Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Pendleton, OR – Early morning apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

One person is recovering from smoke inhalation after an early morning apartment fire.  Firefighters got the call from the Security Apartments on Court Avenue just after 6:00 Monday morning. Responding units found a fire on the first floor of the three story building. The sprinkler system kept the fire under control while crews evacuated the building and extinguished the fire.  Medics took one person to St. Anthony hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rapid City, SD – Single sprinkler holds apartment fire in check; No injuries

A fire sprinkler is being credited for saving a Rapid City apartment building this morning.Thursday, you couldn’t really tell that there was a fire in the building on the 400 block of Bernice Street early Thursday morning.  Fire crews could see smoke coming from the 3rd floor of the apartment, near Elk Vale Road.  Three stations responded, but crews only needed to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.  That’s because a single sprinkler head in the apartment kept the fire in check and limiting the damage.  Nobody was hurt and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Racine, WI – Apartment fire started by unattended candle contained by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is credited with containing a fire in a bedroom in an apartment Thursday morning, city fire officials said.  Racine firefighters were dispatched at 8:53 a.m. to the Regency West Apartments, 2218 Loni Lane, for a report of a fire alarm.  Fire crews, with the assistance of building maintenance, gained access to an apartment, where firefighters discovered that the sprinkler system had contained the blaze.  Fire officials said the occupants were not home at the time of the fire and no one was injured. An unattended candle was found that occupants admitted they had forgotten about, fire officials said.  Damage is estimated at $4,000 and the three occupants of the apartment were reported to be working with Red Cross for housing arrangements.  Racine police assisted at the scene.

Apartment Building, Residential

Oswego, NY – No injuries reported in apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

Oswego Fire Department personnel were called to a multiple-story building at 131 W. First St. at 6:42 p.m. Monday with reports of smoke filling an apartment. Crews were first alerted to smoke in an apartment on the 6th floor, ultimately locating a fire in an occupied apartment on the first floor.  Firefighters and Oswego Police personnel assisted the resident from the apartment and brought her to safety.  The fire was kept under control by the sprinkler system until firefighters were able to make entry to the apartment and knock it down.  The fire was declared under control at 6:53 p.m.  Fire damage was confined to kitchen, with smoke and water damage throughout the apartment of origin.

Smoke also filled several apartments and multiple floors of the building. Residents in the smoke-affected parts of the building were evacuated with the help of the Oswego City Police Department and the US Border Patrol, while other residents were asked to shelter in place.  Firefighters used multiple means to ventilate the structure of the smoke.

After several air quality checks, all of the residents were allowed to return to their apartments, with the exception of the fire apartment. No injuries were reported, all personnel were back in service at 8:10 p.m.  Special thanks to the building manager and maintenance personnel for their assistance during the emergency.

Apartment Building, Residential

East Wenatchee, WA – Sprinkler system limits damage in apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported

The sprinkler systems that are required by code in East Wenatchee apartment buildings worked perfectly Monday to keep a stove fire from spreading according to fire investigator Brian Brett.  Crews were called just after 11am to the Bello Rio Apartments in the 2-thousand block of Northwest Cascade Avenue.  That’s where Brett said a fire began in one of the apartment units when French fries were left cooking.  Brett said the sprinkler systems are required by code in multi-unit apartment buildings and in this case, prevented the fire from spreading.   Damage was confined to the wall above the stove area.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinkler system activates to help control apartment fire

A Charlottetown woman will be out of her apartment for a couple of days after a fire in another apartment set off the sprinkler system in hers, says the Red Cross.  The occupants of seven apartments on Royal Court, off Queen Street, were forced from their homes by the fire early Sunday morning.  Most were able to get back into their apartments a short time later, the Red Cross said, but the woman living below the place where the fire started had her unit flooded. The Red Cross is helping the woman with food and a place to stay for the next couple of days.

Apartment Building, Residential

Newark, NJ – Fires set by arsonists dressed as ninjas doused by apartment building’s sprinkler system

Police say two people dressed as ninjas broke into a New Jersey apartment building and set several fires.

Newark police officials say the unidentified man and woman broke in through a second-floor apartment. WNBC-TV reports that there is video showing the two exiting through a side entrance and running off down a hill.

Resident Melissa Ditonto says the alarm loudly alerted everyone to the fire and many people evacuated.

Police say the building’s sprinkler system quickly doused the flames. No one was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

Yuma, AZ – Apartment kitchen fire suppressed by sprinkler system

The City of Yuma Fire Department responded to an alarm at around 1:00 p.m. indicating a fire sprinkler in an apartment at the Palo Verde Villa Apartments Thursday afternoon.  Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived and made entry into the second story apartment, finding extreme heat built inside.

Upon further investigation, it was determined a stove top and oven had been left on for an extended time and the extreme heat, in excess of 155 degrees, had triggered a sprinkler head nearest the stove.  Although there was no active fire at the time of entry, firefighters found that the heat had begun to damage wood cabinets above the stove.

The sprinkler head was shut down and YFD personnel worked quickly to vent the heat and remove the water that had been released during the activation.  Water from the sprinkler was not found to have gotten into the downstairs apartment.

It was determined that the stove/oven was being tested in anticipation of future tenants and had been accidentally left on by a maintenance worker. It is believed that the continued heat buildup would have eventually ignited a fire if not for the sprinkler system.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Apartment balcony fire contained by single sprinkler

A sprinkler contained a fire on a second-floor balcony, which firefighters credited with helping to prevent the spread of the fire on Sunday, Sept. 10. Firefighters responded to a call of “smoke and flames coming from inside a second floor apartment” at 4948 47th St. S. When they arrived the firefighters found the fire sprinkler operating.

“Crews checked the apartment and found that the fire was contained to the balcony and there was no one inside,” Battalion Chief Dane Carley said in a statement.  Some vinyl siding was damaged before the sprinkler doused the fire. The initial damage estimate is $2,000. No apartment contents were damaged. The fire remains under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, OR – Fire in mixed-use apartment building quickly extinguished by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire damaged an apartment building in the heart of downtown Springfield on Friday.  There were no injuries.  Firefighters were dispatched to the Royal Building at Main and Fifth streets shortly after 1 p.m. The building, developed and owned by St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, has 35 apartments on four upper floors as well as ground-floor retail.  The building’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the fire in a third-floor apartment, but the water ran down into the lower floors, said Jeff Kronser, battalion chief for Eugene Springfield Fire.

Terry McDonald, St. Vincent de Paul’s executive director, said employees were assessing the damage and working to get tenants back into the building.  It wasn’t immediately clear how many tenants the fire displaced.  Tenant Sharon Quest said another tenant had left the building while food was cooking on a stove. Quest said the tenant returned after firefighters arrived.

“It must have burned pretty good to start a fire,” she said.  One of the ground-floor tenants is the Mezza Luna Pizzeria. Employee Chad Ouellette said some soaked ceiling tiles collapsed because of the water, but otherwise the damage was minimal.  The pizzeria was closing for the day but planned to reopen Saturday, he said.  The fire remained under investigation.