Category Archives: Other Business

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

San Diego, CA – Fire at Petco Park food court extinguished by sprinkler system during MLB All-Star events

At least one restaurant at the Petco Park food court was to remain closed Sunday afternoon during some All-Star related events, due to a grease fire in a kitchen.  The fire activated the sprinkler system, and was out by the time San Diego Fire-Rescue firefighters arrived on scene, according to spokesman Lee Swanson.

Firefighters were dispatched to Petco Park at about 10:15 a.m. Two engines, one truck and a battalion chief, were sent, but the first crew to arrive cancelled some of the responding firefighters when they discovered the fire had already been extinguished, Swanson said.

It was unclear which restaurant was affected, but Swanson said the San Diego County Health Department would have to re-certify the restaurant before it could serve food again.  San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Brian Fennessy tweeted photos from the scene, showing the fire had been contained to a small area.

Two events were scheduled to take place at Petco Park Sunday, in advance of the Major League Baseball All-Star game on Tuesday. The All-Star Futures game was scheduled for 4 p.m., followed by a softball game at 7 p.m. featuring celebrities, athletes and former MLB players.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Chandler, AZ – Sprinkler system helps contain early morning fire at recycling plant

Firefighters from Chandler and Gilbert were battling an early-morning fire at an East Valley recycling plant.

An employee at the plant at 1100 N. Hamilton St.noticed fire in a pile of materials outside the facility but on plant property.

Reverse 911 was used to notify the surrounding neighborhood of the fire.

A sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire.

Dense smoke blanketed the area. No one was hurt.

Once it’s safe to move in closer, investigators will try to determine what triggered the fire.

As of 7:30 a.m., the westbound lanes of Ray Road between Hamilton and Arizona avenues were closed.

Office Building, Other Business

Philadelphia, PA – Fire in downtown high-rise controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

A sprinkler system prevented a Center City Philadelphia high-rise fire from spreading early Tuesday morning. The blaze, believed to be electrical in nature, broke out shortly before 2 a.m. on the 18th floor of 2000 Market Street, said the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Luckily no one was hurt as the sprinklers kicked in and doused the fire, said firefighters. Crews declared the blaze under control around 2:25 a.m. but hazmat crews remained at the 29-story building.  The building, which opened in 1973, houses a slew of businesses including law firms, a restaurant and a Santander Bank branch.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Windsor Locks, CT – Laundromat fire contained by sprinkler system

A fire that started in a dryer at Cozy Corner Laundromat injured one patron Tuesday evening before firefighters could douse the blaze.

At 6:35 p.m. firefighters responded to an emergency call from the laundromat, located at 255 Main St., and found heavy smoke when they arrived, Assistant Fire Chief Francis DeBella said.

“The sprinkler system held the fire in check, while we were able to get in there and extinguish it in about an hour,” he said.

The fire originated in a dryer, DeBella said, and burned a female customer who had tried to douse the flames.

The woman’s burns were minor ones, he said, and she was evaluated by the Lions Club ambulance crew.

Firefighters from Bradley International Airport responded to the scene with their ladder truck, and police assisted with traffic control.

The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Seattle, WA – Church fire during worship service controlled by sprinkler system

As reported on West Seattle Blog (Statement from Rev. Leah Atkinson Bilinski to Fauntleroy Church congregation):

This morning, during our worship service, we experienced a small fire in our fourth floor library. The fire was accidentally caused by a child (who was not physically harmed, but who is quite emotionally upset). The sprinkler system worked as it should, and the fire was contained to a very small area within the library.

Water did soak walls and flooring on the fourth floor outside the library, office floor below (outside of offices), lobby, and one bathroom in the narthex as it came through the ceiling.

A big thank you to all of our volunteers who jumped right to work cleaning up what water we could before the professionals arrived this afternoon. Bless you, bless you, bless you!

Our annual meeting will be rescheduled and we will be in touch with that new date within the next few days. If pieces of Music Sunday are able to rescheduled, we’ll also let you know that.

The fire was small, and we are a strong, healthy church. All will be well!

As we rejoice in that wellness, let us remember to pray today for those who are not well, notably those involved in the horribly tragic loss of life in Orlando. Let us pray for those lost, their families, LGBTQ families everywhere and a world in which so much hate still exists and is allowed to fester.

And to those prayers, I ask a smaller, but special additional prayer — for one very scared child and her family today, who need to know us as their church family. Love is so powerful, and I thank God for a church that loves well and adds love to a world in such desperate need of it.

Office Building, Other Business

Portland, ME – Fire in storage room of commercial building put out by sprinkler system

Firefighters are crediting a building’s sprinkler system with quickly extinguishing a fire Thursday morning on Commercial Street. Officials said a witness reported seeing smoke coming out of a basement window in a building at the corner of Commercial and Center Streets. The fire was confined to a storage room, but was mostly out by the time crews arrived. Officials could not immediately say what started the fire. No injuries were reported.

Office Building, Other Business

Portland, ME – Fire in storage room of commercial building put out by sprinkler system

Firefighters are crediting a building’s sprinkler system with quickly extinguishing a fire Thursday morning on Commercial Street. Officials said a witness reported seeing smoke coming out of a basement window in a building at the corner of Commercial and Center Streets. The fire was confined to a storage room, but was mostly out by the time crews arrived. Officials could not immediately say what started the fire. No injuries were reported.

Other Business, Place of Worship

South Whitehall, PA – Fire at synagogue controlled by sprinkler system

Emergency crews responded to a small fire at Temple Beth El in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County Sunday afternoon. The fire was reported at the synagogue – located in the 1300 block of Springhouse Road – around 7:30 a.m., according to county officials.

Crews on scene say the fire broke out in the rear of the building and was contained to a small maintenance room, which suffered smoke damage and minor water damage. Luckily, officials say the building’s sprinkler system was functioning properly and kept the fire from spreading throughout the rest of the building.

The fire did go to a second alarm, but only due to the size of the structure and the temperature outside. No one was inside the synagogue when the flames broke out, and no injuries were reported. Investigators are still looking into what may have sparked this fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Sandusky, OH – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in containing fire to building’s elevator shaft

Roofers inadvertently sparked a small fire inside the Feick Contractor Building just after 9:15 a.m. last Wednesday.  Sandusky firefighters responded to Hancock and East Water streets, near Civista Bank’s downtown branch, where they saw white smoke billowing from an elevator shaft.

A ladder truck lifted several firefighters atop the structure’s roof, where they extinguished the fire. With help from an automated sprinkler system, activating before firefighters arrived, first responders quickly neutralized the situation.

“The fire started when (the roofers) were trying to attach some rubber flashing around the roof so it would adhere to glue,” Sandusky fire Chief Dave Degnan said. “We’re investigating it right now, but we’re leaning toward roofers just heating up the wood and starting the fire.”

The fire didn’t spread beyond the elevator shaft. People residing in an adjacent apartment, meanwhile, shouldn’t fret about their living situation, Degnan said.  “I don’t believe anyone is going to be displaced,” Degnan said.  Additionally, it doesn’t appear anyone sustained any injuries as a result of the fire.

Office Building, Other Business

Rocky Mount, NC – Sprinklers limit damage to room of origin in office building blaze

No one was injured when a fire broke out Tuesday night at a local office building on the 1400 block of Atlantic Avenue.

Rocky Mount firefighters responded around 5:15 p.m. to an alarm call at the Jay Group building where employees had already evacuated. An automatic sprinkler system had activated in the office where the fire started and kept it in check until crews got to scene and extinguished the blaze within 15 minutes of being dispatched.

“Kudos to the automatic sprinkler system” said Jamie Vaughn, division chief of operations for Rocky Mount Fire Department. “It really saved this property and the lives of those people.”

It is unclear how many employees were in the building when the fire started, but the damage was limited to the room of origin. Fire investigators are working with Rocky Mount police to determine the cause of the fire, which is still under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 977-1111 or crimestoppers@rockymountnc.gov. Text a tip to police at 274637 by beginning messages with RMPOL to direct the tip to the Rocky Mount Police Department and type up to 155 characters about the information.