Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Somerville, MA – Sprinkler systems activated for two separate fires

Sprinkler systems in two Somerville buildings prevented serious fires this past week during the early morning hours while occupants were asleep, accoding to Somerville Fire Department’s Chief Engineer Charles Breen Jr.

On Friday, Oct. 28t at 4:25 a.m. the Somerville Fire Department was notified of a fire alarm activation via a building alarm system which was directly connected to the city fire alarm box system.

Firefighters were dispatched to 32 Kent Street, a 40 unit, four story wood frame apartment building. Firefighters encountered smoke on the fourth floor and forced entry into a 4th floor apartment. They found a man on the floor inside and removed him to safety. He was taken to the hospital.

Sprinklers confined the fire to one room in the apartment and firefighters completed extinguishment. Due to water damage, the building was evacuated and all occupants were temporarily displaced. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to smoking.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, the department was notified of a fire alarm activation from an alarm monitoring company at 4:09 a.m.

Firefighters were dispatched to an address on Lake Street and arrived to find a sprinkler head operating in a ground level garage in a row of three story town houses.

One sprinkler head confined the fire to a very limited area in the garage and, after verifying that the fire was out, crews were able to clear the scene in 15 minutes.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended candle that had ignited nearby combustible items.

Apartment Building, Residential

Racine, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes unattended cooking fire at apartment building; No injuries reported

Unattended cooking led to a fire that set off a sprinkler system and caused more than $100,000 in damage in an apartment building, the Racine Fire Department said Saturday.

“When you are actively cooking, always make sure to stay in attendance of an ignited burner. If you cannot, turn the burner off completely before walking away,” the RFD said, reminding the public that questions regarding fire safety could be made to the Racine Fire Department Fire Prevention by calling 262-635-7915.

The fire was reported during the 11 o’clock hour Saturday on the 2200 block of Layard Avenue, which is near the city’s northwestern border north of Rapids Drive and west of Mt. Pleasant Street.

The fire alarm was going off in a second-floor apartment and, when firefighters first arrived, they found the sprinkler system had already extinguished the kitchen fire.

No injuries were reported. “Shelter is being provided for the displaced occupant,” the RFD said in a release.

The RFD estimated that the fire caused damages of $110,000 to the building’s structure and another $8,000 to the apartment’s contents.

Responding to the incident were six fire apparatuses, a battalion chief, one safety officer, a fire investigator and the Racine Police Department.

Apartment Building, Residential

Norwood, MA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment building; No injuries reported

Chief David Hayes reports that the Norwood Fire Department responded to an apartment building this morning for a fire where a working sprinkler system had a significant impact on limiting damage.

On Wednesday morning at approximately 8:15 a.m., Norwood Fire received multiple calls for an alarm at an apartment building at 165 Lenox St., as well as calls reporting water and smoke on the fourth floor of the building.

Upon arrival, firefighters found a fire in the kitchen area of a unit on the fourth floor. The fire had been largely contained to the area around the stove due to the building’s sprinkler system. Firefighters ensured the fire was extinguished and performed overhaul and cleared smoke from the affected apartment.

There were no residents in the unit at the time of the fire, and there were no reported injuries. No other units in the apartment building sustained fire damage, however, the sprinkler system’s activation caused some additional damage in a portion of the building near the unit. 

Firefighters cleared the scene just before 9:15 a.m.

“This fire is a prime example of why it is important to have working sprinkler systems. Sprinklers can help to prevent injuries and severe property damage in a fire, and the building where this fire occurred likely would have sustained significantly more damage if not for the sprinkler system,” Chief Hayes said. “We would also like to remind everyone of the importance of evacuating a building immediately when a fire alarm sounds. In larger buildings, it can be difficult to know from one part of the building what’s happening in another part, so the safest decision is always just to leave when you hear an alarm.”

The initial investigation indicates that the cause of the fire was accidental.

Apartment Building, Residential

La Mesa, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

Thirty residents of a La Mesa apartment complex were displaced after a fire sparked in their building Monday evening, a fire official said.

Crews were dispatched just before 7:40 p.m. to the Spring Hill Apartments, on Spring Street northeast of state Route 125, Heartland Fire & Rescue spokesperson Andy McKellar said.

There was a fire in a top floor apartment. Crews had it out by shortly after 8 p.m., he said.

The sprinkler system did activate, “helping to keep the fire in check,” McKellar said.

McKellar said firefighters contained the fire to one unit, but an additional 15 apartments were affected by water from the sprinkler system.

He said the Red Cross was called in to assist residents who needed help.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system stops kitchen fire at apartment complex

A sprinkler system stopped a kitchen fire in its tracks at a northeast Bend apartment Saturday evening, but the resulting water and smoke damage displaced six residents of five nearby apartments until cleanup is completed, officials said.

Bend Fire & Rescue responded around 5:35 p.m. to a fire in a third-floor unit at the Legacy Landing Apartments on NE Tucson Way, Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki said.

Most of the residents already had evacuated the building before fire crews arrived, and the fire had been controlled by the building’s sprinkler system, Derlacki said.

Crews worked to stop the water and clear smoke from the building, which has 60 apartments on the upper three floors and a Mosaic Medical clinic on the ground floor. Derlacki said water damage also was found in the clinic, “but shouldn’t keep the business from opening for regular business on Monday.” Damages are estimated at $50,000.

An American Red Cross disaster team was called in to help the six affected occupants find hotel rooms for the night, while the rest were able to safely return to their apartments, after the sprinkler and alarm systems were restored, Derlacki said.  A restoration company was on scene to begin the cleanup process.

Derlacki said the fire sprinkler system stopped the fire quickly and helped keep the damage to a minimum. With the fire stopped before it could spread out of the kitchen, the amount of smoke in the building was kept to a minimum and allowed the occupants to evacuated safely. 

“Bend Fire Department reminds everyone to keep a watchful eye on anything you’re cooking,” the fire official said in a news release. “Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires in the country.

Apartment Building, Residential

Huntsville, AL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Multiple units responded to a structure fire in Huntsville Saturday morning.

Huntsville Fire and Rescue said multiple units responded to 2130 Old Fairway Road NW just before 7:30 a.m. This is located at the Cottages at Watercress, just off Jeff Road north of US-72.

HFR told News 19 that a small fire in one of the third-floor apartments triggered the sprinkler system. The sprinklers did their job, extinguishing the fire. Crews entered the apartment, checking to see if the fire had spread elsewhere, but no further fire was found.

The apartment resident is likely to be displaced temporarily, but nobody was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

St. George, UT – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at apartment complex

A fire at an apartment complex that firefighters say could have displaced dozens of Cedar City residents was extinguished by an activated sprinkler system.

At approximately 12:56 p.m. on Aug. 20, the Cedar City Fire Department received a call involving a kitchen fire at an apartment complex located at 163 N. 300 W. in Cedar City, according to a press release issued by the city.

Upon arrival, no flames or smoke were visible from the exterior; however, water was spraying out of the unit due to an activated sprinkler system.

Cedar City Fire Department responded with on battalion chief, one engine and one squad unit with a total of seven firefighters. When investigating, firefighters found a cooking fire had started on the stove but was extinguished by an activated sprinkler system that suppressed the flames. Firefighters credit the sprinkler system for saving dozens of lives and preserving multiple apartment units, the release states.

“This type of fire could have easily spread to nearby units, displacing tenants and damaging not only this apartment unit but neighboring ones as well,” firefighter Chad Barnes said in the news release. “We are thankful this building had a working sprinkler system that meets code requirements because it ultimately saved lives and property.”

Firefighters returned to the property a few days later and the water salvage was nearly complete with tenants moving back in and resuming normal operations.

The fire department encourages all business and property owners to explore installing sprinkler systems, especially if the building is older and initially was not required to do so according to older code. Cost is usually the main factor that causes hesitation in property owners, but the long-term benefit outweighs the up-front cost should a property ever experience a fire.

“Recovering from an unexpected fire or disaster is always the hardest part of resuming normal operations,” Fire Chief Mike Phillips said. “As seen with this apartment fire, do what you can now to prepare for an unfortunate event and your business or property will be able to recover quicker.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Tulsa, OK – Sprinkler system contains fire at apartment complex until fire crews arrive; No injuries reported

Fire crews were called to the scene of a fire that broke out at the Woodward Park Apartments on Wednesday morning.

Crews were able to put the fire out just before noon and firefighters say this may an arson situation. Investigators with the Tulsa Fire Department say the exact cause of the fire is still undetermined but investigators believe it is related to someone trying to steal gas. Firefighters say a drill and a gas can were found in the garage where the fire broke out.

According to fire crews, two cars caught fire in a garage beneath an apartment unit.

Officials say the garage sprinkler system helped manage the fire until crews arrived on the scene. There was no damage to apartments and no injuries were reported. Investigators say they do not have any suspects at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire in apartment complex; No injuries reported

The building’s sprinkler system did its job and the fire department handled the rest after a fire sparked in an apartment in central Kelowna this morning.

The Kelowna Fire Department was called to the scene in the 1700 block of Ethel Street around 10:30 am and found the fire in a unit on the first floor of the four-storey building.

According to Platoon Captain Scott Clarke, the sprinkler system had activated and suppressed the fire to the stove top of the unit.

“Firefighters entered the unit and completed extinguishment,” he said.

The fire has been deemed accidental in nature.

While there was no one home in the unit affected by the minor blaze, the rest of the building was evacuated and Clarke said no injuries were reported.

There was some fire and water damage to the single unit and some general water damage to the first floor.