Category Archives: Other Business

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Seminole County, FL – Fire in pile of trash contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters from multiple Seminole County agencies united in response to a flaming pile of trash at the Seminole County Central Transfer Station early Thursday, according to a report by WOFL.

Firefighters learned about the flames at the Transfer Station at 2:42 a.m., according to Seminole County Fire Department.

Crews from the Longwood, Sanford, Lake Mary and Seminole County fire departments responded to the incident at 1950 State Road 419, WOFL reported.

Crews arrived on scene to find heavy smoke coming from a pile of trash caught on fire.

Firefighters had to pull apart the trash, which was smoldering, to fully extinguish it, said WOFL reporter Sydney Cameron.

Crew members were able to douse the fire with help from the activated sprinkler system.

The fire was put out, and the transfer station was scheduled to reopen at 6:30 a.m.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Red Wing, MN – Sprinkler system helps contain fire at ice arena; No injuries reported

Smoke from a fire filled the ice arena next to Red Wing High School, authorities said.

An alarm sounded about 3:25 p.m. Wednesday at Prairie Island Arena, and emergency dispatch was soon alert to a fire in the refrigeration room of the School District-owned facility, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mike Warner.

Firefighters soon arrived to the home rink for the high school’s boys and girls teams and had the fire under control within 15 minutes, Warner said. The building’s sprinkler system spewed water and helped contain the flames to its originating location, he added.

Smoke from a fire filled the ice arena next to Red Wing High School, authorities said.

An alarm sounded about 3:25 p.m. Wednesday at Prairie Island Arena, and emergency dispatch was soon alert to a fire in the refrigeration room of the School District-owned facility, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mike Warner.

Firefighters soon arrived to the home rink for the high school’s boys and girls teams and had the fire under control within 15 minutes, Warner said. The building’s sprinkler system spewed water and helped contain the flames to its originating location, he added.

Even so, “smoke was found throughout the building,” Warner said.

There were no injuries reported, and what ignited the fire remains under investigation.

District Superintendent Karsten Anderson said that an electrical motor that is part of the refrigeration system caught fire. Anderson said she hopes repairs can be started as soon as possible.

Warner said that the quick response by his department and the brief time the fire burned showed “the importance on maintaining a working sprinkler system and having a monitored fire alarm system.”

Office Building, Other Business

King County, WA – Sprinkler system controlled fire on office building roof; No injuries reported

Smoke was seen billowing in the air Thursday evening at a Boeing office building in Seattle.

Seattle fire crews were called to 16th Avenue South and East Marginal Way South to fight a fire.  

Chopper 7 flew over the scene and captured firefighters on top of the building.

Firefighters were seen putting out hot spots on the roof, where it appeared construction crews were working.

Seattle fire officials said multiple 911 calls reported a large column of smoke was coming from a large building near 16th Avenue South.

When crews arrived, the building had already been evacuated, and the fire was contained to the fourth floor and the roof by the building’s sprinkler system, officials said. 

No injuries were reported.

All southbound lanes of East Marginal Way South at 16th Avenue South were closed, while crews fought the fire but were eventually reopened.

Seattle fire crews turned the scene over to the Boeing Fire Department to determine the cause of the fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Fond du Lac, WI – Fire at local business quickly contained thanks to sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system saved a downtown Fond du Lac business from serious fire damage early this morning. According to a news release from Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue, firefighters were called to the business at 88 South Main Street around 1:30 AM for a report of a sprinkler system being activated. Fire crews found the sprinkler system flowing at one location inside the building – and the fire was quickly contained thanks to the system.

The fire did not extend to other areas of the building, and firefighters began ventilating smoke from the business. The release says the cause of the fire is unknown at this time, and Fond du Lac Police will conduct a follow up and continue the investigation into the cause. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Seattle, WA – Sprinkler system contains fire to single room

Update 11am: David Cuerpo from Seattle Fire says the fire started when one of the LimeBike battery packs ignited and caused other packs to catch fire. The sprinkler system activated and contained the fire within the room.

The Vault Response Team was activated when the crews found high voltage signage; water from sprinklers mixed with battery acid can conduct electricity and pose a risk to firefighters.

Cuerpo says they requested Seattle City Light to de-energize the building while crews shut off the sprinkler system, allowing the vault team to use dry chemical extinguishers onto the fire.

When the fire was put out, the batteries were removed to a safe outdoor area in case they reignited.

Original 10am: Two electrical fires broke out at the LimeBike warehouse in Ballard last night.

Seattle Fire first responded at 7pm, and posted on Twitter that the fire was contained to one room of the warehouse at 4615 8th Ave NW.

By 9pm, they’d put out the initial fire, but then at midnight, crews were back on the scene because the fire had reignited. Lauri Miller posted an update in the My Ballard Group shortly after, saying Seattle Fire was planning to use dry chemicals to put out the fires.

A representative for LimeBike says they’re working with the Seattle Fire Department to find out the root cause of the fire.

Seattle Fire hasn’t yet responded to My Ballard’s calls — we’ll update with any new information on the cause of the fire.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Puyallup, WA – External fire sprinklers contain fire before it reaches interior of building; No injuries reported

 Federal agents and the Pierce County Fire Marshal are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out early Tuesday outside a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Puyallup.

Jason Chudy of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said there are indications the blaze may be linked to a series of previous arsons last year at Kingdom Hall churches in Thurston County.

The Puyallup fire broke out at about 2 a.m. Tuesday just outside the Kingdom Hall in the 11500 block of 62nd Avenue East.

The blaze was mostly extinguished by an exterior sprinkler system before it could reach the interior of the building, said a Central Pierce Fire & Rescue spokesperson. The blaze left scorch marks and damage on an exterior wall.

The damage would have been much more extensive if not for the sprinkler system, Chudy said.

“It saved the assembly hall a lot of damage,” he said. “We were very thankful there were sprinklers on scene.”

No one was injured.

Chudy said the fire looked “very similar” to five fires that were deliberately set at Kingdom Halls in Thurston County last year, destroying two of them. One church also was struck by gunfire in a sixth incident that caused $10,000 in damage.

“So even though at this point we can’t conclusively tie this to the other ones, the similarities lead us to believe it is at least possibly tied,” Chudy said. “So we believe this very well could have been potentially set in an attempt to burn the building down.”

He said law enforcement officials hope to catch the arsonist responsible before more damage is done or someone is hurt.

“We want this person or persons off the street as quickly as possible,” he said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Washougal, WA – (no media coverage) Single fire sprinkler head extinguishes fire at nail salon, saving building from extensive damage

This strip mall fire occurred in Washougal WA on Monday August 12th. Business owners closed at 6:45 PM, 911 water flow alarm/dispatch came in at 7:15 PM. Camas Washougal Fire Marshals Office stated fire crews arrived to find the fire out and controlled by a single fire sprinkler head activation. The fire was contained to a single massage chair that was blackened just prior to sprinkler head activation. Crews provided smoke evacuation and squeegeed water out the front door before going back in service. The units on each side of the Nails & Spa where the fire occurred, had some minor water damage but with minimal effort by restoration services overnight they were able to open the next day for business. The Spa will require a couple days longer since the fire occurred in their space. Building management services arrived and were grateful they were not having to repair more extensive damages such as roof ventilation or extensive heat and smoke damage that would have occurred without a fire sprinkler system.

Office Building, Other Business

Aldine, TX – (No media coverage) Commercial building fire suppressed by fire sprinkler system

8/4/19

Fire in a commercial building;  Aldine FD   AES save

16400 Air Center Blvd

Fire in a commercial building

1908-00014

Lt. Lopez

FD responded to an alarm and on arrival, they noticed water coming from under the roll up doors.  They smelled smoke and saw smoke coming from a large vent on the side of the building.  Access was made inside and discovered boxes and other items had burned and suppresses by the sprinkler system.  The sprinkler system was turned off and Inspections notified.  The boxes and other items were a trash pile that employees designated the area because they were no dumpsters yet.  Employees were moving in over the weekend to set up their offices.  There was a table being built that was stained and pieced of wood were in the trash pile.  There are two possibilities for the cause of the fire;  discarded smoking material or discarded rags with wood stain.  At this time the fire is undetermined. 

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Elk Grove Village, IL – (No media coverage) Landscape and snow removal fire sprinkler system activates to put out fire; No injuries reported

On July 23, 2019 at 7:33p.m. the Elk Grove Village Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at ARO Enterprises, a landscape and snow removal company located at 1401 Tonne. Upon arrival, crews had nothing showing (no visible smoke or fire), but noticed a slight odor of plastic burning. No employees were on site at the time of the alarm.

After rapid entry into the building via the Knox Box (a small, wall-mounted safe that holds building keys for emergency services to retrieve in emergency situations), crews encountered moderate smoke conditions and were able to hear the sound of an activated sprinkler head. Following that sound, the fire was located, but was mostly already under control due to three (3) sprinkler heads that had activated. The remaining hot spots were extinguished with a simple pressurized water extinguisher, significantly limiting the typical water damage that occurs when use of a fire hose is necessary.

The building at 1401 Tonne was originally constructed without fire sprinklers.  Prior to ARO Enterprises taking occupancy in 2003, the Village required the installation of the sprinkler system due to the indoor storage of vehicles and related flammable materials. Without the presence of this early detection system, the building and all of its contents would have been a total loss. Instead, damages were held to a  minimum and ARO Enterprises suffered no disruption to its main business operations.

The Elk Grove Village Fire Department is proud to share the story of this “Sprinkler Save” to bring attention to the benefits of automatic fire sprinkler systems and their contribution to the preservation of life and property. This fire is still under investigation; however, no foul play is suspected.

Jason Staidl

Fire Marshal

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Norwalk, CT – Fire sprinklers control truck engulfed in flames at lawn service business; No injuries reported

Officials are investigating after a car fire inside a garage in Norwalk sent a firefighter to the hospital Friday morning.

The incident occurred at Tuff Lawn Lawn Service, Inc. on Martin Luther King Drive. 

When crews arrived, they saw a pickup truck engulfed in flames parked next to pallets of fertilizer with pesticides. Crews said the cab of the truck was fully involved in the fire.

The sprinkler system controlled the fire while firefighters extinguished it.

Crews said the damage appears to be confined to the vehicle and the pallets of fertilizer/pesticides next to it.

The firefighter was sent to the hospital for exposure to pesticides in smoke and was treated and released, according to crews.

No injuries have been reported.