchinson Fire Chief Mike Schumann, a fire broke out in one of the units at the city-owned Enterprise Center commercial business complex at 1164 Benjamin Ave. S.E. A utility cart with flammable paint supplies on it ignited in the building at approximately 6:45 p.m.

The fire activated a sprinkler head, which contained the fire until firefighters arrived and were able to extinguish and set up ventilation to clear out the smoke. Firefighters also assisted with removing water on the floor and salvaging other items.

Schumann said it was a great example of how valuable sprinkler systems can be.

“If it were not for the early warning and activation of the automatic fire sprinkler system, this could easily have been a multimillion dollar loss with a catastrophic impact on the operation of multiple local businesses.”

Office Building, Other Business

Franklin, TN – Extension cord fire at office building stopped by fire sprinklers

An automatic fire sprinkler system protected a five-story Cool Springs office building from fire Tuesday morning. 

According to Franklin Fire Investigator Lt. Bill Almon, the fire started around 6:30 a.m. in a first-floor office at 127 International Dr. A single fire sprinkler head activated and controlled the fire prior to the Franklin Fire Department’s arrival, protecting the 142,000-square-foot building, which includes IRS offices.  

Upon arrival, firefighters completed extinguishment and assisted with the sprinkler system, clean-up and smoke removal.

Almon said resistance heating created by a piece of furniture placed on an extension cord that was powering a printer allowed heat to build up and appeared to have ignited the fire.

He estimated fire and water damage at $20,000.  

Office Building, Other Business

Waianae, HI – Sprinkler system helps stop arson attack on office; No injuries reported

Megale Cole is counting his blessings. He said, he is thankful no one was hurt in the early morning attack on his HI Royalty Records office in Waianae.

He was picking up the pieces of charred mementos that survived the firebomb less then 12 hours prior.

He held up an old photo of himself in his army uniform from basic training more than two decades earlier, the edges charred.

“It’s one of the few pictures I have leftover from those days. I don’t have many of these. It means a lot to me,” he said, holding the partially burned photograph.

The Army veteran said, his military training kicked in as soon as the firebomb exploded through his office door just before 3 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 22.

“I think my army training is what saved me today. That’s the truth,” Cole said, matter-of-factly.

Cole said, he was working late and stopped to take a break when he heard a crackling noise outside. He said, it sounded like fire so he stood up to check it out.

“I see the crackling through the door. I see the fire, the flames. I see an individual that’s short through the crack in the door,” Cole said. “Next thing I know, I hear the flame, it hits the door and it goes through. lt hits the wall and flame shot off the wall.”

He said, the flames spread to the couch.

“So I hurried up, got my army gear, and put out the fire to the couch. I came back over here and start putting the fire out,” Cole explained as he pointed to the wall above his desk.

That is when the sprinkler system kicked on, helping to put out the fire and minimizing the damage to his office.

“I had a lot of past pictures of my family on the wall so some of that got burnt off. So there’s water damage, computer damage, furniture damage and the carpets of course, it’s a lot of water to drain out.”

But he knows things could have been much worse. Police found evidence from a gasoline bomb once they arrived.

“It was a brick metal Molotov Cocktail bottle. The bottle they used, the Coke bottle, was found here (as he pointed to his desk). It was a metal pipe they used to project it through (the door). We found evidence outside — two pieces of evidence outside,” he said.

Cole got emotional as he talked about the attack he believes may have been racially motivated.

“This was an attack on me as a soldier, as a part-time recruiter, as a veteran, as a father. And again, if this can happen to me here, this can happen to anyone… I don’t hate the person who did this, but I want the world to see this. I wasn’t doing anything wrong but this is our country. This is where it’s at,” Cole said, choking back tears.

Cole said, he spoke to the Honolulu Police Department and the FBI. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Asheville, NC – Sprinkler system keeps building fire in check; No injuries reported

Asheville FD says a sprinkler system helped contain a fire that broke out Friday morning at a building along College Street.

AFD reported in a Facebook post on Saturday more details about the fire. The department said the fire was caused by people who had lit combustibles to keep warm, and was located in the floor between the 2nd and 3rd floor. The sprinkler system cut on and kept it in that area.

Crews did not report any injuries.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Plant City, FL – Waste bin fire controlled by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire sparked to life in the wee hours of the morning on Jan. 11 in the Mann Building in historic downtown on Reynolds Street. 

Smoke wafted out of the old building and the fire department saw a stream of water flowing from Mr. Sebas Ice Cream Store. There was an attempt to get access to keys to get into the building and the firefighters eventually forced entry into the ice cream store, according to the incident report. The water was there, but there were no active sprinklers. So the second floor was entered. The hallways were clear, no smoke barred the way and the historic doors — all of which were locked — were opened before the department entered a suite toward one end of the hall.

Smoke blanketed the floor and a trail of black, charred wood led up a small section of the back wall. The fire was smoldering, confined to the area of its initial blaze, thanks to the renovation in the 90s that led to the instillation of a sprinkler system into the old building. The two sprinkler heads were able to keep it quelled until the department could finish extinguishing the fire. 

The incident report states the fire was found to be caused by a waste bin fire while no one was in the building. The flames then extended to cabinetry nearby. However, the sprinklers were able to contain the fire to the area of origin. 

“The last time we had a fire in downtown, we lost half a city block of historic buildings,” Ed Verner, owner of the Mann and Lee buildings, said. “I think that was on everyone’s mind that night. There was a quick response, both by the fire department and several of those who work in the two buildings who rushed over to provide keys… the sprinkler system in place absolutely dampened the flames and probably saved both buildings. The fire department did a great job at responding quickly and doing their best to ensure that the fire did not spread to the rest of the building.”

Verner said when he arrived on the scene he even saw Fire Chief David Burnett with a mop in his hand, attempting to get rid of some of the water. 

The Mann and the Lee buildings are now joined following the renovation Verner had done in the late 90s. Each had a brick wall that was adjacent to one another. Though each had major renovations, much of the original hundred-year-old wooden structure remains in place. 

The dousing of the fire has led to water damage throughout the building, but Verner has already begun repairs. 

“Theres a few people I think it’s important I thank for their quick actions that helped assist in responding to that night,” Verner said. “LaRoyce Keene and Debby Keene were one of the first on the scene to help assist the firefighters and helped them get access to the Mann Building. Tom Thompson was also there to help give access to the Lee Building. Robert Norton also responded before the sprinklers had even turned off. I also need to thank Jason Jones with Advantage Restoration. They were onsite immediately and helped to evacuate the water. They’ve helped save a lot of the damage.”

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Des Moines, IA – Laundromat dryer fire stopped by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Des Moines fire crews are investigating the cause of a fire at a laundromat Tuesday morning.

It happened at the Coin Laundry in the 2300 block of East University Avenue at about 9 a.m.

Fire crews told KCCI the sprinkler system did its job in suppressing the fire. They believe it may have started in a dryer vent.

There were no injuries reported in the fire. Traffic in one westbound lane of East University Avenue was closed so crews could work at the scene.