Category Archives: Apartment Building

Apartment Building, Residential

Evanston, IL – Apartment fire started by careless smoker kept in check by sprinkler system

**NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department reported** The Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board reports a successful fire sprinkler activation at the Claridge Apartments in Evanston, Illinois at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, May 9, 2016. According to the report, a careless smoker set a pile of clothing on her bed ablaze. She apparently panicked and threw the pile into the bathtub and ran away. The sprinkler head above the bed extinguished the smoldering mattress. In the bathroom, the shower curtain and towels caught fire. A sprinkler head in the bathroom activated and kept the fire in check until Evanston Fire department arrived.

Apartment Building, Residential

Kalamazoo, MI – Sprinkler system credited with containing apartment fire to room of origin; No injuries

**NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department Reported**

Friday night May 6, 2016 at 10:09 pm the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety responded to a report of a fire in an 11 unit apartment building in the 1000 block of Washington Avenue. A couch fire which was releasing a large amount of black smoke and heat was suppressed by the sprinkler system.  The fire was contained to the room of origin.  No one was hurt and after the suppression system was placed back into service the occupants of 9 of the 11 units were safely back into their homes.  The sprinkler system was praised for preventing further damage to the building

Apartment Building, Residential

Orono, ME – Sprinkler system knocks down grease fire at apartment building

Crews responded to a fire at an apartment complex in Orono Monday afternoon.

The call came in around 2:30 to the Reserve apartments, formerly known as the Grove.

Officials say a grease fire triggered the sprinkler system in one of the units. As a result the fire was out when crews arrived.

There was significant smoke and water damage, though, leaving the apartment unliveable for now.

“I believe the resident was attempting to deep fry something and it caught on fire, put it in the sink, put water on it, which expanded the grease, caused the sprinkler heads to go off,” said Capt. Joel Sides of the Orono Fire Department.

Fire officials remind you to always use baking soda–not water–to put out a grease fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Richmond, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system knocks down apartment fire possibly caused by Molotov cocktail

Richmond RCMP is investigating a suspicious fire late on Sunday evening in City Centre which is thought to have displaced up to eight families.

Shortly after 11 p.m. the Mounties were called to the 5800 block of No. 3 Road  to assist Richmond Fire-Rescue with a fire on the sixth floor of an apartment building.

Fire crews had arrived earlier to find heavy smoke coming from the sixth floor.

The Richmond News understands a Molotov device had been thrown on the floor and the fire was knocked down by the sprinkler system.

Residents of the apartment claim this is the second time in a week that the building has been targeted, adding that a smoke bomb was let off and offensive graffiti was found.

However, according to the RCMP, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but is being treated as suspicious.

“We are greatly relieved no one was injured,” said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang.

“We are currently reviewing surveillance footage and conducting interviews with witnesses.

“One of our specially trained fire investigators is working with our counterparts from Richmond Fire-Rescue.”

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Cpl. Kevin Lin immediately at 604-278-1212. To leave a tip, email Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

No injuries were reported, but several families were unable to return to their homes due to water damage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lafayette, LA – Trash compactor fire at apartment complex suppressed by sprinkler system

(Blog Note: Smoke does not cause a sprinkler to activate, but rather only the substantial heat from a fire).
A Friday afternoon fire at a downtown Lafayette apartment complex likely was caused by an improperly trashed lit cigarette, according to the Lafayette Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived at Uptown Lofts at 519 S. Pierce St. around 4 p.m. to find smoke coming from an apartment’s trash compactor, spokesman Alton Trahan said. The smoke caused the room’s sprinkler to activate, suppressing the fire before firefighters could remove the metal trash bin with burning materials inside, Trahan said.

The building did not sustain fire damage, but occupants were evacuated while firefighters investigated the smoke’s origin. Investigators ruled the fire an accident

Apartment Building, Residential

Manassas, VA – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire caused by clothes left near fireplace

City of Manassas Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to a fire at the Barrington Park Apartments in the early morning hours of April 11. The fire started when a pile of clothing was left near a gas fireplace that was accidentally turned on. Smoke alarms alerted the occupants to the fire.

One person was trapped in an upstairs bedroom because of smoke but fire and rescue personnel were able to evacuate the man who was treated and released at the scene. The fire was extinguished by the apartment’s residential fire sprinkler system that went off properly and suppressed the fire.

The City of Manassas Fire and Rescue department reminds residents that home fire sprinkler systems can control and even extinguish a fire in less time than it takes for the fire department to arrive on scene. By having a fire sprinkler system in the home, the risk of dying from a fire is cut by about about 80 percent. The average property loss per fire is cut by about 70 percent when a fire sprinkler system is in place

Apartment Building, Residential

Lynn, MA – Couch fire in fourth floor apartment extinguished by sprinkler system

The Lynn Fire Department responded to a couch fire in a fourth floor apartment at 501 Washington St. Tuesday, said Lynn District Fire Chief Stephen Archer. The fire, which occurred at 4 p.m., was extinguished by a sprinkler system. Residents of that unit have had to find a new home due to water damage, Archer said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Portland, OR – Sprinkler activates in apartment fire that started outdoors

Ten adults, four children and five pets were displaced from their apartments as the result of a two-alarm fire that damaged six units at a Northwest Portland complex Saturday morning.

No one was injured on the fire at the complex in the 18000 block of Northwest Chemeketa Lane.

Volunteers with the Cascades Region Disaster Action Team of the Red Cross responded to provided assistance for temporary lodging, assistance to address immediate basic needs, and information about recovery services and disaster health and mental health services.

According to Tualitan Valley Fire & Rescue, at 9:45 a.m. on April 9, firefighters responded to Westridge Meadows Apartments after multiple callers reported heavy black smoke on the outside of one of the first floor units.

By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread from the exterior of the twelve unit building to the interior, moving rapidly to the second and third floor.

First-arriving firefighters began an aggressive fire attack, quickly knocked down flames on the exterior of the building and then working their way floor by floor extinguishing the fire. Primary and secondary searches by crews confirmed that all occupants were able to get out.

Firefighters worked for nearly 45 minutes to ensure the fire was out by extinguishing hot spots from the roof and pulling ceiling from inside apartments.

All residents were able to exit the complex safely. One person was treated for a non-fire related medical need.

The Washington County Sherriff’s Office, Portland Fire & Rescue and the Hillsboro Fire Department all assisted on the fire.

A fire investigator has determined that the fire started on a balcony, but was unable to immediate learn how. The investigator will continue conducting witness interviews and the fire remains under investigation.

The complex was equipped with a fire sprinkler system, which was activated once the fire moved inside the building. According to TVF&R, when a fire sprinkler system is present, the likelihood of injuries and costly damage is dramatically reduced. More information about fire sprinkler systems can be found at: www.tvfr.com/index.aspx?nid=144

Apartment Building, Residential

Juneau, AK – Sprinklers activate in apartment blaze; fire damage limited to one unit

Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a fire at the Channel View Apartments on Gastineau Avenue Sunday afternoon. Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto said only one unit was burned. Quinto said he didn’t know if there was any damage to the building’s roof, but the unit’s front-facing windows were broken.

A woman and two children who are presumed to have been in the unit when the fire happened went to the emergency room at Bartlett Regional Hospital because of smoke inhalation. As of 8:30 p.m., the woman was in stable condition and the two children were being evaluated.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

While residents suffered few physical injuries, most of the low-income apartments have severe water damage.

Will Noel does maintenance for the apartments. He said 17 of the building’s 22 units have water damage from the sprinkler system that went off during the fire.

Noel said he saw the woman who lives in the burned apartment as she was leaving for the hospital and that she said her outlet had caught on fire. The fire marshal hasn’t identified a cause yet.

Apartment Building, Residential

Roseburg, OR – Wheelchair-bound resident OK after sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire

Around midnight on April 8, the Roseburg Fire Department was dispatched to a fire in apartment #204 in the Grand Apartments at 730 SE Cass Ave.  Fire officials say it was contained to the studio apartment and extinguished by the building’s automatic fire sprinkler system.

The wheelchair-bound resident was found sitting on the floor when firefighters entered the room, the report said. He was evaluated for smoke inhalation and transported to Mercy Medical Center where he was released later Friday morning.

Investigators say the fire was most likely caused by the apartment’s 60-year-old resident, who discarded a cigarette in a paper-filled trash can near a kitchen cabinet. The building’s automatic sprinkler system activated within three minutes, extinguishing the flames, which had begun climbing to the ceiling of the apartment.