Category Archives: Residence Hall/Dormitory

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential, Residential High Rise

Champaign, IL – Sprinklers control fire in campus high-rise apartment building

Nobody was hurt in an apartment fire Sunday night at a campus high-rise.  Champaign Fire Marshal John Koller said firefighters were called to a blaze at the Tower at Third, 302 E. John St. at 9:22 p.m.

By the time firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system was already controlling the fire, which was limited to a single apartment on the third floor. However, smoke had spread throughout the floor. There was moderate smoke in the apartment and light smoke on the rest of the floor.

The residents were evacuated to the lobby on the first floor while firefighters tackled the blaze.  A resident of the apartment told firefighters he had had some problems with a refrigerator in the apartment, but it was too soon to determine a cause on Sunday night. 

Koller said investigators would be looking into the cause late Sunday night and early Monday morning.  Koller said the fire was under control by 9:40 p.m.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Los Angeles, CA – Late night dormitory fire at USC held in check by sprinkler system

USC students knee deep in final exams evacuated a dormitory where a mattress caught fire last Sunday night. The fire, quickly extinguished by the Los Angeles Fire Department, left 12 people temporarily displaced and caused $2,500 in damage, more than half to the structure itself, according to a fire spokesman.

No one was injured when the fire broke out at about 11:30 p.m. but about 60 people evacuated the building in the 600 block of W. 35th Street, fire and school officials said. Twelve students were relocated to other housing locations, according to USC Dept. of Public Safety Deputy Chief David Carlisle. The other students were allowed back into the residence at 12:30 p.m.

Fire investigators determined that candles that were briefly left unattended caused the mattress fire in a room on the third floor, fire officials said. Fire sprinklers held the smoky fire in check before 20 firefighters put out the fire entirely.

“If you’re going to use candles, be very, very careful as to how close those candles, or open flame, are going to be to anything that could catch fire,” Battalion Chief Jamie Moore said.

Students said they got the message and would start taking the school rule against candle use in the dorms more seriously. “We have a candle in our room,” Vachuska said. “We never think to light it. Gonna throw that out!”

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Riverside, CA – Sprinklers hold flames in check at UC Riverside dormitory

A trash compactor blaze triggered fire sprinklers that held the flames in check at a UC Riverside dormitory.

The sprinkler alarm went off at 3:39 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Lothian Residence Hall, 500 West Big Springs Road.

When firefighters arrived, smoke was billowing from the basement and first floor, and occupants were evacuating, Battalion Chief Thomas Jay said in a written statement.

Crews found the fire in a basement trash compactor.

Fire sprinklers held the blaze in check, and the crews of two fire engines and two ladder trucks soon put out the flames.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Bloomington, IL – Residence hall fire at Illinois Wesleyan University contained by sprinkler system; 135 student residents safe

No one was injured when a fire broke out Friday night in a residence hall on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. An automatic sprinkler kept the fire at bay until firefighters extinguished it.

Students were evacuated from upper-level rooms in Gulick Hall, 109 University St., but were allowed to return about 10:30 p.m., said IWU spokesman Matt Kurz. A faulty office copier is blamed for the blaze that caused an estimated $50,000 in damage.

The Bloomington Fire Department reported damage to the building and contents with smoke and water damage throughout the first floor and offices of Residential Life. The building’s design prevented much smoke from entering the living areas, Deputy Chief Les Siron said.

Smoke was so heavy when firefighters arrived about 9 p.m. that they had to use a thermal imaging camera to find the fire, Siron said. The fire was reported via an automatic alarm. Gulick is a first-year hall with capacity for 135 residents, Kurz said.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Cheyney, PA – Suspected arson fire at university residence hall extinguished with help from sprinkler system

State police and campus detectives are investigating a suspicious dormitory room fire that sent a campus police officer to the hospital and caused the evacuation of more than 100 students from Tubman Hall at Cheyney University in Thornbury about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, said Trooper John E. Stewart Jr., a member of the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Unit.

“It was intentionally set. It is still under investigation,” said Stewart Sunday afternoon.  He noted an unknown person or persons entered room 518 on the fifth floor of the residence hall and attempted to set a student’s personal belongings on fire, which activated the emergency sprinkler system.

“The room’s occupant was not present at the time of the fire’s discovery,” said Stewart.  A Cheyney University Police Department sergeant who responded to the blaze suffered chest pains and smoke inhalation and was transported to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Upland, where he was treated and released, noted the state trooper.

“The sprinkler knocked down the bulk of the fire and he took down the rest,” said Stewart.  The name of the officer who extinguished the blaze was not available at press time.  Stewart said the fire was contained to one room and resulted in mostly water damage.

Concordville, Rocky Run and Edgmont fire companies responded to the fire, as did members of some Chester County fire departments, said Stewart. The scene was reportedly cleared by just after 8 a.m. Sunday.

Gwen Owens, director of public relations for Cheyney University, said Tubman Hall houses 127 students. She said they were permitted re-entry into Tubman Hall to retrieve items Sunday afternoon and have been temporarily relocated to two other residence halls on campus.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Langley, BC, Canada – Fire in dorm at Trinity Western University stopped by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system installed in the dorms at Trinity Western University a few years ago is being credited for stopping a fire from spreading last Wednesday morning. Township firefighters were called out to one of the dormitories on campus, after a couch erupted in flames around 7:30 a.m.

The couch was in one of the common areas and so far, fire investigators don’t know what caused it to catch on fire. “It’s still under investigation,” said Assistant Fire Chief Pat Walker. The sprinklers put out the fire as firefighters arrived.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Portland, OR – Fire in high-rise residence hall at Portland State University contained by sprinkler system

Portland firefighters say an unattended candle burned an 11th floor apartment unit in Portland State University’s Goose Hollow residence hall. The fire was reported about 4:20 a.m. Sunday at a 16-story residence hall located at 1604 Southwest Clay Street.

The smoke alarm woke the person who was asleep in the apartment where the fire began. That person escaped uninjured. No one else was hurt in the early morning incident, Portland fire officials said.

Firefighters encountered smoke on the 10th and 11th floors of the building. The building’s fire sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading. Fire damage was limited to the apartment where the fire broke out, however, smoke damage extended to other areas of the building. Managers of the building are working with residents to find alternative housing.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Lafayette, LA – Fire in campus residence hall extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A fire in a University of Louisiana at Lafayette residence hall at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, was contained to a data equipment closet on the third floor.  Campus police were called to Baker Hall after a fire alarm company said that an alarm was activated there.

The sprinkler system in the data equipment room was activated prior to the fire department arriving.   No injuries were reported and everyone was evacuated safely.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

St. Joseph, MO – Kitchen grease fire in university residence hall controlled by sprinkler system

A small grease fire in Scanlon Hall at Missouri Western State University caused an evacuation of all Scanlon residents on Tuesday, Nov. 18.  Jacob Teasley, second year resident assistant in Scanlon Hall, was involved with the event.

“There was a grease fire in the kitchen of the first floor guys’ wing,” Teasley said. “The students put water on it to put it out and it got worse.” Teasley believed there were two students directly involved in the fire.  He said that no one was hurt.

Mallory Murray, director of public relations and marketing, sent an email to all Western employees regarding the fire. “There was no structural damage, however, students were disrupted between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. and it may have impacted attendance in class for those that live in this hall,” Murray said in the email.  According to Teasley, the sprinkler was going off in the kitchen where the fire occurred only, not in the rest of the hall.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Pittsburgh, PA – Fire in high-rise residence hall at University of Pittsburgh extinguished by sprinkler system

University of Pittsburgh, Litchfield Tower A — The fire spread to a pillow and part of a chair, according to resident Jorge Garcia, but the sprinkler system put out the fire before it spread further.

“Fortunately, the sprinkler system was still working and put out the fire before any personnel arrived to extinguish it,” Pitt spokesman John Fedele said.  There was no “substantial damage” to anything in Tower A, Fedele said, aside from the carpet, desk and chair in room 818.

Garcia, a freshman neuroscience major, was in the room when the laptop caught fire. “I heard a spark, and then it was just flames,” Garcia said.