Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Mount Prospect, IL – Fire sprinkler keeps fire at 70-unit apartment building in check

Mount Prospect Fire Department Chief Brian Lambel said an alarm inside the building at 701 Huntington Commons Road alerted the fire department to the situation just after 2:30 p.m.

A call then came into the department, reporting smoke in the building.

When firefighters arrived on the scene and discovered the fire was on the third floor, the call was upgraded to a code-4, or confirmed structure fire.

Fire departments from Elk Grove, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines and Elk Grove Township were then dispatched to support the Mount Prospect team.

Firefighters discovered the smoke was originating in a laundry room of the four-story, approximately 70-unit building. A single overhead sprinkler had kept the fire under control and firefighters were able to use an extinguisher to put out the remaining flames.

“The building was ventilated due to smoke on the third and fourth floors,” Lambel said, “Nobody was displaced.”

Arlington Heights Emergency Medical Service Division Chief Rick Manthy said an ambulance took a resident to a local hospital at 3:30 p.m. Citing HIPPA privacy restrictions Manthy was unable to provide further details.

According to Lambel, total apparatus on the scene included five engines, two trucks, five ambulances, five fire chiefs and seven other vehicles.

Lambel explained personnel from three of the ambulances were engaged in ventilation activities, one was on standby for firefighters and one was for evaluation of the patient.

Cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Santa Rosa, CA – Garbage fire minimized by fire sprinkler activation; No injuries reported

Working sprinklers inside a garbage enclosure at a Santa Rosa apartment complex may have helped prevent a much more serious blaze than the one Sunday morning that did about $5,000 in damage, Santa Rosa firefighters said. 

Fifteen firefighters and four trucks responded at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday to the apartment complex in the 1100 block of Fourth Street. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from an enclosed garbage room on the first floor of a three-story apartment building, firefighters said. 

The flames were contained to two dumpsters inside the garbage enclosure, where most of the damage was. Several apartments suffered minor smoke damage. 

Occupants of the building were evacuated for a short time while the fire was brought under control and the smoke removed from the apartments. No firefighters or apartment occupants were injured. 

It took firefighters about 15 minutes to put out the fire. 

A working fire sprinkler in the trash chute likely prevented flames to spread to the floor above the garbage room, firefighters said. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Colorado Springs, CO – Fire sprinkler activation puts out two kitchen fires hours apart

Two small kitchen fires within hours serve as a warning to be careful when using a stove.

“Fortunately, all it was, was burning food,” said Colorado Springs Police Lt. John Koch of the first fire, which started in an apartment on Fountain Boulevard Friday night. “There’s no structure damage, no structure fire, nobody was injured.”

Police and firefighters got the call just after 10 that an apartment was on fire and were at the complex in the 3300 block within minutes.

“When we got here, fire officials had already gone into the apartment and determined that somebody had burned some food on the stove, and as of a result of that burned food we get a reported structure fire,” Koch said.

Due to the quick response, firefighters kept the fire contained to the stovetop.

Just over 12 hours later, a second stovetop fire was reported in an apartment complex, this time at the Casa de Cerro Apartments on Yuma Street. Firefighters say the fire triggered the unit’s sprinkler system, which doused the fire.

Two apartments were still displaced due to water damage.

Experts say either fire could have easily been worse; according to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2012-2016, kitchen fires accounted for 48 percent of all house fires nationwide.

“Pay attention when you’re using your stove. When you’re cooking dinner. All of us have left our stove on at some point, but it’s important that you pay attention,” Koch said.

“We don’t want anyone being injured in a structure fire. Especially in apartment buildings and in high-density places like that. We just ask people: pay attention, remember what you’re doing. Don’t get distracted by your phone or watching TV or Netflix or whatever, and we can avoid stuff like this.”


Apartment Building, Residential

Des Plaines, IL – Sprinkler system keeps apartment fire in check until firefighters arrive

Firefighters from four area departments responded to a six-floor apartment building in Des Plaines to extinguish an apartment fire today (Tuesday).

Deputy Des Plaines Fire Chief Pete Dyer said when firefighters responded to the top floor unit in a building on Brown Street near Laurel Avenue at approximately 11:12 a.m., they found the apartment ablaze with flames “kept in check” by an activated sprinkler system.

Dyer said firefighters hooked a hose into the building’s standpipe system and had the fire under control by 11:40 a.m. He said all residents had evacuated the building by the time firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters from Des Plaines, Niles, the North Maine Fire Protection District and Rosemont responded with fire trucks and ambulances.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sechelt, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system saves building after discarded cigarette starts fire

Cleanup continues at the Pier 17 building in Davis Bay after a fire last week.

Sechelt Fire Chief Trevor Pike said the May 9 fire started on the deck of the building’s only residential suite when a cigarette butt that had been thrown into a planter smouldered and set mulch and other dry material ablaze around 4 a.m. Pike said the fire ran up an exterior post and beam and was starting to spread through the attic of the building when the sprinkler system kicked in.

When firefighters arrived, the fire in the attic had been suppressed and all that remained was to douse the flames on the exterior.

“That sprinkler system saved the building,” Pike said. “Pier 17 is still here because of the sprinklers.”

The two people in the unit at the time were able to get out safely after being awakened by the smoke alarm.

The businesses that suffered water damage included Gourmet Girl Café and the constituency office of Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons.

Simons said the damage to his office was extensive and they will need to move into a temporary space for as long as four months during repairs.

“I’m looking forward to being part of the FUSE space until repairs are complete at Pier 17,” Simons told Coast Reporter this week.

The Fuse Work Hub was recently opened by the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization at Teredo Square in Sechelt.

Constituents will be able to contact the office at the same number: 604-741-0792.

The owners of Gourmet Girl said May 9 via their Facebook page that they did not expect to be closed long. They reopened May 16.

“Thankfully there were no injuries, and we hope to be back up and running in the next few days,” the post said. “If you see a firefighter or other first responders around town, give them a high-five for being so helpful and supportive.”

Pike said the other businesses on the upper floor should also be able to reopen soon.

He said the incident should serve as a reminder that it’s not safe to dispose of cigarettes or other smoking material in planters, as they can often smoulder undetected for hours and then burst into flame.

Apartment Building, Residential

Tomball, TX – Single Sprinkler Head Saves 20 Unit Apartment Building

** User Submitted Post – No Media Coverage**  – On Sunday, May 19, 2019 at approximately 5:19pm, the Tomball Fire Department was notified of a structure fire at the Fountains of Tomball Apartment Homes, a 160 unit apartment complex in the 900 block of Village Square Drive in Tomball. The first arriving unit encountered a large volume of smoke and fire on the first floor porch of a 20 unit apartment building. Fire Marshal Joe Sykora said, “Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the porch fire. Entry was made into the apartment and firefighters discovered a fire sprinkler head had extinguished the fire that had entered the apartment from the porch.” All residents of building were evacuated from the structure, notified by the buildings fire alarm system. One injury was sustained to the occupant of the apartment and the occupant was evaluated by the Northwest Community Health Emergency Medical Services Division.

The Tomball Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by a malfunctioning propane barbeque pit on the porch of the apartment. Only one residential unit was affected by this incident.

Apartment Building, Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic, Residential

Kalamazoo, MI – (Fire Marshal Reported) Two fires suppressed by fire sprinkler systems across Kalamazoo

On Wednesday May 15, 2019 sprinklers save the day for two different locations in Kalamazoo. A kitchen fire was quickly doused with limited  damage at a multistory multifamily residence. A full alarm assignment was quickly reduced to a single engine company upon learning the fire was quickly suppressed by the sprinkler system as Kalamazoo was battling another structure fire. 

Later in the night a fire in the sterilization unit of Bronson Methodist Hospital was quickly suppressed by a single sprinkler head limiting direct fire damage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Stafford, TX – (No media coverage) Single sprinkler extinguishes kitchen grease fire before fire department arrives

** User Submitted Post – No Media Coverage**  On 5/16/2019 at approximately 0540 hours, Investigators from Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office were dispatched to a kitchen fire at 630 Colony Lakes Estates Drive Stafford, TX 77477. Stafford FD was on scene requesting fire investigators.  Upon arrival of investigators, they found that a cooking fire in the kitchen of a residential apartment had occurred. The fire was due to cooking grease coming in contact with the heating surface of the stove. The fire resulted in the activation of one sprinkler head, which extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of the fire department. Firefighters checked for fire extension with no findings.  Only one residential unit was affected by this incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Activated fire sprinklers quickly put out fire on third floor of apartment building; No injuries reported

Fargo firefighters responded to a water flow alarm at a 3 story apartment building at 4877 28th Av S.

Upon arrival, firefighters were met by tenants outside saying there was a fire in apartment #301. Crews quickly made their way to the 3rd floor to find that the fire in that unit had been extinguished by the buildings sprinkler system.

3 sprinkler heads were activated to extinguish the fire. Water damage became the next task at hand and efforts were made to shut down the sprinkler system as soon as possible.

There were no injuries and fire spread was limited to the room of origin due to early activation of the 9-1-1 and sprinkler systems and quick actions taken by the first arriving fire crews.

The fire cause is under investigation. No damage assessment is available at this time. City View Property Mgmt. helped the tenants of the damaged apartments by putting them up temporarily in other units that they manage.

An official with the Fargo Fire Department tells us, they got call for white smoke billowing from the third floor of the apartment complex.

By the time they got to the scene, a sprinkler system has already put most of the fire out. The resident of the third floor apartment wasn’t home at the time.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There is water damage to apartments below where fire began.

Fire crews are on the scene of a possible fire at an apartment complex in Fargo.

The call came in around 2:30 Friday afternoon on a report of a structure fire on the 4800 block of 28th Ave. S. Smoke is reported on the third floor of the apartment.

A reporter on the scene tells us, there are no visible flames but fire crews appear to be investigating a balcony. A resident tells us, they were evacuated from the building.