Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Hotel / Restaurant, Residential, Restaurant

Ocean City, MD – Two separate fires within a week extinguished by sprinkler system, one at a restaurant, the other an apartment

The Ocean City Fire Department responded to two separate fires in a downtown restaurant and apartment building over the course of the last week.

The first fire happened late last week in the early morning hours of June 5th, at Flavors of Italy Bistro, located at 513 Atlantic Avenue. Ocean City firefighters forced entry into the building, discovering that the fire sprinkler had activated in the kitchen area and extinguished the fire. Damage was contained to the appliance and adjacent kitchen hood.

The second fire happened just before 3 p.m. on June 8th, at the Trimper’s Apartments in the 700 block of the Ocean City Boardwalk. Firefighters arrived on scene and found smoke on the second floor of the apartment, but on entry they discovered that an activated fire sprinkler had extinguished the fire. Damage was contained to a small area above the stove.

As a result of the quick response of the fire sprinklers and the fire department, the restaurant and apartment building did not sustain serious damage. Both fires have been ruled accidental.

Apartment Building, Residential

Boise, ID – Apartment complex saved from kitchen fire thanks to fire sprinklers

A Caldwell apartment complex was saved Saturday from a kitchen fire by a sprinkler sytem.

Caldwell Fire crews found an empty apartment filled with smoke this weekend. Luckily the fire had started the sprinkler system, which confined the damage to the kitchen.

“Without the sprinkler intervention, there would undoubtedly be significant damage to the property and lives at risk,” according to a spokesperson.

Fire investigators said the system stopped the fire from engulfing the kitchen within two minutes and expanding quickly to the apartments next to and above it.

“If there were not sprinkler system in this building, this would be a different situation. We could be out a building and 6 families could be out of their homes.” – Complex Maintenance Management

Apartment Building, Residential

San Antonio, TX – Apartment fire caused by curling iron put out by fire sprinkler system

Firefighter say a curling iron caused a fire and evacuation of an apartment complex near Downtown.

The fire started around 2:30 a.m. at The Baldwin at St. Paul Square on Center Street near Chestnut Street.

Firefighters say the fire was caused by a curling iron left too close to rolls of toilet paper. The smoke alarms alerted everyone to the fire and the building was evacuated.

The fire was contained to the one apartment and was put out by the building’s sprinkler system.

Estimated damages are $10,000 due to the smoke, water and fire damage.

All residents were able to return to their apartments except the unit with the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Jasper, TX – Apartment Kitchen Fire extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

No one was injured in a fire that broke out late Thursday evening at the Prospect Point Apartments in the 200 block of Premier Drive, behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store.

The volunteers of the Jasper Fire Department were dispatched to that location shortly before midnight when it was reported that smoke was coming from an apartment.

Firemen arrived to find that the apartment’s automatic fire sprinkler had already extinguished the blaze, which apparently began on a stove in the kitchen.

Firemen said no one was home when the fire broke out.

Apartment Building, Residential

Halifax, NS, Canada – Sprinkler system helps put out cooking fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Over a dozen apartment tenants have been displaced after a small fire caused major inconvenience in St. John’s, N.L., on Saturday afternoon.

Officials say the trouble began when heat from a cooking fire triggered the sprinkler system in one section of the Meadowland Manor apartment complex on Bay Bulls Road.

The building’s owner, Killam Properties, says it could take two days to repair water damage and ensure the building is safe before evacuated tenants can return.

Meanwhile, Canadian Red Cross volunteers have arranged emergency lodging for tenants from 13 apartments. Additionally, Killam Properties says it may temporarily relocate some tenants to vacant apartments in unaffected sections of the building.

The fire was extinguished quickly – no injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bullhead City, AZ – Fire sprinkler activates in two-story apartment garage, saves property; No injuries reported

On May 25, 2020, at approximately 10:05 PM, several BCFD units were dispatched to the report of an alarm sounding in the 1600 block of Havasupai Dr. Engine 761s crew arrived first on the scene reporting a two-story apartment structure.

Several tenants had already self-evacuated advising firefighters that a garage on the lower level was on fire. Crews quickly located the two-car garage, which was filled with smoke. Fortunately, the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system which properly activated a single sprinkler head in the garage area, extinguishing the fire before it was able to spread. All property, including two vehicles that were parked inside of the garage, were undamaged from the fire.

Bullhead City Fire Department attributes the working automatic sprinkler systems to saving lives and property. Because of the location of this fire, it could have very easily extended into the living spaces of the apartments above, causing extensive damage to both lives and property.

No injuries were reported from this incident and the cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albuquerque, NM – Fire sprinklers contain apartment fire to single unit on eighth floor

Albuquerque Fire Rescue is investigating the cause of a fire at a northeast Albuquerque senior apartment complex early Tuesday morning. AFR responded to the Encino Terrace Apartments around 12:21 a.m. in response to a fire alarm however, the call was upgraded to an active fire while crews were en route to the scene.

As crews arrived, apartment residents were already evacuating the 11 story building and told firefighters the blaze was on the eighth floor. A total of 25 AFR units responded to the scene and crews initiated evacuation and fire suppression efforts.

AFR states the building’s fire sprinkler suppression system had put out the fire before crews arrived. A woman who had suffered injuries from the fire was found near the stairwell on the eighth floor by crews.

She was rescued and taken to the hospital. Her condition is unknown. There were no other injuries to residents or fire personnel. Eighteen residents have been displaced as a result of the fire.

The blaze was contained to a single apartment unit. The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Fire sprinklers keep fire from spreading at second floor apartment

The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) responded to a reported water flow alarm at the Magnolia Ranch apartments located at 3191 Medical Center Dr., at 1 p.m. on May 17. Units arrived to find smoke alarms going off and water running off the balcony of one of the second floor apartments. Fire sprinklers kept the flames from spreading and firefighters were able to shut the fire sprinkler system down.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

St. Paul, MN – Fire on 10th-floor of residential high-rise contained by fire sprinklers

Hundreds of people were forced from a St. Paul high-rise by a fire on Monday night, but sprinklers helped contain the damage.

The fire started just after 8 p.m. in the 16-story Wilder Park senior high-rise a few blocks from the junction of Interstate 35E and Ayd Mill Road.

Resident Diane Welch said she could hear the fire burning right above her 10th-floor unit as alarms sounded.

“And I knew things were crumbling, because I could hear it in the walls, like if you put sand through a sifter,” she said. 

Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso said that more than 60 firefighters responded to fight the fire and evacuate residents. Paramedics stood by and St. Paul police helped search the building and get residents into waiting buses.

Some residents who could not use the stairs were left in place, due to what the building’s governing board told residents was serious damage to the elevators.

Mokosso said at least some areas in the building had sprinklers and the system had activated. Fire investigators were at the scene on Monday night, trying to determine the cause of the fire.

A high-rise fire at a Minneapolis Public Housing building without sprinklers killed five people in November.

Apartment Building, Residential

Oklahoma City, OK – Apartment sprinkler system puts out fire suspected to be started by a Molotov cocktail

An investigation is underway after an apartment fire officials believe was started by a Molotov cocktail.

Fire crews were called to the West Chase apartments on NW 23rd street near Ann Arbor around 12:30 AM Friday.

A witness on scene said they saw one person running, after placing a Molotov cocktail outside of a building at the complex.

The fire was small and was put out by the apartment’s sprinkler system.

No one was inside the unit at the time.