Residential High Rise, Townhouse / Condominium Pittsburgh, PA – Fire at high-rise luxury condominium building controlled with help from sprinkler system March 14, 2016 viking210 No one was injured in a 3-alarm fire in a kitchen Friday night at Piatt Place, a high-rise condominium complex Downtown. The fire was reported at 7:30 p.m. at 301 Fifth Ave., the city’s Department of Public Safety said. Crews were working at midnight to ventilate the building and assess damages. The fire was labeled as 3-alarm due to the size of the building, the department said. It started in a kitchen in a residence on the sixth floor; the building’s sprinkler system assisted in containing the fire. The cause was under investigation.
Residential High Rise, Townhouse / Condominium Highland Beach, FL – Fire at oceanfront high-rise condominium building controlled with help from sprinkler system March 6, 2016 viking210 Delray Beach Fire Rescue was called to an oceanfront Highland Beach high-rise condominium last Sunday afternoon when a fire started in a fourth-floor unit. No one was injured in the fire, according to Delray Beach Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Kevin Saxton. “The fire is out, but there is significant water damage to the building because of the sprinkler activation and our suppression effort,” Saxton said. Saxton said he did not yet know what started the fire in the unit at the Wiltshire House Condominiums, 2909 South Ocean Blvd. The call alerting the fire was made at about 3:45 p.m.
Residential, Residential High Rise Rochester, NY – Kitchen fire on 14th floor of residential high-rise controlled with help from sprinkler system; No injuries February 26, 2016 viking210 There was a small fire Tuesday night at the city’s new downtown residential high rise. It started as the result of a cooking accident in the kitchen of one of the units on the 14th floor of Tower 280 around 8 p.m. The automatic sprinkler system that was triggered did cause water damage to three elevators, to the apartment where the fire started and some units below it. No one was injured. Tower 280 opened in January. Ken Glazer of Buckingham Properties tells WXXI News about ten percent of the building’s units are now occupied
Residential, Residential High Rise Chicago, IL – Fire on 50th floor of Trump Tower put out by sprinkler system February 19, 2016 viking210 Firefighters responded to reports of a fire at Chicago’s Trump Tower Thursday morning. Around 9 a.m., crews were dispatched to 401 N. Wabash in the city’s River North neighborhood after receiving a call on a still and box alarm fire in a trash compactor on the hotel’s 50th floor. An EMS Plan one was called to the scene with multiple ambulances, officials said, but the small fire was quickly put out by the hotel’s sprinkler system. Chicago Fire Department District Chief Tim Sampey said the fire “was minor” but firefighters spent extra time going through the 98-floor high-rise to ensure the smoke did not build. No injuries were reported. Fire officials said the hotel received minimal damage and moderate smoke damage from the incident. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise Charleston, SC – Sprinkler system contains high rise apartment fire to 10th floor apartment February 17, 2016 viking210 An investigation by Charleston Fire officials revealed the fire that displaced about 152 Joseph Floyd Manor residents originated on a sofa in the living area of a 10th floor apartment. The specific cause of the fire is still unknown. Crews helped residents move to hotel rooms Monday night after the fire broke out. Three fire departments responded to the 10th floor of the Mount Pleasant Street apartment complex and found heavy smoke, said Ryan Kunitzer of the Charleston Fire Department. Kunitzer said a fire sprinkler contained the fire in a 10th floor apartment. Emergency personnel assisted residents off the floor. He said the city Building Official determined the structure was uninhabitable until a full assessment could be completed. The Red Cross, the City Housing Authority and CARTA assisted emergency crews with moving the residents to local hotels after water used to control the fire affected multiple floors, Kunitzer said. Charleston, North Charleston and St. Andrews fire departments responded to the fire, in addition to the Charleston Police Department and Charleston County EMS. Fire officials said that 93 of the estimated 152 Joseph Floyd residents were relocated to a nearby hotel. The other 58 residents went to stay with family or friends. Officials also confirmed that one resident was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. The American Red Cross and Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority officials opened a shelter for the residents. The shelter, located at Grace on the Ashley Baptist Church, opened Tuesday afternoon. There, residents can get a safe place to stay, meals, and other services.
Apartment Building, Residential High Rise Stamford, CT – Laundry fire in high-rise apartment building held at bay by sprinkler system January 31, 2016 viking210 1 Comment Though tenants had to wait outside for a bit as firefighters did their work, nobody was hurt and nobody displaced after a drier caught fire in a 12-story high rise on Strawberry Hill Avenue late Friday night. The fire department got the call for a fire at the Carlton Plaza apartment building, situated roughly between the Stamford Police Department headquarters and Stamford High School as the crow flies, shortly before 10:30 p.m. Fire Capt. Michael Terenzio said that the fire started in or near a drier on the third floor. It is as yet unclear whether a malfunction in the drier started the fire, and the fire marshal is still investigating. “The third floor was evacuated, no one lost use of their apartments, everyone did react to the fire alarm system and it looks like the damage was confined to the object that was on fire, except for, obviously, smoke damage,” said Terenzio. “Everyone was probably out for an hour or so.” After that, the 120 tenants were able to go back to their units. The captain said the building’s sprinkler system worked as it should and helped keep the fire at bay until firefighters were able to bring up a hose. As a precaution, firefighters recommend regularly cleaning highly flammable drier lint out of traps and ducts.
Residential, Residential High Rise Austin, TX – Fire in downtown residential high-rise held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries January 15, 2016 viking210 Two people have been displaced after a Wednesday night fire in a high-rise in downtown Austin, fire officials said. Firefighters responded at 10:22 p.m. to a fire that started on the stove of an eighth-floor unit at 85 Trinity Street, the Austin Fire Department said. No one was injured. The sprinkler system activated and held the fire in check until firefighters arrived and extinguished the remaining fire, the department said. The apartments were evacuated, and everyone returned to their homes except the two displaced residents. The Austin Housing Authority is assisting the two residents, firefighters said.
Apartment Building, Residential High Rise Westboro, MA – Fire in trash chute of high rise apartment building controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries January 5, 2016 viking210 Fountainhead Apartments residents who were displaced Friday night after sprinklers were set off by a fire in a trash chute will be allowed back into their units starting Saturday afternoon, according to management. Danielle DeHart, regional property manager at the Fountainhead Apartments, said most of the displaced residents will be allowed back into their units, starting at 2 p.m. Saturday. “At 2 o’clock, we’ll start letting the building in slowly with the assistance of local police,” Ms. DeHart said. Ms. DeHart said “well over 200 residents” from about 170 apartments were affected. She said the Fountainhead is asking the tenants of 11 units to allow additional drying time. “We were very fortunate that nobody was hurt and everybody responded very quickly from the management team and also the local police and fire personnel,” Ms. DeHart said. “It was the smoke, of course, that triggered that the sprinkler system. It wasn’t the fire itself.” Ms. DeHart said the lesson to learn here is to be conscientious about what you throw away. She said estimates on the damages is not available yet. “Right now, our focus is on the residents and getting everybody where they need to be, certainly, cold January time, so that’s our priority No. 1, and then we’re worry about the building after that.”
Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise Grand Rapids, MI – Fire at high-rise apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system; No injuries November 23, 2015 viking210 Emergency crews had to scramble Thursday afternoon in downtown Grand Rapids after fire broke out on the fifth floor of the Weston Apartments. At first, smoke could be seen pouring out a window, quickly followed by water from the fire hoses. Everyone in the building was evacuated, and investigators say the fire was contained to just one apartment. “Our primary concern, right now, is to get 89 families that call this building home into their homes,” said Grand Rapids Fire Department deputy chief Kevin Sehlmeyer. “Many of them, in the process of leaving, left all their belongings behind — including cell phones. We have a mother that needs diapers.” Fire officials say no one was injured, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. There isn’t much room in downtown Grand Rapids to grow out, so the only option is up. Those taller buildings and provide more difficult challenges for fire fighters. “All of our companies are trained in high rise operations which includes working off stairs I mean they had to hike up five floors before they even began work today,” says Grand Rapids Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Sehlmeyer. This afternoon, their training allowed them to hold this fire at Weston Apartments to just one unit. Crews learn how to climb stairs quickly and efficiently to get hose and water to the burning apartments, they learn to blow water from inside out to avoid spreading flames on the inside and deeper into the building. Out of the 96 units, only one had fire damage only two water damaged. “We worked off of what is called a stand pipe. There’s a fire protection system in the building our crews hook to that then make their way onto the floor,” says Sehlmeyer. Like any high rise, these buildings come with sprinkler systems, which help.The concrete construction of older buildings, like the Weston, help contain the damage. But time is still the enemy when these apartments are so stacked together. There’s no wiggle room to stop it from spreading. “The faster we can get the water picked up the less damage to the units below so that’s the priority right now,” says Sehlmeyer.
Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise Fall River, MA – Sprinklers extinguish fire on 6th floor of apartment building with over 100 elderly and disabled residents; No injuries November 3, 2015 viking210 An early-evening fire sent elderly and disabled residents of Borden Place West, 181 S. Main St., out of their apartments. The fire started around 5:30 p.m. in the trash compactor, according to Fall River District Fire Chief Douglas Sullivan. The exact cause was being investigated, but Sullivan said it appeared accidental. The sprinkler went on in the trash compactor and extinguished the fire. “The system worked the way that it should have,” Sullivan said. “The fire was contained.” Wendy Carvalho, who acts as the fire warden on the sixth floor where she resides, said someone may have dropped an ashtray or cigarette into the trash chute “I knocked on everyone’s door,” Carvalho said. “They all came out.” Most of the 100-plus residents in the building are elderly or disabled, with many using walkers and in wheelchairs. Heavy smoke hung in the hallways even after the fire was extinguished, and many residents sat outside waiting to get back into their apartments. Other residents were inside the community room on the street level, and out of harm’s way. Resident Joseph Blanchard, who has lived in the building for 25 years, said it wasn’t the first fire at Borden West, but it was the worst. “There was really a lot of smoke,” Blanchard said. Sullivan said Borden West owner Peabody Properties called in professional cleaners to remove the excess water from the apartments that were flooded on the first floor. All residents were allowed back inside within a couple of hours. No residents were injured. One firefighter fell and injured his shoulder but was able to continue working. Responding to the fire were four engines, two ladder trucks, Rescue No. 1, Special Services, and Fall River police.
