Category Archives: Other Business

Office Building, Other Business

Overland Park, KS – Fire in loading dock area of office building held in check by sprinkler system

No injuries were reported after an electrical fire Monday morning at the Black and Veatch building. Crews from Overland Park and Leawood fire departments were called just after 8 a.m. Monday to the 114th block of Lamar Avenue. First units on the scene reported light smoke in the loading dock area. Building maintenance reported a fire in one of the building’s electrical control panels located on the first floor. The building was later evacuated. It took crews about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Because the fire sprinkler system was keeping the fire in check, crews were able to isolate power to the effected panel. Black and Veatch sent their employees home for the day while they work to access damage to the electrical systems. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Palm Beach, FL – Sprinkler system helps limit spread of fire at country club

Fire crews responded to a small electrical fire this afternoon at the Palm Beach Country Club. The fire occurred in a concrete storage area just behind a section of the golf course that fronts North Lake Way in Palm Beach. There were no reported injuries and only minimal property damage after a lighting ballast caught fire, spread to the rafters and then fell onto a cart, igniting it. The sprinkler system engaged, and there was no reported water damage.

“Had this fire been at night, it would have been a whole different ball game,” said Sean Baker, division chief of the Palm Beach Fire Rescue Department, who was on the scene. Baker said the fire narrowly missed a fertilizer spray cart. “Thankfully, the quick response time and time of day stopped it from spreading,” he said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Quincy, IL – Electrical fire maintained by sprinkler system until fire crews arrived

Tri-Township fire crews responded to a fire alarm on 1400 North 30th Thursday night.

Officials say they saw smoke coming from inside the building and arrived on scene at about 10:30 pm.

Fire lieutenant Andrew Wittler says an electrical conduit sparked the fire, which triggered the building’s sprinkler system.

Wittler says the sprinkler system was effective in preventing the fire from growing, and helped crews extinguish it quicker.

Wittler says the building was unoccupied at the time and reported no injuries.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Mount Kisco, NY – Electrical fire at go-kart track is held at bay by sprinkler system

Last Monday’s fire at the complex that contains the Grand Prix New York go-kart track was determined to be electrical, Mount Kisco Fire Chief David Hughes said today. The small fire broke out around 3:40 p.m. in a storage area in the back of the commercial property at 333 N. Bedford Road. There was heavy smoke, but the fire was extinguished quickly, Hughes said. “The sprinkler system kept the fire at bay, so it was a good thing they had it,” he said. The cause of the fire was electrical, Hughes said, but it was not clear what exactly was at the root of the fire. Several local fire departments responded to help Mount Kisco, including Bedford Hills, Millwood, Yorktown, Chappaqua and Pleasantville, Hughes said.

The facility, almost 600,000 square feet, is owned by Diamond Properties. Partner Bill Diamond said on Monday that “it was a very small, localized fire in the storage room,” with no real property damage. The businesses at the complex were not affected, he said.

Other Business

Buford, GA – Sprinkler system assist firefighters in suppressing commercial structure fire

Investigators have ruled the cause of a three-story commercial structure to be accidental and electrical in nature. Firefighters responded at 12:41 P.M. to a report of a business fire at the 100 block of East Main Street NE in the historic business district of downtown Buford. The caller to 9-1-1 reported that smoke was coming out of the crawlspace. Firefighters had to force entry into the structure by using a K-12 saw to cut through two doors on the backside of the building. While the firefighters were working on gaining access, other crews were rapidly evacuating adjacent businesses until the fire could be located and extinguished.

Upon entry, crews found two sprinkler heads that had been activated and were suppressing the fire. Firefighters had already deployed handlines and immediately began attacking the rest of the fire as they made their way into the structure. The fire had begun extending up a wall on the first floor towards the second floor but the aggressive attack by firefighters kept any further fire damage from occurring. There were no reported injuries.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Port Hope, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system contains fire at sports complex to area of origin

The investigation into the cause of a “minor fire” in one of the family change rooms at the Jack Burger Sports Complex is continuing, as is clean-up following the fire. “Investigation by the fire department is ongoing at this point and the cause of the fire has not yet been determined,” said Kate Ingram, the communications and community engagement coordinator for the Municipality of Port Hope, just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6. Port Hope Fire and Emergency Services, along with other emergency crews, responded to the fire call after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Patrons at the sports complex were evacuated immediately and the facility was shut down. All programming, including the on-ice activities at the arena were cancelled until further notice, with emergency crews remaining at the scene at 60 Highland Dr. into the evening Tuesday.

“The facility will remain closed until the investigation is complete,” said the municipality Tuesday evening following the fire.

In an updated public notice about noon on Wednesday, the municipality confirmed all pool programs remain cancelled for the day.

“The pool accessible change room will be closed for an extended period of time for full remediation,” the latest public notice further states.

There was some smoke damage, Ingram confirmed Wednesday.

An additional update on details about the status of pool programming for Thursday, Feb. 7 is to be issued after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The arena, however, has reopened, “after required inspections to the fire monitoring system,” but residents are being encouraged to check in with their community program providers to ensure programming is ongoing given current inclement weather conditions.

There have been no injuries reported as a result of the fire.

Director and fire chief C. Ryan Edgar has confirmed the fire was contained to the area of origin and the “fire sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to do.”

The fire was out at the complex not long after the initial call went out.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, patrons who left behind any belongings during evacuation could contact staff at the Jack Burger Sports Complex to make arrangements to pick up items. Residents looking to make those arrangements or with inquiries can reach staff at 905-885-2474.

Other Business, Warehouse

Charlotte, NC – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling business fire in large warehouse

Around 5:30 p.m. firefighters responded to a fire alarm at a warehouse in the 1000 block of Louise Avenue. When they arrived smoke was pouring from one side of the building but the size of the building meant more firefighters were needed. “The sprinkler system activated inside the building and actually held the fire in check until firefighters could stretch lines in which was approximately 300 feet into the structure,” Charlotte Fire Battalion Chief Joshua Johnson said.

Firefighters say employees had already evacuated before they arrived, but checking the businesses was still a priority. The scene along Louise Avenue has been covered in flashing lights all night. There are 3 businesses inside the massive 75,000 square foot building where the fire broke out.  Firefighters say the alarms went off, and the employees followed their evacuation plan and got out unharmed. 

“On a structure this size the first and most important thing is making sure everyone’s out in case there was anyone working here and the second is we call in additional resources quickly,” said Johnson. Neighbors trying to get home were rerouted and were concerned the fire could spread.

“It’s kind of scary that it sits this close to the house,” Miller said. Firefighters say the sheer size of the building presented challenges but no one was injured. Inside they say there’s substantial smoke damage but only moderate fire damage.

“There was zero visibility, you got to worry being about finding the seat of the fire to start with without firefighters getting lost or trapped, that’s the most difficult part of it,” said Johnson. So far, firefighters haven’t said which business the fire started in. Right now the cause remains under investigation.

Other Business

Las Vegas, NV – Attic fire in commercial building contained by sprinkler system; Firefighters extinguish blaze

Fire sprinklers prevented a blaze in the attic of a downtown commercial building from spreading before firefighters could extinguish it, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said. The fire was initially reported Thursday at 4:10 a.m. burning along some railroad tracks and extending to the rear of a large commercial building in the 800 block of Bonanza Road, officials said. A set of wooden stairs was on fire, but it appeared the fire was outside the building, officials said. About 20 minutes later, a fire alarm was received from the building location, indicating the fire might have gotten inside, officials said. Firefighters forced their way into the building and found it full of smoke, officials said.

Fire was discovered in the attic, but it was being held in check by the sprinkler system and was quickly extinguished, officials said. Investigators believe the fire started around the wooden stairs at the rear of the building, officials said. They also received information that shortly before the fire was reported, a homeless woman was picked up nearby by an ambulance and taken to a hospital with burns, officials said. Investigators a looking into whether she has a connection with the fire, officials said.

Other Business

Washington, D.C. – Electrical fire at TV studio contained by sprinkler system

Several television studios were evacuated Sunday morning when a fire broke out just after 7 a.m. on the eighth floor of a building off of North Capitol Street in D.C. The building houses several television networks and their studios – including Fox News, C-SPAN, and MSNBC.

Firefighters had to break out multiple windows to ventilate the smoke. No one was inside the studio when the fire began – and no one was injured. Investigators say everyone was able to make it out the building safely thanks to the fire alarm. Fire officials say they found an electrical panel on fire in a studio and were able to extinguish it with the help of the building’s sprinkler system.

“We found an electrical panel on fire in a studio facility on the eighth floor. We were able to extinguish that fire, the sprinklers had activated,” said Vito Maggiolo with D.C. Fire and EMS. “Thank God for sprinklers, they are very effective devices. They contained the fire. Our firefighters finished it off with final attack,” he said.

Other - School / University, Other Business

Rockton, IL – Fire at performing arts center extinguished by sprinkler system

No one was injured after a small fire erupted about 9:30 p.m. Sunday in back of the stage inside the Hononegah Community High School Performing Arts Center. The sprinkler system extinguished the fire before the firefighters arrived, a news release said. An investigation has been started as to the cause and the damage is being assessed. No one was in the performing arts center when the fire began. Crews are attempting to mitigate the smoke and water damage.