Category Archives: Other Business

Other Business

Great Falls, MT – Fire at non-profit business extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire in the rear work area of My Neighbor in Need was extinguished by the sprinkler system Tuesday evening.  Nobody was injured in the fire.  The Times Square building is at 525 Central Ave.

Ron Martin, deputy fire marshal for Great Falls Fire/Rescue, said the fire was likely caused by a candle that employees were burning in the area while waxing over screws to repair a chair.  Employees extinguished the candle, but when it was placed upright in a plastic toolbox, it was still smoldering and caught the toolbox on fire, according to Martin and Snuggs.

The heat from the fire was enough to activate a nearby sprinkler head, which quickly extinguished the fire.  “The system worked as designed,” Martin said, whose office heads up the department’s fire prevention efforts.

On Wednesday afternoon, GFFR ruled the fire accidental and controlled by automatic sprinkler system.  “That is such a blessing, because it could have been so much worse,” Snuggs said by phone Wednesday afternoon. “We can’t speak enough of how well the sprinklers worked, and the fire department was here in minutes and did an outstanding job.”

Martin said the fire was extinguished when firefighters arrived a few minutes after the alarm system notified GFFR.  Snuggs said the damage is estimated at $50,000 or less and My Neighbor in Need’s insurance will cover the cleanup and repairs.

Other Business

Easton, MA – Fire at team sports apparel company is minimized with help from sprinkler system

The fire at Pop Tops Sportswear, 10 Plymouth Drive, was reported to the Easton Fire Department about 6:52 a.m. when the fire alarm was tripped.  Pop Tops manufactures and sells custom team uniforms, apparel, work wear and promotional products.

When firefighters arrived, smoke was coming from the building. The 100×200-square-foot warehouse was filled with thick, heavy smoke, said Easton Fire Captain James Walsh. It took firefighters about 10-15 minutes to locate the fire inside the building.

“The toughest part was locating it because of the smoke conditions. The building was full of smoke.” Walsh said. “There was zero visibility.”

The blaze started inside of a room where equipment is cleaned. Walsh said one of the pieces of equipment ignited the fire.  The sprinkler system went off inside the building soaking some of the company’s merchandise.

“A lot of merchandise was ruined,” Walsh said.  The Stoughton and Raynham fire departments also responded to the scene and the Brockton Fire Department provided station coverage for Easton, Walsh said.

Given the materials inside the building – including clothing and chemicals – the fire could have been a lot worse, Walsh said.  “Everything worked well. The sprinkler system worked well, the alarm system went off. The guys were able to get in there quick and knock it down,” Walsh said.

Other Business

La Crosse, WI – Sprinkler system credited with controlling early morning fire at corrugating business

Firefighters are crediting a sprinkler system for controlling a business fire in La Crosse.  According to the La Crosse Fire Department, they were called to Badger Corrugating on Green Bay Street in La Crosse around 4:45 Tuesday morning.

Upon arrival, crews found smoke throughout the entire building, but the sprinkler system was controlling the fire.   There were no injuries but the building suffered moderate smoke and water damage.

Other Business

Rollinsford, NH – Fire in 160-year-old mill building limited by sprinkler system

The initial call for smoke in a second floor suite came in at 7:28 a.m., Rollinsford Fire Chief Mark Rutherford said. Fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a woodworking shop in Suite 208 of the 160-year-old mill building, and about 15 people had to be evacuated. No one was injured.

Rutherford credited an updated sprinkler system from preventing the two-alarm blaze from spreading. Firefighters also were able to respond quickly to knock down the flames.

Smoke damage was limited to the room of origin and the hallway, and both the studio and the studio below it on the second floor sustained water damaged.

“You need a system like this in these old buildings to keep fires from spreading,” Rutherford said. “How this system was designed probably saved this building, because once a fire spreads in a building like this, you’re here for a while.”  Grenier said he was led to believe the fire started as a result of an oily rag being left out overnight. He wants those responsible for leaving the rag out will be held responsible.

“The biggest thing right now is, I need someone from an insurance company to come in and tell me everything’s going to be OK and give me money,” Grenier said with a chuckle.

Responders included fire departments from Rollinsford, South Berwick, Maine, Berwick, Maine, Somersworth and Dover and York Ambulance Association. Fire departments from Rochester and Eliot, Maine, provided station coverage.

Kent Scovill, who operates PKS Woodworks, said his business was not damaged.

“It was scary coming in this morning and seeing all the fire trucks,” Scovill said. “I was pretty shocked. I ran downstairs and I ran in through the back, which I probably shouldn’t have done. I made sure everything was all right.”

Painter Shaune McCarthy of Madbury, who has a studio at the mill, said she heard about the fire early Friday morning after getting a call from a friend.

McCarthy said she was glad the damage was not more extensive.

“She said, ‘Guess what, the mill’s on fire.’ I was scared to death,” McCarthy said. “There’s always been big mill fires you hear about in history. It’s scary but I’m glad it was just a small thing.”

Gregory McCrone of Dover, an “eclectic collector” of art, coins and family heirlooms, rents a work space at the mill, which he calls “part museum and part living room.”

 

After his morning swim, McCrone drove to the mill to find half a dozen fire trucks in the parking lot.

 

“I didn’t see the building going up (in flames) so I wasn’t quite as worried,” he said. “They wouldn’t let anyone in at first. I have a lot of stuff up here.”

 

Other Business

Toledo, OH – Fire in salvage shop garage controlled with help from sprinkler system

Three employees of a North Toledo automotive storage business escaped unharmed from a fire that started inside the garage they were working in, authorities said.

The fire was reported about 9:30 a.m. at 911 Bush St. inside the vehicle salvage facility attached to a brick light industrial building. About nine fire trucks responded to the scene, according to the Toledo fire department.

Toledo fire Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld said the employees were using a cutting torch to cut a car part from a vehicle when a fuel tank some distance away fell on the ground releasing gasoline fumes, which then ignited. The fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system.

The fire was extinguished about 9:50 a.m. by firefighters.   The fire was ruled accidental, Lieutenant Hertzfeld said.

Damage was limited to the the building’s vehicle salvage area where it had started, according to the spokesman. A damage estimate was unavailable.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Mesquite, NV – Sprinkler system completely extinguishes fire at Conestoga Golf Club

E-11, R-11, Chief 2 Responded to the Conestoga Golf Club for a water flow alarm. Arrived to find audible and visual alarms and employees evacuated from building. Staff advises they have had a fire. Found an exterior storage rack under a covered patio near kitchen area that had burned boxes and other material on it. Fire completely extinguished by automatic sprinkler system which was still flowing water. Flow of water stopped and system returned to service other than the single head that activated and put the fire out. Minor scorching to building but no structural damage. Fire determined to be accidental in nature.

Other Business

Stevens Point, WI – Overnight equipment fire at publishing company contained by sprinkler system

A fire caused minor damage to a local publishing company early Monday morning, but no one was hurt.  Firefighters responded to Worzalla Publishing, located at 3535 Jefferson St., at about 2:30 a.m. and extinguished the fire, though most of the flames had been contained by a sprinkler system, said Stevens Point Fire Capt. Jodi Baganz.

The fire was caused by a piece of equipment that overheated after a motor failure and started paper on fire, Baganz said. There was smoke and water damage to some of the equipment, but the company was able to continue operating after the fire was put out, Baganz said.

There were people inside the building when the fire started, but no one was injured in the incident, Baganz said.

 

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Los Angeles, CA – Challenging fire at commercial building held in check with help from sprinkler system

Fire burned for more than an hour in a one-story commercial building housing a makeup wholesaler in downtown Los Angeles, firefighters said today.  Nearly 100 firefighters worked on the blaze, which started outside the building and then spread inside.

No injuries were reported at the fire, which was reported at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Max Makeup Cherimoya at 813 S. Gladys Ave., between San Pedro Street and Central Avenue, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A total of 95 firefighters responded and put the fire out in 61 minutes, containing the flames to the structure, Humphrey said. Firefighters’ efforts were complicated by dense storage conditions and “entrenched flames” inside the building, Humphrey said. However, firefighters were also helped in their battle by a sprinkler system which assisted in keeping the fire in check, Humphrey added.

Office Building, Other Business

Las Vegas, NV – Suspicious fire at business doused by sprinkler system

A man stole a security guard’s truck while the guard was responding to a fire alarm Wednesday morning. The guard was doing a routine check when a fire alarm started going off. He then found a suspicious man standing around who he believes was trying to break into a business.  The man said he just got out of the hospital and wants to get to California.  While the guard was questioning him, the man then took off with the guard’s truck, which was still running.   “He bolted back to my truck and took off with it,” said Otis Linton, the security guard.

The fire started around 1 a.m. in the 6100 block of Brent Thurman Way, near Sunset Road and the 215 Beltway. Upon arrival, firefighters saw no visible fire or smoke coming from the structure but the sprinklers were activated. There was a small fire in offices that were under construction.  The fire is under investigation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Other Business

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at Sands convention center; No injuries

A vendor booth at an ophthalmology convention went up in flames Thursday night at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, no one was hurt.  Clark County Fire District responded to the alarm at 8:15 p.m. at 201 Sands Ave. The sprinkler system already had been activated. It took about seven minutes to extinguish the blaze, according to a news release sent Friday. Thirty firefighters responded.

Sprinklers kept the blaze from spreading, the news release said. The building was evacuated, and firefighters helped air out lingering smoke. Investigators are still trying to figure out how the fire started.