Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Elk Grove, IL – No injuries after sprinklers extinguish apartment kitchen fire

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Two apartments were left temporarily uninhabitable after a kitchen fire activated sprinklers in a second floor unit of a building in the 900 block of Charlela Lane, Elk Grove Village, Saturday (April 14) evening.  Red Cross representatives responding to the scene arranged housing for six people from two households on the first and second floors of the building. Elk Grove Village Fire Chief Richard Mikel said no injuries were reported.  Mikel said a stovetop kitchen fire activated a sprinkler and alarm at 5:46 p.m. in a second story unit. Besides an automated alarm, Mikel said calls reporting the fire were also made to 911. The fire was immediately extinguished by the sprinkler system. Mikel said the second floor unit suffered smoke damage and water entered into electrical systems. The first floor apartment directly under the fire unit also suffered water damage from the sprinkler.

Apartment Building, Residential

Decatur, IL – Apartment kitchen fire put out by automatic sprinkler system

… While responding to the incident on 22nd Street, firefighters also were sent to a second fire at 1145 W. Arbor. They found that a sprinkler system had already put out a fire in the facility’s kitchen, so that building suffered minimal damage, the department said.

The following is additional informal narrative from Decatur FD (not reported in media)

This alarm came in at 01:40 as a fire in the kitchen at the Primrose retirement Village. There are apprx. 68 apartments in this upscale senior retirement complex. A service cart with folded linen caught fire and was quickly extinguished by a single sprinkler head activation. Part of this building is assisted living and the other part senior retirement. The fire doors were closed upon our arrival and kept all the smoke in the Dining Hall. This was a great save by the sprinkler system!

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, MA – Arson fire at apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

No injuries were reported late Thursday morning after a female barricaded herself inside a downtown apartment and set a recliner chair on fire. The incident occurred in a fourth floor apartment at 1607 Main St., shortly before 11:45 a.m., Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi, said. The female barricaded the door with a table, chair and other items, Leger said. The fire, which did not spread beyond the chair, was extinguished by the apartment’s sprinkler system before firefighters arrived. The female was taken to Baystate Medical Center. The apartment sustained water damage from the sprinkler, Leger said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Greenville, SC – Apartment kitchen fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Three families are out of their homes following a kitchen fire at an apartment complex. The Red Cross says it’s helping six adults and seven children. It happened Wednesday night at Berea Heights Apartments on Lions Club Road. Berea Fire Department said there was a kitchen fire in an apartment. The sprinkler system put out the fire. However, water seeped into apartments on lower levels. No one was reportedly hurt in the fire. Firefighters say all three families were displaced due to water damage. The Red Cross is providing financial help with lodging, food and other necessities.

Apartment Building, Residential

Champaign, IL – Early morning apartment fire limited by sprinkler system; No injuries and no residents displaced

An early-morning fire last Wednesday on the exterior of an apartment building on the west side of the city could have been much worse if not for a sprinkler system, Champaign Fire Department Battalion Chief Tyler Funk said Thursday. Firefighters were called to 1313 Mariner Way around 4:30 a.m. when a deck fire set off a sprinkler and an alarm. Funk said the sprinkler mostly controlled the fire. The occupants were sleeping. Other than some melted siding, Funk said, there was no smoke or fire damage to the interior. There were no injuries and no residents will be displaced. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Nashua, NH – Sprinkler system contains apartment grease fire on Easter Sunday

Crews were called to the Tara Heights Apartments at 10 Digital Dr. around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, where they found a grease fire on a stove that had spread to the cabinets and activated the sprinkler system.

The fire was quickly contained by the sprinkler system, but crews were still tied up for an hour ejecting smoke and doing salvage work in the apartment where the fire was and the apartment below it.

Apartment Building, Residential

Louisville, KY – Occupied apartment’s sprinkler system extinguishes intentionally-set fire

A Louisville man was arrested Saturday after he intentionally set fire to an occupied apartment.

The Louisville Metro Police Department arrested Anthony Green, 30, on charges of first-degree arson and criminal mischief.

Officials said Green poured gasoline throughout an apartment in the 400 block of East Saint Catherine Street and then set a couch on fire inside the residence.

Investigators said Green made threats to kill the victim before setting the fire.

The fire was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system but caused over $1,000 in damages.

Green is being held in Metro Corrections on a $10,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Hampton, VA – Sprinkler system knocks down apartment building fire; No injuries reported

Hampton Division of Fire & Rescue responded to a report of a fire in the 200 block of Marcella Road shortly before 6 p.m. last Thursday, Battalion Chief Jeff Bartgis said at the scene.  Firefighters arrived and found fire in a third floor unit, Battalion Chief Jeff Pereira said.

The sprinkler system helped contain flames to the one unit, but it caused water damage in adjacent units on three of the floors, the officials said.  “A lot of them have a lot of water in them,” Bartgis said. “The sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to do and knocked the fire down for us,” he said. A restoration company was requested to dry out the units, and Bartgis said he’s hopeful residents can return to their homes soon. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Campbell River, BC, Canada – Single sprinkler credited in controlling blaze in 48-unit apartment building

Officials in Campbell River are crediting a single sprinkler for preventing major damage to a new apartment building when a fire broke out last week. The blaze started on the fourth-floor of a 48 unit building in the 700-block of Merecroft Road just after midnight Thursday. The single sprinkler kept flames under control until fire crews arrived. There were no injuries although some tenants will be displaced for a few days while the water from the sprinkler is dealt with by the building owner.

“No one was home in that apartment, but occupants in the rest of the large complex were awoken by the fire alarm, and that single sprinkler helped contain the fire,” fire chief Ian Baikie said in a release. “This is a much better outcome than a fire in an unoccupied unit without fire sprinklers.”

Fire and smoke damage was confined to a single unit on the fourth floor and water from the sprinkler got into units below where the blaze occurred. Baikie said if not for the sprinkler, people would have been out of their homes for weeks or months.

Apartment Building, Residential

Harris County, TX – (no media coverage) Apartment balcony fire contained by sprinkler system; Assists firefighters with extinguishing blaze

*** FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED – No Media Coverage *** On Sunday, March 18 at approximately 8:17 am, HCFMO was requested by Cy-Fair Fire Department to assist with an apartment fire. Upon arrival, investigators noted the fire was contained to an exterior balcony because of the activation of one sprinkler head. The total loss due to fire and water damage was $5,300, with pre-incident value at $510,000.