Fire officials say at 8 p.m. on June 16, crews were dispatched to the Brook Mill Apartments for a structure fire. When firefighters arrived, they found a kitchen fire in a third floor apartment had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.
JCFR says the sprinkler put out the fire before it spread to the entire apartment.
Automatic fire sprinklers reduce the risk of dying in a fire by 80%, according to the National Fire Prevention Association. To learn more about sprinklers, click here.
Cynthia Hardy said a small kitchen fire occurred in a resident’s apartment at Arrington Manor, at the corner of College and Oak streets near Five Points, around 7 p.m. June 27, 2020.
“Damage from the fire at the independent senior living facility was minimal, but the building sustained a lot of water damage,” Hardy said. “For safety precautions, fire department officials suggested shutting the building down, turning off the power, and relocating the residents while they restore the building.”
No injuries were reported and all 57 residents were relocated to area hotels and are being assisted by the American Red Cross.
Columbia Housing CEO Ivory Mathews said, “when the sprinkler system in a residential building of that size is triggered, there are restoration and inspection steps performed by third party entities that must occur before re-occupancy is granted. Third party includes water damage restoration contractor, electrician, sprinkler system contractor, Dominion Energy and the Columbia Fire Dept. We anticipate the restoration and inspections work to be completed within 3 days.”
According to Housing Authority’s property directory, Arrington Manor was last renovated in August 1979 and opened for occupancy in 1981. The six-story apartment building features 14 efficiency apartments, 29 one-bedroom apartments and 13 two-bedroom apartments.
According to an AFD press release, the department was called around 9:15 a.m. to the scene of the fire at a multi-storey residential complex located in the 100 block of Mackenzie Way SW.
“Upon arrival, fire crews found a partial evacuation had taken place and those residents and their pets had safely gathered in the building’s parking lot,” the release stated.
Upon entering the apartment building, firefighters discovered a small fire was burning on an exterior deck of the apartment complex. The fire was being held in check by the residential fire sprinkler system.
Firefighters extinguished what remained of the fire and proceeded to check apartments above, below and adjacent to ensure they had not been damaged.
“Due to the timely activation of the exterior fire sprinkler system, damage was limited to the exterior deck of the apartment of origin,” the release stated.
The cause of the fire was determined to be the ignition of combustible materials that were stored close to a barbecue. Damages are estimated to be $2000.
“The AFD reminds the public to remain safe and attentive when using a barbecue,” the release stated. “Ensure that the barbecue is located in a well-ventilated area and a safe distance from combustible materials, windows and doors. Never leave a lit grill unattended. Barbecues should be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis.”
Puget Sound Fire extinguished two separate apartment fires on June 24 in Kent.
At about 12:34 p.m., firefighters responded to the 400 block of Novak Lane for a fire at the Alderbrook Apartments, according to an email from Puget Sound Fire spokesman Capt. Joe Root. Firefighters saw smoke from the window of a third-floor apartment.
A sprinkler system put out the kitchen fire and the occupants evacuated with no injuries.
According to Franklin Fire Investigator Will Farris, the family of four was not home when their second floor unit in the IMT Cool Springs apartments, 101 Gillespie Dr., caught fire.
Farris said the fire appeared to have been caused by a pan of oil that was left heating on the stovetop which ignited after the family left the residence.
Farris said one fire sprinkler head above the stove activated, and the flow of water triggered an automatic fire alarm. The Franklin Fire Department was dispatched by the fire alarm monitoring company just after 6:30 PM. Upon arrival firefighters forced entry to the apartment. They found the fire being controlled by a single sprinkler, completed extinguishment, and shut off the fire sprinkler system.
Farris said in addition to the apartment where the fire originated, two other apartments sustained water damage. He estimated total damage at $30,000. Farris stressed that the fire would have become deadly within minutes and the building would have sustained far more fire, smoke and water damage had it not been equipped with sprinklers.
A sprinkler system at an apartment building in the 400 block of Olympian Boulevard “likely saved lives,” a fire department Facebook post said. The sprinkler system prevented a fire in the common room from spreading further.
The fire started at around 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday. A couch in the common area caught fire from the careless use of smoking materials, but the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system, with the blaze causing approximately $7,000 in damages, the department said
Shortly after 8 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire alarm activation at the Oasis Palms apartment complex on Dixie Drive involving a structure fire that reportedly started in the kitchen area, St. George Fire Battalion Chief Robert Hooper said.
“We were paged out on the fire alarm at first,” Hooper said. “When 911 received a call from someone in the complex reporting they saw smoke coming from one of the third-floor apartments a few minutes later, we did an all-out page for all staff.”
The tenants were safely evacuated by the time the first engine arrived on scene. Crews encountered a fire alarm that continued ringing and smoke coming from the upstairs apartment, while a small crowd was gathered outside after exiting their apartments when the alarm sounded.
Firefighters entered to find that any active flames were already extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system installed throughout the complex. As the water continued to spray from the sprinkler, Hooper said, it ran into the unit located directly below on the second floor of the complex.
Shortly thereafter, the fire alarm and sprinkler system were deactivated and fire crews checked for any burning material and began the process of removing a large amount of water from both units.
Both apartments sustained “heavy, heavy water damage,” Hooper said, as well as smoke and fire damage. So much so, that both apartments were left uninhabitable until repairs could be completed, leaving the two families displaced.
The American Red Cross was contacted and responded to the scene to provide emergency shelter and provisions to the tenants displaced by the blaze.
Hooper said the fire appeared to have started near the stove.
“It looks like it started with a cooking fire, possibly grease,” he said. “But it was obviously hot enough to activate the sprinkler system.”
He went on to say that as a fire burns and gets hotter, the heat melts the wax plug placed over the head of the sprinkler, and once it completely melts away, the sprinkler automatically turns on, which is what happened Sunday.
No injuries were reported and an estimate of the damage was not yet available at the scene.
Police arrived on the scene to investigate the apartment and found the adult male was no longer on the scene. Police made contact with the subjects family and started a search in the area for the subject who left on foot. Three Deputies stood by at the apartment to secure the residence.
A short time later, police requested the fire department due to multiple fire/smoke alarms going off inside the apartment. Two minutes after the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department was alerted for a commercial fire alarm, firefighters from Bay District, NAS Patuxent River, and Valley Lee were alerted for the now reported structure fire.
Police investigated the apartment after the smoke alarms went off, and observed the oven was turned on and set to 500 degrees with the apartment filling with smoke. Deputies started evacuating the residence and nearby neighbors for safety, and waited for the arrival of firefighters.
13 firefighters from Bay District and NAS Patuxent River responded and arrived on the scene within minutes of dispatch to find a two story apartment building with nothing evident, firefighters found an extinguished fire on the oven that was contained by sprinkler systems, and an active fire in the oven. Firefighters removed the oven from the apartment and found personal and miscellaneous items on the over, and batteries in the oven.
No injuries were reported.
Officers located the subject a short time later in Lexington Park and placed the subject in custody where he was then transported to an area hospital with no known injuries.
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal was requested to the scene.
Crews were called to the 600 block of Franklin Street about 8:30 p.m. for a report of a fire alarm sounding from an apartment in a three-story building, the Mountain View Fire Department said in a news release. A smoldering box was found on top of the kitchen range.
The fire department said the blaze had been suppressed by the building’s sprinkler system.
Crews turned off the sprinkler system and made sure the fire was fully extinguished, the fire department said. No injuries were reported.
The fire department said a total of three residents from the apartment and one below it were displaced by the fire. Damage to then contents and structure was estimated at $50,000.
The precise cause of the fire is under investigation.
A Durango family was displaced Wednesday after a fire at their apartment complex, but fire officials say the blaze could have been much worse.
Karola Hanks, fire marshal for Durango Fire Protection District, said there was a report of a structure fire Wednesday afternoon at an apartment complex on Primrose Circle in Three Springs.
But by the time emergency responders arrived, a single fire sprinkler had put out the blaze. No one was injured, but the family in the unit is temporarily displaced and is being assisted by Red Cross, which is providing temporary housing.
Hanks stressed, however, how destructive the fire could have been, if not for a single sprinkler.
The apartment where the fire originated was the center unit in the complex, which has 12 units in total, plus there are adjacent apartment buildings that make up one large facility for affordable housing.
The family had been cooking in oil when a grease fire broke out, spreading onto the cabinets and then the ceiling. The sprinkler, which activates at temperatures around 155 degrees, went off and extinguished it.
“It was one of those situations where everything that was supposed to go right all fell into place,” Hanks said. “It was an awesome day.”
In the city of Durango, there’s no requirement for sprinkler systems in single-family homes, though more than 500 homes are equipped in the fire district’s jurisdiction, Hanks said.
Newly adopted codes, however, require apartment complexes with more than 16 units to have sprinkler systems. The complex in question had only 12 units, but because it’s used for affordable housing, it falls under different regulations.
“This was good news,” Hanks said. “It all worked like it was supposed to.”
