Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Duluth, MN – Sprinkler system activated for second-floor apartment fire; No injuries reported

All tenants at the Burke Apartments in Duluth are temporarily displaced due to water damage from a sprinkler system responding to the fire. The apartment building provides affordable housing to adults with disabilities.

A fire was reported around 9:30 a.m. Monday in a second-floor unit at Burke Apartments, 720 Maple Grove Road, Duluth. It triggered a sprinkler system to activate, causing water damage to nearly all 21 units in the building. A news release from the Duluth Fire Department said the sprinkler system kept the flames in check and no one was injured.

Of the 21 units in the two-story apartment building, 16 were occupied at the time of the fire. Tenants evacuated the building prior to the firefighters’ arrival. According to the Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office, the cause of the fire was accidental.

All tenants are temporarily displaced due to the water damage. Fire and water damage is estimated at $55,000, according to the Duluth Police Department. Property manager Accessible Space is providing tenants with assistance until they can return to the building. The Burke Apartments provide affordable housing for adults with disabilities.

Fire crews from Duluth Heights, Spirit Valley and Duluth Fire Headquarters used vacuums and other equipment to attempt to remove water from the affected units. A local damage mitigation company will assist in the cleanup.

Apartment Building, Residential

Jackson, WY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

At 10:40 a.m. this morning, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS responded to a structure fire at the Blair Place Apartment Complex.

Upon arrival, first responders observed flames coming from the third floor of apartment building 245. 

After arriving on the scene, firefighters were able to successfully control the fire which was contained to the third floor and roof, causing fire damage to two apartments according to Battalion Chief Mike Moyer. Other units on the first and second floors experienced water damage. 

The fire alarm and sprinkler systems were activated and responsible for effectively alerting residents of the  14-unit building and for helping to control the fire.  

“This is a good reminder to make sure your fire alarms and sprinkler systems are in working condition because they do make a difference,” Moyer said.  

While all residents were able to evacuate without injury and several pets were able to be evacuated. Residents will not be able to return to their apartments at least through tonight as the fire department will conduct its investigation and property managers will assess the damage to fire alarm and suppression systems.

Apartment Building, Residential

College Station, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; NO injuries reported

Residents in three units of a College Station apartment complex were relocated following a fire Monday afternoon.

College Station fire investigators found an electric skateboard battery that blew up while it was being charged.

CSFD responding to a smoke detector alert at The Zone complex found sprinklers had turned on and kept the fire from going full blown.

Firefighters found on the third floor heavy smoke and arcing electrical equipment that was shut down.

No one was injured, and the damage came from water from the sprinkler system.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gainesville, FL – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire; No injuries reported

Gainesville and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to an apartment fire on Sunday.

A resident reported smoke inside of their apartment on the third floor around 5 p.m.

When rescuers arrived, heavy smoke was visible inside, but the sprinkler system inside contained the fire to the closet.

Crews were quickly able to extinguish the small fire.

No people were injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albany, OR – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

An apartment house fire occurred at 707 SW 10th St. around 7:50 a.m. Friday, Oct. 22, displacing 10 residents.

Twenty firefighters, two chief officers and a fire investigator responded to the incident, which was caused by unattended cooking in one of the units.

“Fortunately the fire was quickly suppressed by a sprinkler located in the kitchen,” said Carmen Westfall, a fire prevention officer at Corvallis Fire Department. “The sprinkler did exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

While the fire damage was contained to the kitchen area, 10 people are now displaced because of the water damage caused by the downward trickle of the sprinkler system. There were no reported injuries.

“Unattended cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires,” Westfall said. “When you’re finished cooking, make sure you turn off your burners.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Durham, NC – Sprinkler system activated for fire in apartment building

A senior citizen was rescued from an apartment fire Tuesday night.

Firefighters responded to the senior apartment building, The Veranda at Whitted School, located at 200 East Umstead St., around 10:15 p.m.

A neighbor met firefighters to tell them an apartment was on fire.

The crew entered a smoke-filled apartment and rescued one resident inside a bedroom. The resident was in good condition but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Firefighters said an unattended hot stove may have caused the fire. A sprinkler system helped extinguished the fire, but there was water damage in the apartment and in a daycare located below.

If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop, officials warned, saying cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries.

Apartment Building, Residential

Nashville, TN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes after a two-alarm fire at an apartment complex in the Belmont area Monday night.

The fire began around 9:30 p.m. at the Belcourt Park Apartments on Belcourt Avenue.

No injuries were reported but the building has heavy water damage and smoke damage to the first and second floors while the remaining floors were not impacted, according to the Nashville Fire Department.

Fire officials reported crews arrived to find light smoke coming from the first floor of the five-story building and determined the fire was between the first and second floors, originating in the building’s community space.

Firefighters guided the residents outside though many were self-evacuating due to the fire alarm going off.

The Nashville Electric Service cut power to the building and all 76 units were evacuated for the night.

The American Red Cross was contacted to help the displaced residents. Those with pets were escorted back into the building to retrieve them before they were relocated.

“There were no real hazards other than locating the source of the fire when they arrived on scene. Between the first and second floor literally means that the fire was located in the ceiling of the floor so they had to search around for it a bit to locate the source of the fire. But as soon as they did that they were able to quickly extinguish it, but the sprinkler system did activate before we arrived on the scene. So that is going to attribute to a lot of the water damage that is going to be seen in this building,” explained Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Red Bank, NJ – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

The sprinkler system at the River Street Commons senior housing complex in Red Bank prevented possible tragedy Thursday afternoon.

The fire-suppression system doused a fire in the living room of a first-floor apartment, with follow-up effort by volunteer firefighters who answered the 12:15 p.m. alarm, said Chief Bobby Holiday.

No injuries occurred, he said.

As of 12:40 p.m., the cause of the fire was under investigation, and it remained to be determined if the apartment would be immediately habitable, Holiday said.

The three-story River Street Commons, bounded by Shrewsbury and Bridge avenues at Catherine Street, occupies the former River Street School building.

Apartment Building, Residential

Santa Maria, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment building

The Santa Maria Fire Department is investigating the cause of a fire at an apartment building Thursday morning.

It was first reported just after 5 a.m. in the apartment complex along the 200 block of North Depot Street.

The fire started inside one of the affordable housing units on the second floor, officials said.

Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire inside the apartment.

There was significant water damage from the building’s fire sprinkler system, the fire department said.

Some of the residents were displaced by the fire. The local Red Cross is working to find them temporary housing.

Apartment Building, Residential

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system activated for tent fire that was spread to nearby apartment building; No injuries reported

A tent caught fire and spread to a four-story apartment building in the 2100 block of SE Powell Boulevard early Sunday morning.

According to Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R), the fire was contained before too much damage was sustained. The building had vinyl siding, which burns quickly. The fire activated a sprinkler inside the building but there were no injuries and no one is displaced.

Officials said the fire could have been much worse. However, there was some water damage inside. The fire began due to carelessly discarded smoking material.

Houseless/tent fires increased from one in February 2021 to 64 in April 2021. The latest data, recorded in May 2021 from PF&R shows 45 fires for the month of May. In May, it accounted for the most number of calls to PF&R, followed by trash fires with 42 calls in May 2021.

“This building did have vinyl siding and our crews did do a great stop on this fire,” said Rob Garrison, public information officer with PF&R said in an email. “A few more minutes and the fire would have spread to the inside of the building.”