Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Orlando, FL – Hoverboard fire at apartment building limited by sprinkler system

A hoverboard set out to charge burst into flames inside an Orange County apartment Thursday, displacing three families, according to Orange County Fire Rescue. More than a dozen firefighters responded after the fire broke out in a third-floor apartment on Avalon Reserve Boulevard just before 8 p.m.  Officials said the hoverboard went up in flames while it was charging.

A dog was removed from the home after residents were evacuated. “There was one child who apparently ran in there to get the dog,” Battalion Chief Carollee Burrell said. The child was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The mother of the child, who asked not to be identified, said she was at work when she got the frantic call. The hoverboard was a Christmas gift for her son. The son, who also was not identified, said the hoverboard started to shake before bursting into flames.

The flames did not spread throughout the apartment but sprinklers went off inside of it and two neighboring units. Orange County Fire Rescue said three families were displaced due to water damage from the sprinkler. The Red Cross is helping those residents find a place to stay.

Apartment Building, Residential

Easton, PA – Sprinkler system holds apartment fire in check; Fire started in dryer

A dryer fire Wednesday evening in Easton led to extensive damage in an apartment and the temporary evacuation of the entire building. It was reported about 5:50 p.m. in an apartment at G.J. Mills in the 1400 block of Bushkill Drive in the city, near the border with Forks Township.

Tenant Fred Green said he was doing laundry in his apartment when the dryer, stacked atop the washer, caught fire. “Underneath the bottom of the dryer, I saw flames and the filter was melting,” he said.

He dialed 911 and the building’s alarm sounded. The Easton Fire Department had the fire quickly extinguished upon arrival, Capt. Henry Hennings said.

“The sprinkler system kept things pretty much in check until we got here,” he said. “A lot of water damage, though.” Hennings confirmed the fire started in the dryer but said the cause was undetermined Wednesday night.

Residents temporarily evacuated by the incident clustered together at the apartments inside a converted mill complex along the Bushkill Creek.

Despite the alarm sounding, firefighters had to go door to door in the complex to evacuate all the residents as a precaution, Hennings said. He noted that if an alarm sounds in a building, anyone inside needs to get out. Older construction can mean buildings lack firewalls, and flames can spread to any void from the basement to the attic.

No one was reported injured. Green’s second-floor apartment sustained flame, heat and smoke damage, and firefighters reported some smoke in at least four other apartments.  Only Green was displaced following the incident, Hennings said, and was being put up temporarily by the property owner, Strausser Enterprises Inc.  The fire department cleared the scene about 7:20 p.m.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Windsor, ON, Canada – Fire at senior high-rise apartment building controlled by sprinkler system

Fire broke out late Wednesday night in a unit in a high-rise apartment building across from Coventry Gardens in Windsor. John Lee, with Windsor Fire and Rescue, says no one was injured.

“We got a call about 10:15 p.m. to the Amica building. It is a vulnerable occupancy [building]. It’s a nursing [and] rest home, senior’s living. There was a fire on the second floor in one of the units. The sprinkler system activated. The resident got out safely,” he said.

Windsor Fire and Rescue says because the sprinklers activated and kept the fire under control. An investigator will look into what started the fire on Riverside Drive, near Pillette Road.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pearland, TX – Patio fire at apartment building extinguished by sprinkler installed in balcony

** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department Reported** –
The Pearland Fire Department responded to a report of a cooking fire located on the patio of an apartment unit in the 2500 block of Business Center Drive on Wednesday, April 6. Upon arriving, fire department officials discovered that the fire had been extinguished by a fire sprinkler system installed on the patio of the unit where the fire began.

Because the fire sprinkler system installed on the balcony worked as it was designed, no property damage or loss of life occurred during this incident. Fire sprinklers are required in all new multi-family dwellings in Pearland, as well as specific commercial structures because of requirements and guidelines set forth by the locally adopted Code of Ordinances approved by Pearland City Council. Single-family homes are not required to install sprinkler systems, but for less than the cost of many cosmetic upgrades, these life and property saving systems can be installed.

The Pearland Fire Department encourages the installation of fire sprinklers in all structures, especially in homes where people are sleeping. For additional information, visit pearlandtx.gov/firesprinklers or contact the Pearland Fire Marshal’s Office at 281.997.4650.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Hackensack, NJ – Kitchen fire in high-rise apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system

Grease on a stovetop caught fire Wednesday evening, spreading flames to an apartment’s microwave and cabinets before firefighters put it out. The single-alarm blaze at 140 Prospect Ave. was reported at 7:11 p.m., Fire Lt. Justin Derevyanik said. Firefighters found smoke on the 14th floor of the apartment building and discovered that the fire had been partially extinguished by the sprinkler system in apartment 14A. Several other apartments suffered water damage.

Firefighters put out the flames within 10 minutes, Derevyanik said. Three residents suffered smoke inhalation as they were getting out of the building; a man and a woman were treated at the scene while another man was taken to Holy Name Medical Center. Twenty-six firefighters from Hackensack and Teaneck responded, as well as Hackensack EMTs..

Apartment Building, Residential

St. Louis, MO – Early morning apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

Residents at a Midtown apartment complex are evacuated overnight after a fire in one of the units. It happened around 12:50 a.m. at the North Sarah Apartments at C.D. Banks and Vandeventer. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. The building has three floors and has 19 units.

Fire department spokesperson Captain Garon Mosby says the fire started in one of the bedrooms of that second floor apartment. There were two people, a man and a woman, in the unit at the time.

The sprinkler system in the apartment did activate and that took out much of the fire.  Crews were able to keep the fire contained to the bedroom of that one unit.  The building where the fire happened is three floors and has 19 apartments.

Most of the residents, roughly 30 people, were evacuated but some did stay inside a sheltered space.  This was a first alarm fire meaning 30 firefighters responded.  Captain Mosby says there is nothing suspicious about the fire.  The preliminary cause is a candle that was left burning in the bedroom where the fire started

Apartment Building, Residential

Oxford, MS – Grease fire at off-campus apartments extinguished by sprinkler system

*** Fire Department Reported *** – Grease fire at 9:46 p.m. at The Connection – a resident put water on the grease fire which caused the fire to reach the sprinkler system which put the fire out.

The Connection at Oxford is less than one mile from campus, and you’ll save gas, by riding the OUT Bus, which takes you directly to class as well as many on-campus sites, and off campus shopping within the city, along with the famous Oxford Square! Party like a rock-star on The Connection at Oxford Party Bus, directly to the best party places on the Oxford Square! No need to worry about traffic, parking or hailing a cab; we take you there and bring you back to The Connection. Many Rebels already live here and is a great place to hang out with your friends and enjoy our weekly events

 

Apartment Building, Residential

Norfolk, VA – No injuries in off-campus apartment fire at Old Dominion University contained by sprinklers

A total of 198 people were displaced Monday after a fire at The District apartment complex near Old Dominion University. There were no injuries , Fire-Rescue spokesman Bill Tull said, but a section of the building where the fire took place was shut down for the night.

When firefighters got to the complex on 39th Street in midafternoon, Tull said, they encountered smoke on the fourth floor. He said a small pan of food had caught fire in one of the units, activating the sprinkler system. Water pooled on the fourth floor and flowed down into the lower floors, Tull said. It also reached the complex’s electrical system, and occupants were evacuated.

Firefighters were trying to mitigate water damage, and officials were evaluating the damage overall. The District also called in its electrical contractor.

Fire-Rescue personnel were helping residents retrieve personal items until enough security personnel could take over.

Jalen Ford, maintenance technician for The District, said residents were either being moved to vacant rooms in the complex or sent to the Marriott on ODU’s campus. Ford said he didn’t know when residents would be able to return to their rooms.

“It shouldn’t be days or weeks,” he said. “As soon as they get the water out, they’re just making sure everything electrical is working, there’s no water in the electrical systems, and just making sure all the residents are safe. So as soon as they get all the water out, everything should be back to normal.”

An ODU spokesman and officials at the Marriott declined to comment on the relocation efforts.

 

Veronica Lyell, a senior at ODU, said she lived next door to the fourth-floor unit where the fire occurred.

Apartment Building, Residential

Eugene, OR – Apartment balcony fire contained by sprinkler system

Eugene/Springfield Fire units responded to an apartment fire at the Heron Meadows complex in west Eugene early Sunday morning. The call came in just after 5:40 a.m. Firefighters hurried to building 783 on Throne Drive. The apartment complex is just off Royal Street.

Fire officials say the fire was small and started on the balcony of a second-floor unity. The apartment’s sprinkler system contained the fire to just the balcony where crews extinguished the flames. Officials say no one was injured and the fire was accidental..

Apartment Building, Residential

Olympia, WA – Sprinkler system knocks down fire at apartment complex

One family was displaced from an apartment at 1309 Fern St. SE in west Olympia late Friday after a fire, according to the Olympia Fire Department. Firefighters responded to reports of a kitchen fire and found that the sprinkler system had activated by the time they arrived. One resident sustained cuts to the hand after breaking open a glass door to access a fire extinguisher. No other injuries were reported.

Damage to the apartment was estimated at about $5,000. The fire likely was an electrical fire. The family is being assisted by the American Red Cross. The rest of the apartment complex was undamaged. The Olympia Fire Department responded to the fire with four engines, one ladder truck, two medic units and a command unit