Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant, Residential

Kamloops, BC, Canada – Fire sprinklers keep fire under control at hotel; No injuries reported

A fire last night at the Sandman Inn and Suites left 65 people without a place to sleep.

Around 8:20 p.m., Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) was called to the hotel (which also has apartments), says Platoon Capt. Troy Grant.

“Arriving a couple of blocks away, we could see flames on the roof of the building,” he tells KamloopsMatters. “The fire was in the attic and going through the roof in a couple of spots.”

KFR was able to quickly knock the fire down, using hoses from the outside and a ladder truck. They did have to remove a six-foot-by-12-foot section of the roof to get to it.

No injuries were reported, but the building remained empty overnight.

“65 residents were displaced,” Grant says. “Those have been taken care of by emergency support services.”

He adds that some will likely be able to return to their homes tonight, but others won’t be so lucky. The fourth floor, where the fire took place, has apartments, he adds. Along with some smoke damage and the removed section of the roof, he says there’s extensive water damage in some units, and likely more below.

“The cause of fire was in the attic itself; it appears electrical in nature,” Grant says. “The fire was kept small by the sprinkler system — the sprinklers were on for some time.”

Because of that, the roof collapsed in one unit and is sagging in others.

While the fire was knocked down relatively quickly, Grant says KFR stayed on the scene for a couple of hours to help guests and residents move out of the building.

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Single sprinkler head saves apartment after cooking fire

The McKinney Fire Department responded to a fire alarm Monday at Greenhaven Apartments at 8690 Virginia Parkway where units determined that the fire was extinguished by one sprinkler head.

The resident told firefighters she had left food on the stove and it caught fire. Everyone was able to get out safely. Smoke and water damage was contained to one apartment unit. The action of this one sprinkler head saved lives and an extensive financial loss of property.

According to the NFPA, there are hundreds of fires reported every day in the U.S., but cooking fires are by far the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries.

“With the COVID-19 concerns people are staying home and cooking more,” MFP spokesperson Merit Ossian said. “The best way to protect your home and family is to stay alert and keep an eye on what you are cooking. Take it off the heat if you have to step away.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Honolulu, HI – Single sprinkler head in apartment bedroom closet extinguished fire; No injuries reported

A fire at an apartment building along Farrington Highway remains under investigation, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

Officials say that on March 9, around 6:02 a.m. HFD responded to a building fire at 86-086 Farrington Highway with 4 units staffed with 11 personnel. The first unit arrived at 6:08 a.m. to find a water flow alarm activation in a seven-story residential apartment building.

Upon further investigation, crews found an extinguished closet fire in a two-bedroom apartment on the third floor.

A single sprinkler head, located in one of the bedroom closets was activated as designed, and extinguished the fire.

No fire suppression efforts were performed by HFD crews at this incident.

Six occupants (two adults, four children) were home at the time. All occupants exited the unit safely with no reported injuries.

Fire damages are estimated to be $550 to the structure and $250 to its contents.

Apartment Building, Residential

Evanston, IL – Fire sprinkler keeps fire from spreading in 11th-floor apartment; No injuries reported

Multiple people were displaced after a fire Saturday in a high-rise apartment building in north suburban Evanston.

Crews were called at 7:15 p.m. for reports of the blaze in the 1600 block of Chicago Avenue, according to a statement from the Evanston Fire Department.

The fire broke out in an 11th-floor unit, but a sprinkler system kept it from spreading, officials said. Firefighters put out the remaining flames when they arrived.

The unit where the fire started sustained “significant smoke and water damage,” according to the fire department. Multiple other apartments were also damaged by water and several residents were displaced.

No injuries were reported, fire officials said. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but no foul play is suspected.

Apartment Building, Residential

Seymour, CT – Apartment kitchen fire controlled thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

There were no injuries reported after a fire in an apartment building on Maple Street Sunday.

Firefighters received a report of a kitchen fire at about 1:15 p.m. in a first-floor unit at 29 Maple St., the former LoPresti School building, which was sold in 2015 and converted into 42 apartments.

A woman setting up an apartment for her mother to move into left cardboard material next to a stove top, which ignited, said Fire Marshal Timm Willis. The fire triggered the sprinkler system. The fire was an accident, Willis said.

“There were combustible items near the stove, and it appears the stove was accidentally turned on,” Willis said. “The occupant found that, immediately called 911, and shut the door behind them, which is important.”

Closing the door helped contain the fire.

“When we first made entry into the first floor we had a heavy smoke condition. Obviously we also had a heavy smoke condition on the second and third floor very quickly,” said Seymour Fire Department Chief Michael Lombardi.

Firefighters entered the apartment where the reported fire was, found a fire in the kitchen and stretched a hose into the building to put water on the flames.

“Once it got hot enough, it activated the sprinkler system, which helped with fire suppression,” the chief said.

Fire damage was limited to the apartment where the fire started. Two other apartments had water damage from the sprinkler system. The smell of smoke was still very much lingering in the building as firefighters packed up their gear about an hour after arriving on scene.

The residents in the 40 apartments evacuated the building as the fire alarm sounded. One woman was relieved to hear her cat was OK. The animal hid under a bed in all the commotion.

Seymour police also relayed info to firefighters about two people with medical needs in the apartment building. Those two tenants were immediately identified and helped from the building when firefighters arrived.

The two residents were evaluated by Seymour Ambulance EMS.

Members of the Oxford Fire Department were also called to the scene to assist. There were about 35 Seymour firefighters and about 10 Oxford firefighters on scene.

The Red Cross was also contacted in case people needed temporary housing. 

A firefighter was left on scene at about 3 p.m. to serve as “fire watch:” that means the firefighter walked the halls and kept an eye on the property as the sprinkler system was reset.
Willis said the building’s fire alarm and fire-suppression system worked properly.

“The fire department did a tremendous job. They were very aggressive, they went right in, they got those two occupants (with medical needs) out very quickly. It was a good job by all,” Lombardi said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bismarck, ND – Sprinkler system suppress third-floor fire at housing development for the homeless; No injuries reported

A small fire in a third-floor apartment prompted the evacuation of Edwinton Place, a housing development for the homeless in south Bismarck.

Firefighters responded to the 40-unit, four-story building shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. The building’s fire sprinkler system had suppressed the fire, and firefighters put it out with a handheld extinguisher.

Residents were allowed to return. No injuries were reported. There was moderate fire and smoke damage to the interior of the apartment with the fire, authorities said.

Firefighters completed an investigation into the cause of the fire and forwarded the case to police. The fire department didn’t release the cause.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Single sprinkler head extinguishes unattended apartment cooking fire; No injuries reported

A cooking fire at an apartment building displaced two families with children Sunday night.

The Rochester Fire Department was called to a fire alarm around 8:20 p.m. Sunday at 920 40th St. NW, according to a news release from the department. Firefighters arrived to find smoke in the building. The sprinkler systems were on.

“When crews arrived at the apartment unit with the fire, they discovered an unattended cooking fire that had been extinguished by an activated sprinkler head,” the statement said.

The fire had been completely extinguished. Crews turned off the sprinkler system to limit the amount of water damage to the building and then ventilated the building to remove smoke and other toxic gases.

No one was injured, but the fire damaged the apartment’s stove, microwave and cabinets, while smoke and water damaged other parts of the building.

“Cooking is by far the leading cause of structure fires in Minnesota; almost half of all structure fires are due to cooking, which is over 4 times more than the next cause according to a 2017 report by the MN State Fire Marshall,” the statement said. “The top three factors in cooking fires is unattended cooking, combustibles too close to cooking equipment, and cooking equipment accidentally turned on.”

Staff from the American Red Cross said Sunday night that the organization was helping the two families secure a place to stay after the incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Apartment grease fire controlled by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A McKinney resident cooked up more than she was hungry for after grease splashed from a frying pan, sparking a fire in her kitchen.

But two fire sprinkler heads activated and quickly extinguished the flames, eliminating a potential “disaster,” according to the McKinney Fire Department.

“Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries,” said Merit Ossian, McKinney Fire Dept. Public Information Officer. “The biggest problem is unattended cooking. If you have to step away from the stove, turn off the heat first.”

The structure fire happened at the Treymore of McKinney apartments at 901 S. Wilson Creek.

No one was injured and damage was limited to the area around the stove.

  • Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires.
  • Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the heat. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
  • For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
Apartment Building, Residential

Palatine, IL – Fire sprinklers put out apartment bathroom fire; No injuries reported

No injuries resulted from a small fire early Saturday in an apartment building on the 1100 block of North Sterling Avenue in Palatine, officials said. Firefighters called to the building at 12:40 a.m. found moderate smoke and two sprinkler heads activated in a bathroom, which extinguished the flames. The fire damage was limited to the bathroom in the unit, with moderate water damage to the apartment below.

Officials said the fire remained under investigation Monday. A damage estimate was not yet available.

Apartment Building, Residential

Virginia Beach, VA – Fire contained to apartment balcony thanks to sprinkler system

Virginia Beach Firefighters responded to a commercial fire in the 4700 block of Alicia Drive Sunday morning.

Dispatchers received the call around 11:30 a.m.

Units arrived on the scene to smoke on the 4th floor. The fire was contained to the balcony by the sprinkler system.

Officials say the cause of the fire remains under investigation.