Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Macon, GA – Arson fire at high-rise apartments contained with help from sprinkler system

Fire alarms and sprinklers went off again Monday morning at St. Paul Apartments, a high-rise at 1330 Forsyth St. plagued by recent arsons.  Macon-Bibb County fire investigator Sgt. Steve Wesson said several fires have been reported at the building in the past three or four weeks. 

“A resident was setting something on fire and throwing it down the trash chute, causing the Dumpster to catch on fire,” Wesson said before leaving the apartments Monday morning.

About 5:30 a.m., Macon-Bibb firefighters responded to a small fire in room 904, a vacant apartment that was being used for storage, Macon-Bibb fire investigator Lt. Ben Gleaton said.

The room had been burglarized, some tools stolen and a fire set, Wesson said.  “I hope you get whoever. This is crazy,” fourth-floor resident Brigitte Gramke told the investigators as she walked her dog outside the brick building near downtown Macon. “It’s really bad.”

A Bibb County deputy arrested Robert Walter Hutchens, 75, who lives in room 901 at St. Paul Apartments.  Hutchens was charged with burglary, according to Bibb County jail records, and stolen tools were recovered.

Additional charges are pending if Hutchens is found responsible for the fire.  The sprinkler system caused water damage in some of the building, Gleaton said.

“It has to cost a fortune and usually it’s arson,” Gramke said of the multiple fires.  The St. Paul Apartments manager declined to comment Monday morning.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Wilmington Fire Department was called to the 1000 block of Thomas C Jervay Place Sunday afternoon after receiving a water flow alarm. When firefighters got to the scene just after 1 p.m. they realized an unattended pot of oil had started a kitchen fire.

No one was home when the fire started, but the sprinkler head in the kitchen activated and extinguished the fire. 

“This was an example of home sprinklers doing a great job of keeping a fire from destroying the entire property and saving lives, since this was a multifamily apartment building,” said Public Information Officer David Hines in a statement.

He said the fire was contained to the stove top and only caused minor damage to the hood and cabinets. The damage was estimated to have cost around $3,000 for fire, smoke and water damage from the sprinkler activation.  No injuries were reported.

 

Apartment Building, Residential

Des Moines, IA – Sprinklers help knock down flames when fire breaks out in apartments above pizza parlor

No injuries were reported after a fire forced the evacuation Wednesday night of the Elliott Apartments above Fong’s Pizza on Fourth Street downtown.

Captain Mark Dooley of the Des Moines Fire Department said crews arrived around 10:30 p.m. to smoke and flames on the second floor of the six-story building and launched an “aggressive interior attack.”

“The flames were knocked down some with the activated sprinkler system,” Dooley said, adding that it made the firefighters’ job a lot easier.

Almost all of the residents were home at the time fire crews responded and all were evacuated by 11 p.m.

At 12:15 a.m. Thursday, Dooley said crews were no longer actively working to put the fire out but were instead checking the building to make sure the fire didn’t spread.

The heat was what was causing the most concern, Dooley said. When the fire started around 10:30 p.m., it was approximately 84 degrees in downtown Des Moines, according to the National Weather Service.

“There are medic units here just for the care of the firefighters,” Dooley said. They brought in extra medical crews and supplies solely to assist the roughly 100 firefighters working inside the complex, making sure to check their temperatures and heart rates.

No cause for the fire has been identified and the investigation continues.

Dooley said Polk County’s emergency response teams helped residents find a place to stay for the night.

Fourth Street, Walnut Street and parts of Court Avenue were reopened in time for Thursday morning traffic.

Joe Swift, a resident on the fourth floor, said he was out of the building minutes after the fire alarm went off. He said the smoke got very thick in the stairwell when he reached the second floor, making it difficult to see. He commended the men and women of the Des Moines Fire Department, who were knocking on doors and assisting residents out of the building.

“These guys do a great job, and the ladies too,” Swift said. “In old buildings like this, underneath all that carpeting is all wood. There’s lots to catch on to.”

On Twitter, Fong’s promised to repay swift work by the fire department with free pizza.

Apartment Building, Residential

Cheltenham, PA – Arson fire at apartment building suppressed by sprinkler system

Residents of one of the rebuilt buildings at the apartments at 1600 Church Road were evacuated May 31 after a fire alarm went off at 2:46 a.m., Cheltenham police reported. The fire was believed to be arson, police said.

Several people reported smelling an odor of gasoline and there was an odor of gasoline in a stairwell in the first floor of the B building, where the fire was located, said Cheltenham Fire Marshal Joe O’Neill, who confirmed “the fire was set” and is under investigation. “The sprinkler system put out the fire almost immediately,” he said.

There was fire damage to the stairwell and smoke, soot and water damage to carpet in that area, O’Neill said. The building had previously been destroyed in a fire in October 2012.

Glenside Fire Company assisted by Edge Hill and LaMott fire companies responded to the scene to “make sure the hazard was addressed” and clear the smoke and odor of gasoline from the building, O’Neill said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Cheltenham, PA – Arson fire at apartment building suppressed by sprinkler system

Residents of one of the rebuilt buildings at the apartments at 1600 Church Road were evacuated May 31 after a fire alarm went off at 2:46 a.m., Cheltenham police reported. The fire was believed to be arson, police said.

Several people reported smelling an odor of gasoline and there was an odor of gasoline in a stairwell in the first floor of the B building, where the fire was located, said Cheltenham Fire Marshal Joe O’Neill, who confirmed “the fire was set” and is under investigation. “The sprinkler system put out the fire almost immediately,” he said.

There was fire damage to the stairwell and smoke, soot and water damage to carpet in that area, O’Neill said. The building had previously been destroyed in a fire in October 2012.

Glenside Fire Company assisted by Edge Hill and LaMott fire companies responded to the scene to “make sure the hazard was addressed” and clear the smoke and odor of gasoline from the building, O’Neill said.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Honolulu, HI – High rise apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Honolulu firefighters rushed to a Kinau Street apartment early Thursday following reports of an odor of smoke. According to the Honolulu Fire Department, more than 10 firefighters were dispatched around 1:30 a.m. to Kinau Vista located at 1150 Kinau Street. Upon arrival at 1:35 a.m., they discovered that an activated sprinkler head extinguished a fire that broke out earlier. HFD did not have further details regarding the fire, but there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire and damage estimates are under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Elgin, IL – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Sprinkler activates to extinguish apartment kitchen fire

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED **

On Wednesday, June 8th, 2016 at 6:35p.m., members of the Elgin Fire Department responded to 717 West Highland for an automatic fire alarm.

Upon arrival fire companies found a moderate smoke condition on the 4th floor with smoke coming from apartment 405.  It was quickly determined the sprinkler in the apartment had activated and extinguished the fire that was located in the kitchen.

A total of seven Elgin Fire companies responded to the scene and there were no civilian or fire department injuries sustained during the incident.

The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking on a stove using grease. Total damage was estimated to be approximately $5,000.

The Elgin Fire Department would like to remind its citizens to never leave food cooking unattended on a stove.

Apartment Building, Residential

Barnstable, MA – Kitchen fire at large apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire activated the sprinkler system on the third floor of a large apartment complex in Barnstable around 8 p.m. Monday. The initial reports prompted a second alarm response to the Village Green Apartments at 767 Independence Drive. The fire was out on arrival but crews checked to make sure the fire hadn’t extended to the attic. No injuries were reported. The Red Cross was called to provide temporary housing for the occupants of the apartment.

Apartment Building, Residential

Savannah, GA – Sprinkler system limits spread of cooking fire at large apartment complex; No injuries reported

(As reported by WTVM ABC news 9).  About 10 people have been displaced at the Oaks at Brandlewood after a cooking fire triggered the fire alarm and the sprinkler system. All that water seeped through the floors and into a few units on the first floor. The American Red Cross was called out to help those families until they are dried up and can return.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fayetteville, NC – Overnight apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Occupants of six units in the Carlson Bay Apartments off Cliffdale Road were displaced this morning after a small fire in one of the residences. The fire at 975 Bassman Lane was reported at 12:33 a.m., a Fayetteville Fire Department release said.

Heavy smoke was coming from one unit in the three-story building when firefighters arrived. An automatic sprinkler head in the apartment had extinguished the fire, the release said.  Heat and smoke damage were confined to the one apartment, but six were affected by water damage.

No injuries were reported.

Residents of the building were evacuated as a precaution but were allowed to return once firefighters had left. The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents. The fire started in the living room of the apartment, the release said, but the cause has not been determined.