Apartment Building, Residential Rochester, MN – Officials credit sprinkler system with saving apartment building February 9, 2015 viking210 Officials believe a sprinkler system in an apartment building “definitely saved” the complex from more serious damage after a fire late Saturday. A general flow alarm — which indicates the sprinkler system has been activated — came in about 10:40 p.m. Firefighters responded to 875 21st Ave. SE, where they found there had been an active fire in one of the apartments on the third floor. They found a frying pan with oil in it, unattended on the stove, said Larry Mueller, assistant fire marshal. The initial flare-up triggered the overhead sprinkler, which eventually extinguished the flames.
Apartment Building, Residential Madison, AL – Sprinkler contains morning apartment fire to one room February 9, 2015 viking210 Units responded to a fire at Grand Reserve Apartments at Madison on Kyser Boulevard on Monday morning. The fire was contained to one bedroom of an apartment. The sprinkler system kicked on and allowed the fire department to get there in time. There was smoke damage to the mattress in the bedroom and some furniture, but no one was hurt.
Apartment Building, Residential Fargo, ND – Vehicle fire in garage of apartment building controlled by sprinkler system February 5, 2015 viking210 An early morning fire Thursday woke up a lot of people at the Park East Apartments in downtown Fargo. Firefighters got a call about smoke coming from the building around 2 a.m. and found a car on fire in the garage unit, which is attached to the residential section of the building. Fire officials say sprinkler system largely limited the fire damage to one vehicle. Vehicles parked on either side were not damaged because of the sprinkler system. Crews had the fire under control within 15 minutes of the Red River Regional Dispatch Center receiving the first 9-1-1 call. One person was found on scene with soot stains on his face but he refused medical treatment. The cause of the fire appears to be in the vehicle, but an exact cause has not been identified.
Apartment Building, Residential Norcross, GA – Late night apartment fire held in check by sprinkler system February 5, 2015 viking210 No one was injured in a Tuesday evening apartment fire near Norcross, according to Gwinnett Fire. The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system and was contained to the bathroom. The fire happened after 10 p.m. at the Los Colinas Apartments on Lia Hills Drive. It appears to have been accidental and started by a bathroom exhaust fan, firefighters said.
Apartment Building, Residential San Francisco, CA – Arson fire at multi-tenant residential building contained by sprinkler system February 3, 2015 viking210 An unidentified man set a fire at the Crown Hotel and SRO at 16th and Valencia late Monday morning. According to witnesses, the man broke the glass of a fire extinguisher case inside the building and used it to attempt to break into a resident’s room, and then reportedly spread gasoline on the hotel’s walls and floors. The man was taken into custody by police, witnesses said, and by noon a manager informed residents they would have to wait about another hour for water used to extinguish the fire to be cleaned up from the building. Samantha Helstrom, a resident of the Crown Hotel for about a year and a half, said she came out of her room after she heard glass breaking. She saw a man banging on a resident’s door, apparently trying to break in and possibly manipulating a gasoline can. Shortly after, she saw smoke coming from the resident’s room and the man running downstairs. Helstrom said she ran back inside to get water to put out the fire and managed to get a few buckets on the flames before the sprinkler system turned on and the building was evacuated. “The fire was pretty contained at that point between the sprinklers and me being a crazy fool,” Helstrom said, referring to her efforts to extinguish the flames. Benji Francois, who has been in the building less than a week, said he usually ignores yelling and commotion since they’re so common, but when water started coming into his room from the sprinkler system, he knew something serious had happened. He said he opened his door to see flames, and then ran out of the building. “Not a good way to wake up,” Francois said.
Apartment Building, Residential Ontario, OH – Kitchen fire in off-campus apartment at Ohio State University controlled by sprinkler system February 3, 2015 viking210 Springfield Township Fire Department Capt. Steve Krock said grease from a pan of food — possibly bratwurst — caused a fire about 8 p.m. Sunday in Buckeye Village Apartments. “The sprinkler system went off and did what it was supposed to do,” Krock said. “Without that, we would have rolled up here and there would have been fire coming out of that front window.” The fire caused smoke damage to neighboring apartments and displaced at least six residents. The fire triggered the smoke detector as well as the sprinkler system, the latter of which, Krock said, played a key role in containing the fire before firefighters responded. All residents made it out of the apartment complex before firefighters responded. Krock said four residents had to be moved to a vacant apartment complex for the night. Firefighters used fans to ventilate smoke from the apartment and used brushes to sweep out excess water on the first floor. The Madison Township and Shelby fire departments assisted the Springfield Township Fire Department in containing the situation. No one was injured as a result of the fire.
Apartment Building, Residential Bethesda, MD – Sprinkler system keeps fire away from residents in overnight apartment blaze February 2, 2015 viking210 Firefighters were called to the Bethesda Hill Apartment building at 5114 Dudley Lane shortly after 3 a.m. by a guest at the Bethesda Marriott located across the street. All occupants quickly got out of the building, but the fire had spread considerably through void and empty spaces, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said Piringer said the building’s sprinkler system effectively prevented the fire from spreading to the building’s living spaces. Piringer said it appears to have started with a dryer and nearby combustible material before quickly spreading to duct work in the walls, ceilings and floors between the second and third floors.
Apartment Building, Residential Englewood, NJ – Sprinkler system credited with saving apartment complex from fire; No injuries and fire contained to one room January 31, 2015 viking210 Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire at the Towne Center apartment complex on Friday evening, with the city’s fire chief crediting the building’s sprinkler system with containing the blaze to one room and preventing more extensive damage. The fire was caused by a candle that fell over in a living room about 5:40 p.m. in an apartment on the fourth-floor of the 4½-story complex and led to the temporary evacuation of about 150 people, said city Fire Chief Gerald Marion. It was under control about 30 minutes later, he said, adding that no one was injured and the fire’s cause was determined to be “accidental.” Marion said the building, comprising two connected towers, is made of the same lightweight construction as the Avalon apartment complex in Edgewater where about hundreds of people were displaced indefinitely last week when one of its two buildings was destroyed by fire despite the presence of a sprinkler system. The Englewood complex’s robust sprinkler system “did most of the work” of putting out Friday’s fire, the chief said. “Had there not been a sprinkler, we would have potentially seen something similar to Edgewater,” Marion said. He said that owners of the Towne Center, which has more than 180 units, on Friday night began repairing damage to the apartment where the fire occurred. The family that resides there is staying elsewhere during repairs, he said. Other residents were allowed to return to their apartments about an hour after the fire began.
Apartment Building, Residential Renton, WA – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire before it can spread January 29, 2015 viking210 A sprinkler system extinguished a fire at a Renton apartment complex Tuesday night before it could spread, according to Renton Fire and Emergency Services Department. The call came in at 8:06 p.m. as an activated fire alarm at the Benson Downs Apartments, 11000 S.E. Petrovitsky Road. No one was injured, but three families were displaced from their water-damaged apartments, according to Renton Deputy Fire Chief Chad Michael. The American Red Cross responded to assist them. Four units suffered water damage, with the unit where the fire started the most affected by water and some fire, according to Michael. The fire was started by flower-shaped decorative lights resting on the carpeted floor in the dining area, he said. Fire crews didn’t need to deploy their firefighting equipment but helped clean up the water damage. Two engines, one ladder truck and two aid units responded to the fire. Michael stressed that the sprinkler system kept the fire in check. “The sprinkler did its job and kept the impact to a pretty minimal amount,” he said. A damage amount wasn’t immediately available. He noted that recent fires at apartment complexes in Renton grew in size because they didn’t have sprinklers.
Apartment Building, Residential Fremont, NE – Overnight fire in high-rise apartment building contained by sprinkler system January 26, 2015 viking210 The automatic sprinkler system kept an early morning fire at Stanton Tower from becoming worse. Fremont Fire Department crews were called to the eighth floor of Stanton Tower at 3:56 a.m. Friday. “The sprinkler system is priceless,” Capt. Pat Tawney said. Tawney said it appears the resident had left a placed a piece of wood on top of the stove and then a microwave on top of that. So far, it’s undetermined how the fire started. Smoke was contained to the eighth floor of the high-rise apartment building. Typically, Tawney said, the department recommends residents at either Gifford Tower or Stanton Tower remain in their apartments and place a towel at the bottom of the door when there is a fire in another unit until firefighters ask them to evacuate. Sprinklers and the concrete construction of the buildings help keep fires from spreading.
