Category Archives: Other Business

Other Business

Branson, MO – Early morning fire at theater contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A Branson police officer heard popping sounds coming from the back of the Shoji Tabuchi Theatre on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway overnight and when fire crews arrived, they found flames shooting out of the backstage area. Branson Fire Chief Ted Martin tells KTTS News the call came in around 2 a.m. and three fire departments responded.

He says the fire started stage left in a 12 by 12 area where there’s a lot of support equipment, including radios, battery chargers, power strips and extension cords. Martin says the sprinkler system kept the fire contained.

There’s smoke throughout the building, and crews have spent the morning trying to ventilate the smoke and they’ll be working with restoration companies to use dehumidifiers to get the moisture out of the stage props and the stage deck, and remove the smoke odor. Martin says the theatre should be able to re-open in a few days.   The fire is accidental, and Martin says they haven’t been able to rule out an electrical short.  No one was hurt.

Child Care Facility, Other Business

Murray, UT – Early morning fire at day care facility contained by sprinkler system

It could have been a whole lot worse. That’s what Murray fire investigators are saying about an early morning blaze that burned a detached classroom area at Almost Home Playcare, a children’s daycare facility located at 140 West Winchester Street.  Deputy Chief Jon Harris told Gephardt Daily the fire started in a rubbish collection area outside a converted classroom.  He said a lawnmower was also stored there.  The flames spread quickly, scorching the exterior of the classroom before spreading into the attic.

A sprinkler system did its job, however, not only saving the interior of the classroom, but also preventing the fire from spreading to the rest of the daycare. “If those sprinklers didn’t go off and there was nobody around, this would have been a whole different story,” Deputy Chief Harris said.  Harris also credited the daycare’s alarm service for placing a call to dispatchers, letting them know that fire had broken out.  Harris said investigators had yet to determine the cause of the fire although there were no indications of foul play.

Office Building, Other Business

Quincy, MA – Fire on top floor of office building held in check by sprinkler system

A blaze on the top floor of a Quincy office building kept firefighters busy early Wednesday morning. Firefighters responded to 300 Crown Colony Drive shortly before 1 a.m. to investigate a fire alarm in the building.  When they arrived, they discovered that the sprinkler system was going off on the fifth floor, Quincy Fire Deputy Chief Ed Fenby said. Additional manpower and engines were called to the building.

When they went up to investigate, dense black smoke was filling the suite belonging to MCMC LLC, a health insurance company. They forced their way into the locked office and found a power strip, computer and printer that were on fire, Fenby said.

“The sprinkler kept it in check and they put out the rest of it and checked to make sure it didn’t get into the walls,” Fenby said. No one was believed to be in the building at the time of the fire and it is not considered suspicious.  Because the windows of the building do not open, the fire department had to smash one of them in order to help ventilate the unit.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Hartford, CT – Sprinkler system keeps fire in check at commercial building; No injuries reported

Several tenants are assessing damage on Sunday after a fire at a commercial building that housed a church in Hartford on Saturday night.

Firefighters say flames sparked around 10 p.m. on 806 Windsor Street in the Capitol City.

Officials are saying the sprinkler system helped to keep the fire in check.

According to the Hartford Courant, there were no injuries reported.

It is not clear what started the fire or how much damage the building sustained.

Other Business

Mesa, AZ – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in commercial building fire

Fire damaged a portion of a commercial complex in Mesa on Wednesday morning, Mesa fire officials said. The fire occurred in the 1700 block of West Baseline Road, just east of Dobson Road, said Deputy Chief Forrest Smith of the Mesa Fire and Medical Department.  Two suites in the complex were damaged in the fire, which forced the evacuation of several other businesses, Smith said.  Firefighters had the blaze under control in 22 minutes, Smith said, adding that a sprinkler system helped stop the fire from spreading to other suites.  “These are important and why fire departments advocate for buildings to be sprinklered,” he said. “They certainly can save lives and property.”  Crews from the Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe fire departments also responded.

Other Business

Houston, TX – Sprinkler system suppresses high-rise fire on 25th floor; No injuries

An electrical short in a water cooler sparked a one-alarm fire Sunday morning in a Houston high-rise. Responding fire crews swarmed a tower in the 2000 block of West Loop South just after 9 a.m., according to Houston Fire Department spokesman Ruy Lozano.  But by the time firefighters got up to the 25th floor, the sprinklers had mostly extinguished the blaze and created “cold smoke” clinging to the floor.

“Smoke typically has a high temperature and rises, but because it was cooled by the sprinkler head it hugs the floor,” Lozano explained.  “It is a typical phenomenon to see in high-rise firefighting when sprinklers extinguish fires.”

Firefighters would typically clear out smoke through roof hatches. But given the stormy weather and low smoke, that approach didn’t work Sunday morning so crews were still on scene by noon, trying to find other ways to evacuate the smoke. The building was mostly empty at the time of the fire, although custodial staff and security were evacuated. No one was injured.   Arson investigators are still making an official determination on the cause of the fire, but Lozano said there is no reason to believe it was set intentionally.

Other Business, Other-Government/Military

Wilmington, DE – Fire at Amtrak maintenance building contained to area of origin by sprinkler system

A fire broke out at an Amtrak maintenance building in Wilmington Monday morning but was quickly extinguished, according to officials.  It has been ruled accidental.  Wilmington firefighters were called to 4001 Vandever Ave. just before 7 a.m. for a report of smoke coming from building No. 17, known as the “Powerhouse,” according to a statement on the fire. The building is located within Amtrak’s maintenance facility for the Northeast Corridor.

The fire was placed under control by 7:22 a.m. Prior to the fire department’s arrival, several Amtrak employees attempted to extinguish the fire with portable extinguishers, according to officials. The 120-by-55-feet warehouse-style building sustained both fire and smoke damage, but the building was equipped with an automatic sprinkler system which had activated, confining the fire to the area of origin. Approximately 60 fire and EMS personnel responded.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Sterling, VA – Sprinkler system contains fire at Gold’s Gym following explosion; No injuries reported

Employees of Gold’s Gym in Sterling knew something was wrong when the lights inside the building started flickering on the afternoon of March 21. They evacuated everyone in the building just before there was an explosion and ensuing fire.

The fire was contained by the automatic sprinkler system and no one was injured thanks to gym employees’ quick actions. Still, the explosion and fire left an estimated $500,000 in damages, the Loudoun Fire Marshal’s Office said. The adjacent Marshalls received minor water damage.

The Gold’s facility had been placed on “fire watch” earlier in the day because the gym’s power — including power to the fire alarm system — was down. Knowing the building was having electrical problems is what led staff to recognize the dimming lights as a sign of danger, Gold’s Gym General Manager Daniel Ferrara said in a statement.

An electrical failure of a high voltage line ignited a methane gas leak in the area, which caused the explosion at the gym, said Laura Rinehart of Loudoun County Fire and Rescue.

Fire and Rescue received the call for the fire at 46262 Cranston Street around 4:30 p.m., and responded with crews from Sterling Park, Cascades, Ashburn, Lansdowne, Leesburg and Kincora, along with multiple command officers after the amount of smoke inside the building prompted first responders to request additional resources.

While inside the gym, firefighters found a small fire at the back and structural damage to the walls, so they exited the building in case it collapsed, Rinehart said. Fire Marshal’s Office and fire and rescue officials verified that the wall was not load-bearing, so firefighters re-entered the building, ensured there were no hotspots in walls and cleared out the smoke, she said.

The Fire Marshal has determined that the fire was accidental.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Ventura, CA – Sprinkler system holds flames in check after vehicle crashes into building and starts fire

Rescuers responded to a building that caught fire in Ventura early Friday after a vehicle crashed into it.

Firefighters received a report at 1:11 a.m. that a truck had slammed into and gone inside a two-story building in the 5700 block of Moon Drive, just north of Highway 101 and about a block west of South Victoria Avenue. The vehicle and the building both apparently caught fire.

Crews at the scene discovered one victim and requested an ambulance.

One man was taken to a local trauma center at 1:35 a.m. for injuries, just as the vehicle fire was reported knocked down. The structure fire was being held in check by a sprinkler system, firefighters said.

Officials said the fire was controlled within 23 minutes of firefighters arrival and put out an hour later.

Two other victims apparently left the scene, authorities reported to dispatchers.

In addition to Ventura City Fire, firefighters from Ventura County, Oxnard and Santa Paula fire departments as well as Ventura police also responded.

Other Business

Barrie, ON, Canada – Fire at UPS facility extinguished by single sprinkler

A single sprinkler did the trick, putting out a fire that started in a delivery truck inside the UPS building on Welham Road in Barrie, around four this morning. The fire department was called after employees failed to extinguish the flames.  By the time fire crews got there, the sprinkler had done its job, preventing what could have been a much larger blaze.