Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Durham, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire

A child playing with a lighter set a blanket on fire in an apartment in Durham, North Carolina, on Monday, a day after a fire in Johnston County killed a man and his 2-year-old son, who was playing with a lighter, Durham fire officials said.

The Durham fire, which happened shortly after 3 p.m. in the apartment at 111 N. Elizabeth St., was put out by a sprinkler system, but water damaged the whole apartment, Deputy Chief Chris Iannuzzi said.

The child’s age was not immediately available.

Firefighters called the American Red Cross to help a woman and two children find somewhere else to stay, Iannuzzi said.

Firefighters found the two after being called to the blaze at 1592 Beulahtown Road.

Officials said the fire started when Matthew was playing with a lighter on a bed.

Apartment Building, Residential

Red Deer, AB, Canada – Balcony fire controlled by sprinkler system

Emergency crews were called to a balcony fire in Vanier Woods last week after improperly stored cardboard caught fire during a barbeque.

Red Deer Emergency Services (RDES) responded to a fire call at 39 Van Slyke Way on June 8th at approximately 11 p.m.

The fire originated on the balcony where residents had stored cardboard materials behind their gas barbeque, which caught fire when the barbeque was used. The balcony’s overhead sprinkler system was activated and kept the fire under control.

Officials say without the sprinkler head on the balcony, the fire would likely have spread to the combustible siding, putting the building and tenants at further risk.

RDES Fire Prevention Bureau reminds residents that June is one of the peak months for barbeque fires. Please consider:

Residents are invited to contact the Fire Prevention Bureau at 403-346-5511 or prevention@reddeer.ca with any questions or concerns.

Apartment Building, Residential

Nashua, NH – Fourth floor apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters were called to a fire at the Laton House in Nashua’s Railroad Square late Sunday night.

The apartment building was evacuated, sending at least 50 people outside, officials said.

Officials said the building’s sprinkler system activated and held the fire in check while residents left the building.

Fire officials said two people were hospitalized with minor injuries.

The fire started on the fourth floor, but the cause is under investigation, officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Yuma, AZ – Sprinkler system extinguishes oven fire in apartment complex

The City of Yuma Fire Department responded to a fire alarm just before 2:30 p.m., indicating a fire sprinkler in an apartment at the Villa Serena Apartments on S. 37th Avenue Tuesday afternoon.

Fire personnel found that an oven fire had been extinguished by a fire sprinkler system.

Further investigation found that the occupant of the apartment stored cooking oil in the oven. The oven was accidentally turned on, which lead to the ignition of the oil. 

Fire officials said that when flames were seen, the oven door was opened and water was thrown on the oil.

That caused the fire to flare up but caused the fire sprinkler system to activate, stopping any spread of the fire and immediately extinguished the flames.

Firefighters then worked to shut down the water flow and assist with clean up.

Fire sprinkler systems can help prevent fires from spreading and can also extinguish them, according to YFD.

Apartment Building, Residential

Altoona, IA – Couch fire at apartment complex controlled with help from sprinkler system

Crews were called to a fire at an Altoona apartment complex on Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters responded to the Venbury Trail apartments on 8th Street SW after a resident said their couch was on fire. When crews arrived, they found the unit fully engulfed in flames. Luckily, the building’s sprinkler system was activated, which helped firefighters knock down the flames.

“Very fortunate, the sprinkler did its job. Engineered correctly, in this type of building the sprinkler system probably saved a lot of lives today,” said Chief Jared Ogbourne of the Altoona Fire Department.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Fire crews say only those in the unit where the fire started will be displaced, and most residents will be allowed back into their homes on Tuesday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Greenwood, IN – Sprinkler system prevents apartment balcony fire from spreading

The fire began on a third-story balcony of Copper Chase at Stones Crossing Apartments about 5:55 p.m. A mother and child were displaced and the building had about $50,000 in damage, White River Fire Chief Jeremy Pell said.  Pell credited a sprinkler on the balcony with preventing the fire from becoming far worse. Firefighters were able to use fire extinguishers to handle the remainder of the fire when they arrived at the apartment complex, he said.

“Without the sprinkler system this would have been much worse,” Pell said. “It made the difference between displacing one family versus potentially the whole building.” The three-story apartment building has 24 units. While they know where the fire began, investigators are still working to determine how it started, he said.  The displaced family has received assistance from the Red Cross, Pell said.  Bargersville and Greenwood firefighters assisted, he said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Salem, MA – Early morning fire at low-income apartment block suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Recent upgrades to an apartment building on Dow Street ensured that a fire early Monday morning at the complex did not become a tragedy.  The fire, on a fourth-floor back porch at 52-60 Dow St. in Salem’s Point neighborhood, was reported at 3:41 a.m., according to the Salem Fire Department. No one was injured, firefighters said.

The four-story, 20-unit brick building is owned by the North Shore Community Development Coalition. The nonprofit renovated it in the last couple of years, not long after a 2014 fire damaged some of the units there. During the renovation, a fire sprinkler system was installed. Salem fire Deputy Chief Dennis Levasseur said the sprinklers helped keep the flames at bay Monday until firefighters arrived.  “No one was displaced, and the sprinkler system we put in last year put the fire out right away and didn’t allow it to spread to the rest of the building,” said Mickey Northcutt, North Shore CDC executive director.

No other units in the building were affected, since the fire took place outside, Levasseur said.  The North Shore CDC develops and rehabilitates low-income housing in distressed neighborhoods needing investment. The organization owns properties throughout the North Shore, several of which are in Salem. The organization didn’t own the 52-60 Dow St. building back in 2014 during the last fire, though it was under contract to operate it, according to Northcutt.  Further details on the fire, including the cause, remain under investigation. Ten people live in the apartment, including seven children, and Northcutt declined to discuss further details Monday afternoon, saying that the organization is “still assessing the situation.”

The unit wasn’t damaged by the fire to the point that it isn’t habitable, Levasseur said, but conditions there might otherwise make living in the unit a challenge.  “They had a bunch of trash and clothing and bags,” Levasseur said. “That’s kind of what the issue was on the porch. They have some other issues.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Airdrie, AB, Canada – Apartment fire caused by damaged electrical cord is held in check by sprinkler system

Airdrie Fire Crews responded to a call in the 300 block of Edwards way NW Sunday.  The fire started in an apartment on the main floor of the complex. When fire crews arrived they found the building’s sprinkler system had engaged which help keep the fire at bay.  When the alarms sounded in the complex all residents evacuated safely. Once the fire was extinguished fire crews monitored the air quality of the different floors before letting residents back in.  The family living in the damaged apartment will be temporarily displaced until the required repairs are completed until then the Red Cross will be supporting them with the necessary resources.  According to the Fire Prevention Bureau, the cause of the fire was a combustible material being ignited by a damaged floor lamp electrical cord. The estimated damage is around 80,000 dollars.  No one was injured during the event. The Airdrie Fire Department would like to remind the public to keep unprotected cords out of the path of foot traffic and combustible materials.

Apartment Building, Residential

Norman, OK – Arson fire apartment complex is put out by sprinkler system

Officers say James Cox, 23, has admitted that last Thursday he broke several windows at a shopping center located off Alameda St., as well as others on the west side of town. Police say these damages surpass $4,000.  One Supercuts employee says Cox was spotted on security footage around 4:00 AM tipping trash cans into store windows. Police say 6 to 8 were damaged in total.

“When I walked in and locked our door, I noticed there was glass all over our floor,” says the Supercuts employee. “At that time I called police and walked up and down the sidewalk, and saw that Ace (Hardware) had been hit, we had been hit and Sally’s (Beauty Supply) had been hit.”

But hours later, around 9:30, surveillance footage caught a different crime scene. This time at the Brookview Apartments.  Someone called 911 after a fire started in one of the units.  The sprinkler system extinguished the fire before it spread.
•Dispatch: Hello
•Caller: The water is coming down? Okay. The fire is out now. We had to turn off the sprinkler system. I don’t know, someone burned the apartment down. Someone, I am not sure.

Firefighters says they later found a pile of laundry on a bed, dowsed in lighter fluid.

That apartment belonged to Cox mother according to investigators.

“They were in route to the scene when the police department called them and said that they had a person of interest that they needed to come talk to,” says Deputy Chief Mike Wilson of the Norman Fire Department.

Cox had been tracked down by officers who were using images captured hours earlier by the cameras at the Alameda shopping center.

“When our investigators showed up, he confessed to the investigators that he was the one who started the fire. Wanted to make sure no one was injured in the fire he started,” says Deputy Chief Wilson.

Cox will be in court next Tuesday.

He faces one count of First-Degree Arson and Four Counts of Malicious Injury to Property Over $1,000.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albemarle, NC – Sprinkler system keeps apartment fire from spreading; Saves occupant’s life according to Fire Chief

An Albemarle Fire Department official says a sprinkler saved a life May 19, but he urged residents about the dangers of unattended food left cooking.  Albemarle fire units were sent to an alarm at 3:24 a.m. Saturday at 219 E. North St. in the Central School Apartments. “Our units arrived on the scene to find a sprinkler head that activated and extinguished a fire in the kitchen area of one of the apartments,” said Fire Chief Shawn Oke.

“The fire was started from unattended grease left on the stove,” Oke added. “One of the occupants discovered the fire on the stove and moved the burning pan to the sink before the sprinkler activated and controlled the fire. The fire was controlled by the activation of one sprinkler head. Thanks to the sprinkler activation the fire damage was contained to the apartment where the fire originated.”

Oke said damage to the apartment and its contents is estimated at $30,000.  The fire chief reminded everyone to not leave anything on the stove unattended.  “If you have to leave the kitchen, remove the item on the stove from the burner,” Oke said. “It only takes a short period of time for an unattended pot to start a fire, especially if the pot contains cooking oil.

“It is also recommended that you don’t ever store anything on top of your burners as the knobs can be bumped and accidently turned on resulting in a fire.”