Category Archives: Other Business

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Allentown, PA – Sprinkler system knocks down pretzel oven fire at Coca-Cola Park

Allentown firefighters were dispatched to Coca-Cola Park on the city’s East Side on Wednesday evening on a report of a smoky fire touched off by a pretzel oven that was left unattended.

As firetrucks arrived about 6:10 p.m., the smoke was thick but the fire was out, fire officials said. No one was injured.

“When we got there, in one of the storage rooms, there was a heavy smoke condition,” fire Capt. John Christopher said. “What it was, was a pretzel oven. It remained plugged in, it overheated and bags on top of the oven caught fire.

“The sprinkler system kicked in, two sprinkler heads went off and the fire was out when we got there,” he said. “That’s what knocked the fire out. We didn’t have to do anything.”

Christopher said he didn’t know why the pretzel oven was on. He didn’t know of any event going on at the park at the time. He said officials ruled it an accident.

The oven fire reached into a wall, he said. Firefighters checked the walls for hot spots to make sure any hidden fire was extinguished.

Activation of the water sprinklers automatically set off the fire-alarm horns at the stadium, which serves the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team. It took several minutes to shut off the noise.

Just before 10 p.m., firefighters were called back to the stadium on another alarm, but there was no new fire. Workers were resetting the alarm system when it erroneously signaled another emergency.

Other Business

Waterbury, CT – Fire at lumber business caused by improperly discarded oily rags suppressed by sprinkler system

Ed Bushka’s American Millwork and Lumber remains open after a backroom caught fire early Thursday.  At about 12:20 a.m., firefighters responded to the business at 625 Wolcott St. for an automatic fire alarm.  The first firefighters on scene saw smoke coming from the building and upgraded the call to a structure fire, Fire Chief Dave Martin said.

The fire occurred in a back area of the shop, where workers had finished wood with an oil-based urethane, Martin said. The fire was contained to that room.  “The sprinklers did their job and we were able to extinguish the little bit of fire that was left,” Martin said.

The cause of the fire was traced to rags containing urethane that were discarded in a plastic garbage can, Martin. The rags emitted volatile organic compounds, causing a spontaneous combustion, he explained.  The blaze was found to be accidental.

The fire department recommends discarding rags containing oil-based products in a metal container with a lid, preferably outdoors. Also, soak them in water to prevent a chemical reaction.  American Millwork and Lumber is open for business today.

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.