Category Archives: Other Business

Other / Not Specified

Sioux Falls, SD – Sprinkler system keeps arson fire set outside building from spreading inside

Police have arrested a man in connection to a fire that destroyed two porta potties in downtown Sioux Falls.  Forty-eight-year-old Aaron Gruenewald was arrested Thursday morning.  Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the new Washington Square Complex early Thursday morning. No one was hurt, but two porta potties were destroyed.

Police say surveillance video showed a man walking into one of the porta potties, then the fire broke out shortly after he walked away.  Gruenewald was found a few blocks away. Police say he had a lighter in his possession. He faces one count of reckless burning and intentional damage to property.

Original Story

No one was hurt, but two porta potties were destroyed in an overnight fire in downtown Sioux Falls.  The fire broke out around 1:20 a.m. at the new Washington Square complex on Main Avenue.  According to Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, a porta potty near the entrance to the first floor garage caught fire. The building’s sprinkler system was able to stop the flames from spreading. Firefighters put out the blaze a few minutes after arriving.  No one was hurt in the fire. The fire triggered the building’s alarm system, and residents had to wait outside on a rainy night for about 15 minutes.

Firefighters did not find any damage to the building, though two porta potties were destroyed.  The cause is still under investigation.

Other / Not Specified

Olympia, WA – Sprinkler system activates to help limit car fire in tunnel

A vehicle fire closed the tunnel at 14th Avenue Southeast under the Capitol Campus on Thursday morning, according to the Capitol Campus’ emergency alert Twitter account.  The vehicle was in an eastbound lane and fully engulfed, according to a tweet.  The westbound lanes of the tunnel reopened at about 7 a.m. and the eastbound lanes were open shortly after that.  No injuries were reported, according to Olympia Fire Department. Heat set off sprinklers and a public works crew was called to replace them.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

San Carlos, CA – Sprinkler system prevented fire from spreading in commercial building

San Mateo County Fire Department crews battled a 2-alarm fire at a commercial building in San Carlos early Tuesday morning, according to fire dispatch and reports.

The blaze was first reported at 6:01 a.m. at 642 Quarry Road in San Carlos. Redwood City fire crews also responded to the scene and reported on Twitter that the building’s sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading further.

Crews said the cause of the fire was under investigation and additional information was not immediately available.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

St. Petersburg, FL – Trash can fire at movie theater prompted sprinkler system to activate

The action on screen came to an abrupt halt for Moviegoers at the AMC Sundial 20 Monday evening.

A trash can fire inside the movie house in downtown St. Petersburg activated a sprinkler and prompted an evacuation.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Lt. Steven Lawrence said firefighters responded to the call at 6:45 p.m. There were no injuries, he said.

Other Business

Avon, NC – Sprinkler system “did its job and saved our building,” according to spa owner

Spa Koru in Avon is closed this morning following a fire late Wednesday.  The spa said on its Facebook page no one was in the   building at the time and the sprinkler system “did its job and saved our building.”

“However we still have quite a bit of smoke and water damage that we will need time to clean up,” the spa said.  Despite the fire, Yoga by the Beach was still scheduled for 8 a.m. at the Beach Club.

Office Building, Other Business

Hyannis, MA – Sprinkler system douses fire in commercial office building; No injuries reported

Firefighters were called to an automatic fire alarm at 45 Plant Road in Hyannis about 7 PM Friday evening. Crews investigated and discovered a small fire on the second floor of the commercial structure that had been doused by sprinklers. There was some water damage. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Government Office, Government/Military, Office Building

Edmonton, AB, Canada – No injuries reported in 11th floor office blaze; Sprinkler system activated to assist firefighters

A fire at a downtown Edmonton office building has displaced hundreds of Alberta government employees and crippled critical online industrial applications handled by government computer servers.  According to Environment and Parks spokesperson Matt Dykstra, 465 government employees across five ministries have been moved to different offices, or are working from home while damage is being repaired.

“There was smoke and water damage from the sprinkler systems that impacted a few different floors as well as the air conditioning system for the building,” said Dykstra.  “The hot weather that we have right now makes it unsafe for employees to be working in that building at this time.”  The July 30 fire, on the 11th floor of the Forestry Building, 9920 108th St., also affected the data centre in the mechanical room.  “It’s rendering the Alberta Environment and Parks server non-operational,” Dykstra said.

He said the public won’t notice any delays, but a notice posted on the Environment and Parks website says that due to the fire, telephone calls to the information centre will not be answered, and all inquiries must be made by email.  There will also be an impact on industry. The damaged computer servers are used by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).

The service disruption means online applications that would normally take two or three days to process will be slower. In an online bulletin, the AER said applications done manually will now take up to two weeks to approve.

AER spokesperson Shawn Roth said in an email a workaround has been developed in meantime.  “The AER will be manually processing applications for Temporary Field Authorizations (TFAs), seismic exploration permits, and formal land disposition applications and issuing temporary approvals by email until the systems are restored.”

However, the AER bulletin also indicated some work has been put on hold, until the servers are back in operation. The AER said it is unable to accept new applications for formal land dispositions, or to process TFA applications that require documentation on First Nations consultation. The Alberta government leases the Forestry Building office space from Vancouver-based property management and investment firm, QuadReal Property Group.

Dykstra said he doesn’t know when employees will be back in the building or when the computer servers will be working again. The cause of the fire has not been determined, and there is no estimate of damage.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Danville, IL – Sprinkler system keeps machinery fire at recycling facility from spreading

A machinery error started a fire in a recycling business Thursday night, firefighters say.

They say they found smoke pouring from Mervis Recycling, located at 14 S. Henning Road in Danville, after 8:30 p.m. Finding the exact fire proved difficult because of the smoke.

Crews say the call came in as a sprinkler system alarm. That system kept the fire from spreading.

Firefighters remained on the scene until after midnight.

The fire caused about $15,000 in damage. Firefighters say they can’t give an exact cause of the fire because the machinery responsible is too advanced.

Other / Not Specified

Erie, PA – Several animals rescued after sprinkler system controls fire at environmental center

Firefighters were called to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center to put out a fire in a laboratory room Sunday morning.  It was reported around 5:41 a.m.  An aquarium system caught fire, creating smoke in the east wing of the building, according to West Lake Fire Department.  The fire activated a sprinkler, but firefighters had to extinguish what was left of the fire, the fire department said.  Several turtles and a garpike were rescued.