A greasy dish towel overheated inside a laundry bag at an industrial laundromat Friday night, starting a fire that spread from a drying rack suspended along the ceiling to a folding machine below. Brockton fire officials said there were no employees at Churchill Linen Services on Evans Street when they responded to an alarm around 10:15 p.m. Friday. The building’s sprinkler system managed to confine the flames to a small area before firefighters arrived at the laundromat, located in a large facility near the Campello commuter rail station. Deputy Fire Chief Edward Williams investigated the cause of the fire. “What happens is they wash the product, then they dry the product, then they stick the product in these big bags five feet in diameter that hang from the ceiling,” Williams said. ”
Category Archives: Other Business
Conway, AR – Fire sprinklers contain fire at recycling center; No injuries reported
The Conway Fire Department was called out at 8:46 a.m. Monday regarding a fire inside the recycling center and was on scene in less than one minute, Fire Chief Mike Winter said.
An object inside the building had caught fire, and the building’s sprinkler system had the fire contained when the fire department arrived on scene, Winter said.
The Conway fire chief confirmed Wednesday afternoon that no one was injured.
Altogether, six fire trucks and 14 firefighters and engineers responded to the scene. The fire was completely out by 9:34 a.m., Winter said.
Fitchburg, MA – Fire sprinklers stop fire from spreading after pipe organ catches fire in church; No injuries reported
Deputy Chief Chad Courtemanche said crews were called to the Emanuel Lutheran Church a little after 3 p.m., on an alarm call after the alarm system detected sprinkler flow.
Crews arrived to find heavy smoke in the building and soon learned the fire in the pipe organ was being held in check by sprinklers, Courtemanche said.
As a result of the sprinklers, “the fire was burning slow and creating a lot of smoke, so we vented the smoke and put out the fire,” Courtemanche said.
There were no reported injuries.
Crews used a large, truck-mounted ventilation fan designed for large buildings to vent a large amount of smoke from the church. Courtemanche said damage appeared to be light, under the circumstances, with fire damage confined mostly to the organ, and mostly just smoke and water damage elsewhere.
He said much of the wooden church, and even some books not far from the blaze, appeared to have suffered minimal damage.
Pastor Daniel W. Spigelmyer Jr., said the pipe organ is about 150 years old, and is a major sentimental and historical loss for the church.
Crews remained at the scene for about two hours.
Cincinnati, OH – High rise fire in eighth floor office contained by fire sprinklers
Some 48 Cincinnati firefighters responded to the tower at 425 Walnut St. after a fire alarm went off shortly before 10 p.m., the department said in a press release.
The first fire companies to arrive asked dispatch to send a full high-rise complement of firefighters after determining that the alarm was sounding on the eighth floor and that smoke was visible there, the release said.
Firefighters subsequently discovered a small fire in one office that was mostly contained by the sprinkler system.
“The remaining fire was extinguished with a water can,” the release said.
Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Operating smoke detectors were in place.
The release said there was fire damage to the office, smoke damage to the eighth and ninth floors, minor water damage to the seventh floor and heavy water damage to the eighth floor.
Scott, LA – Fire from bin of linens at laundry facility kept in check thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported
Firefighters say they responded around 11:01 pm to the facility located at 103 North Ambassador Caffery Parkway and observed smoke coming from the building.
After entering, the fire was located in an area of the facility where linens are dried. The fire was quickly brought under control, they say.
An investigation determined that the fire started when laundered linens placed into a large bin generated enough heat to ignite the contents of the bin. The fire quickly spread to two nearby bins and activated the sprinkler system.
SFD says that the building sustained a small amount of heat and smoke damage as a result of the fire.
Both Westport Linen Services and the nearby Epic Entertainment facility sustained moderate water damage due to sprinkler activation.
The Scott Fire Department responded to a on fire Thursday, July 23, at Westport Linen Services in Lafayette Parish.
Firefighters say they responded around 11:01 pm to the facility located at 103 North Ambassador Caffery Parkway and observed smoke coming from the building.
After entering, the fire was located in an area of the facility where linens are dried. The fire was quickly brought under control, they say.
An investigation determined that the fire started when laundered linens placed into a large bin generated enough heat to ignite the contents of the bin. The fire quickly spread to two nearby bins and activated the sprinkler system.
SFD says that the building sustained a small amount of heat and smoke damage as a result of the fire.
Both Westport Linen Services and the nearby Epic Entertainment facility sustained moderate water damage due to sprinkler activation.
No one was injured in the incident which was determined to be accidental in nature.
Firefighters from Carencro, Duson, and Lafayette responded to assist.
Villa Park, IL – Sprinkler system helps put out fire after oily rags ignite; No injuries reported
Firefighters were called to the business on the 1000 block of North Villa Avenue just before 9 p.m., Chief Ron Rakosnik said.
Firefighters encountered smoke inside the building and a sprinkler system had been activated. Firefighters spent about an hour on scene to make sure there were no hot spots.
The business had been closed for the day and no one was inside when firefighters arrived.
Fire officials estimated about $3,000 in damage and the building did not sustain structural damage. Rakosnik said the business was expected to reopen Tuesday.
Warrenville, IL – Fire sprinklers kept fire in check at construction business until firefighters arrived; No injuries reported
A fire at a construction business in Warrenville has been ruled accidental, authorities said Monday.
The fire began about 10:30 p.m. Friday on the 30W200 block of Butterfield Road, when firefighters were alerted that something was wrong by an automatic alarm, Warrenville Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Andy Dina said in a news release.
The first crews made it to the scene six minutes after the alarm, then called in extra forces, Dina said.
Once a structure fire response team assembled, including personnel from the Warrenville fire district, West Chicago Fire Protection District, Wheaton Fire Department, Winfield Fire Protection District and Warrenville Police Department, crews brought a hose inside to extinguish the fire.
Dina said an automatic fire sprinkler system kept the blaze in check until firefighters arrived. He said crews put out the fire quickly, then ventilated the building and checked to ensure the flames hadn’t spread to adjoining units. No one was injured.
Investigators on Monday wrapped up their interviews and their probe into the cause of the fire, determining it was accidental, Dina said.
Portland, ME – Fire at Jewish Museum put out by fire sprinklers
Firefighters are investigating a fire at the Maine Jewish Museum in Portland.
It happened late Thursday afternoon.
Crews found smoke throughout the building.
Firefighters say the sprinkler system put the fire out, but there is a lot of water damage.
Crews say fire erupted behind the chapel area of the second floor, but exactly where it started and how is still under investigation.
Montgomery County, TX – Single fire sprinkler controls fire and limits damage after neon wall sign caught fire at commercial building
A neon wall sign caught fire and started to spread slowly via a plastic plant used for wall decoration. The plastic material had previously been tested by an MCFMO Fire Inspector during an occupancy inspection and met safety codes for its ability to limit fire spread.
The fire eventually emitted enough heat to activate a single fire sprinkler, controlling the fire and preventing any business disruption for the building tenants.
Ocean City, NJ – Fire sprinklers keep fire in check at Ocean City Tabernacle overnight
In the pre-dawn hours, the ballast of a fluorescent lamp apparently overheated and ignited a small fire, according to Tabernacle Pastor Jay Reimer.
The incident occurred in a storage area near the gymnasium at approximately 4:40 a.m., Ocean City Fire Department Chief Jim Smith said.
The mechanism of the light fell to the ground, causing a nearby box of basketballs and other sports equipment to begin smoldering and ignite a small fire.
This in turn set off the smoke detector, as well as the fire alarm at the Tabernacle, located at 550 Wesley Avenue.
“We were very fortunate,” Reimer said. “As you may know, we had some firefighters staying with us, and they took care of it before (the situation escalated).”
In the “old normal” pre-coronavirus pandemic days, a crew of eight firefighters would have been living in close quarters at the Fire Department Headquarters building across Asbury Avenue from the Tabernacle grounds.
Because of social distancing concerns during the pandemic, however, the bunk room beds have been spread out, and three members of the eight-man crew were staying overnight at the Tabernacle, as they have since March 27.
“We’re very thankful to the Tabernacle to open its doors to us,” said Smith. “It’s probably a blessing in disguise they were there. As usual, our guys did a great job.”
Smith said the OCFD members “found smoke and fire” when they arrived at the storage area and that the Tabernacle’s sprinkler system had “held the fire in check” up to that point. The firefighters connected a hose and quickly extinguished the small fire, Smith said.
“They had to stretch the hose out and put the fire out,” he said. “There was minimum damage from the water.”
Had the firefighters not been on site, the outcome could have been entirely different, he added.
“It was fortunate our guys were there to address the fire before (they left for the night) and came back from across the street,” Smith said.
