Category Archives: Residential High Rise

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at eight-story building

A water sprinkler doused a fire Friday afternoon at an eight-story building in downtown Fresno.

The Fresno Fire Department responded to the fire at 4:45 p.m. at Fulton and Amador streets with reports of a fire that started on the balcony, spokesman Jonathan Lopez said.

The sprinkler system had already extinguished the fire when crews arrived.

No one was displaced.

Lopez credited the Silvercrest Retirement Residence management for helping fire crews get to where the fire started and stressed the importance of having a working sprinkling system.

”This incident really highlights the importance of not having working smoke detectors, but especially in buildings like this working fire suppression,” he said. ”Sprinklers and self-closing doors really minimize the potential disaster that could happen in a high-rise building without these fire protection features.”

Five engines and two ladder trucks responded to the commercial fire.

Syracuse, NY – Sprinkler system activated for 5th floor apartment fire

Syracuse Firefighters extinguished a kitchen fire on the fifth floor of Vinette Towers Saturday afternoon.

Crews responded to the 947 Pond Street Apartment building around 3:39 pm after a 911 caller reported a very strong odor in the building. Firefighters arrived in less than 3 minutes and saw smoke coming out of a window on the 5th floor. Crews made their way to the fifth-floor apartment with a hose line and extinguished the fire.

Firefighters determined the fire started on a kitchen stove. A heat-activated sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading into any other apartments. No victims were found, but one apartment resident was displaced.

This is the second major fire reported at Vinette Towers this summer. In July, 10 apartments were left uninhabitable after homemade fireworks exploded on the 6th floor of the apartment building.

The cause of the stove fire is under investigation. The Syracuse Housing Authority, National Grid, Syracuse Police, the Red Cross, and AMR all assisted the Syracuse Fire department in their response.

Los Angeles, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at 16-story downtown high rise; No injuries reported

Sprinklers prevented a possible disaster Sunday evening when a sparking vacuum cleaner ignited a fire in an apartment of a 16-story downtown high rise.

The fire was reported at 10:45 p.m. at 255 S. Hill St., said the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Margaret Stewart.

It was in an eighth-story apartment and was held in check by sprinklers, Stewart said.

“While a few residents self-evacuated, the rest of the building is sheltering in place,” she said. “There is only light smoke in the hallway.”

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters remained at the scene to remove water from the sprinkler activation, she said.

Oshkosh, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in high-rise apartment building; No injuries reported

Fourteen people were displaced last week by a fire at a high-rise apartment building in Oshkosh.

Firefighters say it wasn’t a big fire, but 100 residents had to be evacuated from the Court Tower in the downtown area.

The building’s sprinkler system put out a small fire on the ninth floor.

No injuries were reported but the sprinklers caused extensive water damage to the eighth and ninth floors.

Most of the people who lived in the 10 damaged apartments stayed at a shelter last Thursday night.

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at high rise apartment complex; No injuries reported

No injuries were reported in a high-rise blaze Friday after a cigarette ignited a mattress in East Village.

Firefighters found smoke from a fourth-floor apartment and a sprinkler system activated at a high-rise complex at 901 F St. around 12:30 a.m., according to San Diego Fire & Rescue.

Crews of 45 personnel knocked down the flames by 1 a.m. and closed their incident by 1:49 a.m.

SDFD did not report any displacements due to the fire.

Rockford, IL – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at high rise apartment building; No injuries reported

The Rockford Fire Department says no one was hurt after a fire in a high-rise apartment building in downtown Rockford Friday.

RFD says firefighters were first called to the Olesen Plaza apartments in the 500 block of N. Church St. at around 4:40 p.m. Friday for the smell of smoke and alarms going off on the third floor of the building.

As first responders were on their way to the scene, people on the third floor noticed water coming from under the door of the apartment where the fire had happened.

As crews got to the scene, they found moderate smoke coming from the window of the third-story apartment. As they got inside, firefighters found a small dire that had been put out by the building’s sprinkler system.

The person living in that apartment was not present at the time of the fire. No residents, pets, or firefighters were hurt during the fire and following evacuation.

Fire crews worked with members of the Rockford Housing Authority, which owns Olesen Plaza, to clear out the smoke and to drain the water after the sprinkler system was shut down.

RFD officials say the fire was caused accidentally by “careless smoking.” Investigators estimate the damage caused by the fire at $65,000.

Olesen Plaza is 14 stories tall and houses around 140 people, according to the Rockford Fire Department.

Austin, TX – Sprinkler system keeps high-rise fire under control until fire crews arrive

Firefighters knocked down a high-rise fire in downtown Austin early Thursday morning.

The Austin Fire Department says it started around 3 a.m. from improperly discarded smoking material in an apartment at 901 West 9th Street, just a few blocks north of Whole Foods Market.

Austin Fire reports the sprinkler system kept it under control until they got there.

ATCEMS transported one person to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

In total, three people are displaced.

One apartment has fire and water damage; another has water damage.

Tempe, AZ – Sprinkler system activated for fire at high-rise apartment building; No injuries reported

About 200 residents had to be evacuated Sunday night after a fire sparked at a high-rise building in Tempe.

Firefighters responded to the scene at a residential building near 6th Street and Mill Avenue.

The fire was quickly upgraded to a 3rd-alarm fire which prompted more crews to respond. At one point, we’re told 250 firefighters were on the scene from six different cities.

Fire officials say it started when a fire sparked in a 9th-floor unit. It caused the sprinkler system to go off which contained the flames to a single unit.

The was water damage on the 9th, 8th, and 7th floors. A total of 5 units were displaced.

Sometime after midnight residents were allowed to reenter their homes.

Details of what sparked the fire haven’t been released.

There were no injuries reported.

Houston, TX – Sprinkler system activated for high-rise apartment building fire; No injuries reported

WHAT: High-rise apartment building fire

WHEN: November 9, 2021 at 11:27 a.m.

WHERE: 7575 Bellaire, 77036

INJURIES: No reported injuries.

PROPERTY SAVED: $45 thousand in estimated property saved.

DAMAGE: $5 thousand in estimated damage.

CAUSE: Unintentional – heat source too close to combustible.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes to find a fire near a trash chute in the maintenance area on the sixth floor of a high-rise apartment building. Paper goods were placed near an electrical plug which appeared to have started the fire. The fire was kept in-check by a fire sprinkler head until HFD arrived on scene. Firefighters from Stations 21, 28, 68, 83, 10, 60, 73, 51, 37 and 57 responded to this incident.

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system controls high-rise building fire until fire crews arrive

Firefighters worked to contain a fire that broke out inside a historic high-rise building in downtown Fresno on Sunday.

Around 4:00 p.m., the Fresno Fire Department says a fire engine responded to the Pacific Southwest Building near Fulton and Mariposa avenues after receiving a report that a sprinkler system was going off on the 14th floor.

When firefighters arrived, they found an alarm sounding inside of the building as residents made their way safely outside.

Firefighters made their way up to the 14th floor, where they called for a 2nd-Alarm after finding smoke.

After a 2nd-Alarm was called, several more fire engines arrived and could be seen surrounding the 16-story building.

The sprinkler system was able to keep the fire under control until firefighters could arrive and put it out.

Fire officials say investigators are working to figure out what started the fire.