Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Haverhill, MA – Sprinkler system contains fire to bedroom after item is left too close to electric heat register; No injuries reported

The Friday night blaze that displaced 14 residents was caused by items left too close to a condo unit’s electric heat register, fire Chief William Laliberty said Tuesday.

The single-alarm fire at the brick Merrimack Place apartment building behind the A-1 Deli was reported by phone around 6:30 p.m. and firefighters had the blaze under control within a half-hour. All residents were evacuated and no injuries were reported.

According to Laliberty, the building’s sprinkler system activated and contained the fire to the bedroom. While smoke from the fire made its way to the adjacent Landmark Building, firefighters were able to quickly remove the smoke using fans, the chief said.

Apartment Building, Residential

West Dundee, IL -Apartment balcony fire kept in check by fire sprinkler system

An automatic sprinkler system kept a fire on the balcony of a West Dundee apartment from spreading into the building early Friday morning, officials said.

A water gong alarm at 3:08 a.m. woke residents of a second-floor unit on the 3100 block of Canterfield Parkway East, and they soon realized the furniture on their balcony was on fire, according to a news release from the village.

All residents of the building had evacuated by the time firefighters arrived. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which authorities believe was caused by careless use of smoking materials, within five minutes, the news release said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Beverly, MA – Fire sprinklers keep apartment kitchen fire from spreading; No injuries reported

Kim Douglas was at work on Wednesday night when she got a frantic phone call from her mother around midnight.

“She said, ‘The house is on fire,'” Douglas said.

Fortunately, Douglas’ 74-year-old mother and the rest of the residents of the seven-story Station 101 apartment building on Rantoul Street escaped unharmed in what Beverly Fire Department officials said could have turned into a much worse situation.

A fire that started in the kitchen of a fourth-floor apartment forced the evacuation of residents and caused about 30 of them to have to find another place to stay. A man in the apartment where the fire started was found unresponsive by firefighters in a smoke-filled bedroom, but he became alert when firefighters quickly got him outside and was seemingly uninjured, fire officials said.

Beverly fire Capt. Jeff Sirois said fire sprinklers proved effective in limiting the spread of the flames, although there was a “substantial” amount of smoke and water damage from the fourth floor to the first floor.

“In the grand scheme of things it could’ve been a lot worse if the building wasn’t sprinklered,” Sirois said.

Sirois said the cause of the fire is under investigation but might have been “cooking related.”

Firefighters were called to the building at 101 Rantoul St. at 11:45 p.m. and arrived to find the fourth-floor hallway filled with smoke from a kitchen fire in one of the apartments. Crews worked to fully extinguish the fire, which officials said had been held at bay by sprinklers.

Once the fire was out, crews ventilated the smoke and pulled ceiling tiles damaged by water on the first three floors. The Beverly Fire Department posted a fire watch overnight until the alarm system could be reactivated.

Station 101, formerly known as The Millery, has been an apartment building for decades. It has 99 one- and two-bedroom apartments and is valued at more than $10 million, according to city records. It is unclear how many people live there. Officials from Peabody Properties, which manages the building, did not return phone calls.

Douglas, 48, praised firefighters as well as the management company and the American Red Cross for their response to the fire. Douglas said the Red Cross gave residents gift cards for breakfast and hotel rooms. She and her mother spent Wednesday night in a hotel and were expected to stay one more night before returning to their apartment on Friday.

“Everybody was right on top of everything,” Douglas said.

Douglas said her apartment, which is two floors below the apartment where the fire started, had very little damage, other than wet furniture and rugs. She said there was up to two inches of water on the floor in the hallways below the fourth floor.

“For me, my mom got out,” she said. “Everything else is material stuff.” 

Apartment Building, Residential

Asheboro, NC – Apartment’s fire sprinklers help put out kitchen fire; No injuries reported

No one was injured in an Asheboro apartment fire Thursday evening.

According to Chief Danny Floyd with the Asheboro Fire Department, firefighters responded to the West Pointe Apartment Homes, located at 635 Oak Leaf Road, at approximately 5:40 p.m.

The fire, which was caused by items burned on a stove top, was out by the time firefighters arrived on scene.

There was minor fire damage to the kitchen, Floyd said, but the majority of the damage was caused by water from the apartment’s fire sprinklers.

The water damage also impacted two other apartment units.

Firefighters remained on scene for two hours for ventilation, salvage and investigation.

Sarah Israel, who lives in an apartment unit beside the one that caught fire, said she came outside of her apartment and noticed that her neighbor’s door was drenched with water.

“I live right beside her and I heard an alarm,” Israel said, “but that alarm sounded so distant that it didn’t alarm me to come outside and say ‘what is that?’ ”

It wasn’t until Israel wandered outside that she noticed the damp door and was able to tell that the alarm she was hearing was coming from the unit right beside her own.

“I think if I wouldn’t have come outside, it would have been a lot worse because I was the first one to hear.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Allouez, WI – Apartment closet fire put out by fire sprinklers

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department says 38 residents of an assisted-living facility were evacuated during a fire Friday evening.

The sheriff’s office tells us there was a fire in a resident’s room at Bishop’s Court on E. St. Joseph St. in Allouez. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke in the hallways. The fire was in a closet in one of the apartments.

Five people were medically evaluated on the scene. Three were taken to a hospital for smoke inhlation: one staff member and two residents — including the resident of the apartment where the fire started. A battalion chief told us they should all be OK.

The battalion chief credited the sprinkler system in the facility for doing “a great job.”

The fire department says 60 residents are displaced temporarily while repairs are made to the fire suppression system. The fire department says some are being housed in another building at Bishop’s Court but some will have to be moved to other assisted-living facilities.

A report from the GBMFD says the cause of the fire was accidental but it doesn’t provide details. The estimated cost of damage to the property is $20,000.

Apartment Building, Residential

Escanaba, MI – Laundry room fire at apartment building contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Escanaba Public Safety Department says deputies responded to the report of a fire in the laundry room of Northwood’s Place at 2:39 a.m. Thursday morning.

Upon arrival, officers found the laundry room filled with smoke and the automated sprinkler system had been activated.

The sprinkler system was able to contain the fire to a dryer, which officers were then able to extinguish. The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage as a result of the incident.

Officers were on stand-by to assist with the evacuation of residents, which was not needed due to the sprinkler system containing the flames. No injuries were reported from the incident.

The Public Safety Department was assisted at the scene by the Delta County Sheriff’s Department and Rampart EMS.

Apartment Building, Residential

Raleigh, NC – Third floor apartment fire minimized by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A downtown Raleigh apartment building was evacuated after a fire started in a third floor unit on Thursday night.

Crews responded to the Devon 425 apartments on Boylan Ave. and Tucker Street. According to officials, the apartment’s sprinkler systems worked well at minimizing damage.

No injuries were reported, and officials said only two units were damaged–primarily by the water, not the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Reno, NV – Fire sprinklers keep car fire from spreading to apartment units

A car fully engulfed in flames in apartment complex was extinguished Wednesday night, according to the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District.

Fire crews were called to a parking structure in an apartment complex at 333 Ski Way on February 12. The car was below living units.

The building fire sprinklers helped keep the fire from extending to the units above, fire officials said.

Residents in the apartment complex were evacuated from the building but have now return back.

Crews remained on scene to completely overhaul the fire.

The fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Janesville, WI – Sprinkler system extinguished closet fire at apartment

A major fire at a Janesville apartment building is avoided thanks to a working sprinkler system.

The Janesville Fire Department says firefighters were dispatched to a multi-family residence on the 200 block of North Franklin Street just before 9:30 Wednesday night.

Captain John McManus says a basket of clothing started on fire in a closet when the sprinklers kicked in and doused the flames.

McManus said the fire could have caused a lot of destruction had the sprinklers not worked. He estimated the building had about $1,000 in water damage from the sprinkler system.

About 10 to 12 people were displaced. The Red Cross helped the residents find overnight shelter.

The fire remains under investigation.