Category Archives: Residential High Rise

Residential, Residential High Rise

Waterloo, ON, Canada – Unattended cooking pan causes stove fire; Sprinkler system activated

A fire in a highrise student building has caused more than $150,000 in damage and required some of the students to be evacuated from their unit.

Waterloo fire department responded to a call at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Preston House, 315 King St. N., which is between Columbia Street and University Avenue.

The fire was caused by someone cooking on the stove who had left the pan unattended, said platoon chief Earl Reitzel.

The sprinkler system went off and the flow of water created “quite a lot of damage” to that unit, several units immediately below, and to the elevator shaft. A total of seven people are affected.

The building managers will find other places in the building for the tenants to stay, if necessary, while the units are being cleaned up, Reitzel said.

Not paying attention while cooking is one of the major causes of fires, he said.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Atlanta, GA – Overnight fire in midtown residential high rise contained with help from sprinkler system

An early morning fire that investigators believe may have started on a balcony forced more than two dozen residents to evacuate a Midtown high-rise early Tuesday.  The fire at the Plaza Midtown, located at West Peachtree and 8th streets, was reported at 2:25 a.m., according to Atlanta fire Sgt. Cortez Stafford. The blaze was visible on the 18th floor of the 20-story building when firefighters arrived, Stafford said.  “Our units quickly went up, started evacuating people and knocking on every door,” Stafford said.

The building’s sprinkler system helped contain the fire while residents were led down the stairs and outside. Between 25 and 30 residents, some in wheelchairs, were helped out of the building, Stafford said. Other residents were allowed to shelter in place on lower floors. “With the high-rise fires, some of our main concerns are the amount of people in the building, the amount of fire spread,” Stafford said. “Sometimes the smoke can be contained, so we’re worried about that.” No injuries were reported.

Residential, Residential High Rise, Townhouse / Condominium

Arlington, VA – Early morning fire at luxury high-rise condominium building contained by sprinkler system

One person was sent to the hospital for observation after a fire in a Virginia Square condominium Friday morning.  The fire was reported around 6:30 a.m. at the high-rise Hawthorn condo building, which is located at 820 N. Pollard Street, across Wilson Blvd from Gold’s Gym.  The fire was contained by a sprinkler system, allowing firefighters to quickly extinguish the flames. Large ladder trucks were used to help with the firefighting effort.  The Arlington County Fire Department. The Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause

Residential, Residential High Rise

Austin, TX – Fire in trash chute of high rise apartment building contained by sprinkler system

<The> fire last Sunday developed downtown on West 3rd Street at Amli, a hi-rise apartment building.  AFD said the fire began in the first floor parking garage. They believe someone may have thrown a hot item in the trash compactor. Division Chief Thayer Smith said the sprinkler helped prevent the fire from spreading up the building. When fire crews arrived they extinguished what was left of the fire and worked on smoke removal. Residents were able to return to their homes later that day.

“We really got to ask folks you know not dispose of that stuff in the trash compactor because this is the result of what happens when you do that,” Smith said.  The apartment fire was the second hi-rise fire the department has responded to in the last two weeks for someone tossing an improper item down the trash chute. The building sustained minimal damage.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

Oklahoma City, OK – No injuries after fire at high rise retirement home is put out by sprinkler system

A northeast side retirement home has been partially evacuated due to a high-rise fire.  The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded around 12:18 p.m. on Sunday at the Senior Living Center in the 1200 block of N. Kate Avenue.  Upon arrival, heavy smoke was reported.  Officials said the fire ended up being a mattress in a room on the fifth floor. Some residents evacuated, and others sheltered in place.  The fire was put out, while a sprinkler system continued flowing and crews worked to control the water.  Firefighters said no injuries have been reported.  Less than an hour later, residents were allowed back in their rooms except for those who live on the fifth floor.  Automatic sprinkler systems save lives,” said Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson. “Water damage is much preferred over larger fires and fatalities from smoke.”  No other details have been released at this time.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

St. Louis, MO – Sprinkler system activates in fire at high rise for the elderly and disabled; No injuries reported

Tense times for residents Thursday morning at a Midtown St. Louis apartment high-rise after a fire temporarily shut down the elevators. The apartments are home to senior citizens and people with disabilities. All three elevators in the building were disabled after a cooking accident. The fire set off the building’s sprinkler system. “When there is a fire, the sprinkler goes off. The sprinkler kicks on and it shuts down the elevator – all elevators,” said Vince Turner.

Those sprinklers sent water into a lot of different areas, including the electrical components of the elevators. The St. Louis Fire Department said the trouble began Wednesday night after Turner, a resident on the 21st floor, burned his dinner. “I was frying some fish in the skillet, then it exploded-boom-big ball of fire and smoke,” he said. The high-rise Council Towers Senior Apartments is home to senior citizens and those with disabilities. After about 12 hours of nonstop work by repair crews, two of the three elevators were back up and running. Although many of the residents struggled to get up and down the stairs, no one was hurt. “I never had to walk this many flights in my life,” said Debora Hall.

Hall, 61, said she walked down 27 flights of stairs. “It was very painful; my whole right side. I have a disc in my neck and my lower back so my whole right side is very weak,” Hall said.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

New Brunswick, NJ – Fire on 11th floor of luxury high rise apartment building put out with help from sprinkler system

City officials say no one was injured in a kitchen fire, ignited in an apartment at The Aspire, 135 Somerset St., on February 22. The emergency call came in at 3:05 p.m., with firefighters arriving on the scene within three minutes. The fire, on the eleventh floor of the luxury building, was quickly knocked down and firefighters were able to clear the scene by 5 p.m., said city spokesperson Jennifer Bradshaw. Firefighters believe the fire was caused by a cooking accident. The building sprinkler system activated and helped extinguish the flames. While there were fortunately no injuries, the apartment sustained water damage.  A second alarm was called because the blaze was in a 17-story high rise, with support coming from Edison, Sayreville, East Franklin, North Brunswick and East Brunswick fire departments.  The Aspire, built by Boraie Development in New Brunswick, opened in 2015. It is steps from the New Brunswick Train Station and across the street from the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rutgers Medical School and the Rutgers University campus.  It includes 238 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system keeps senior high rise fire under control until firefighters arrive

Residents of a west Topeka senior high-rise apartment building were awakened by the sound of smoke alarms early Wednesday after a trash fire inside their building, authorities said.  The residents either made it outside safely or sheltered in place as Topeka Fire Department crews extinguished the blaze.

Authorities said the fire was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Plaza West Apartments, a seven-story building at 5620 S.W. 22nd.  Upon their arrival, firefighters found light smoke on the first-floor of the building.  Crews searched and found a small fire in a trash bin. Officials said the bin was located in the trash room of the complex.

Topeka Fire Department officials said the sprinkler system activated properly and kept the fire under control until firefighters could arrive.  Firefighters then removed the trash bin from the building and finished extinguishing the blaze.

Damage was confined to the trash bin and the surrounding trash-chute system. A Topeka Fire Department investigator responded to the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire. A preliminary investigation indicated the cause of the fire was undetermined, pending further investigation.

The estimated dollar loss was $500 to the structure. There was no content loss. Three engine companies, two truck Companies, two battalion chiefs and an investigator responded to the incident. No injuries were reported.

College/University (on campus), Residential, Residential High Rise

Ithaca, NY – Fire on 10th floor of on-campus residential high rise contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters from the Ithaca Fire Department were called to Ithaca College campus for a fire in a dorm room on the 10th floor of the East Tower high-rise. Fire officials credit a working sprinkler and fire alarm system for keeping the fire from spreading from the one dorm room.

Ithaca College Safety Personnel reported heavy smoke in the hallway and a sprinkler activation on the 10th floor at about 9 a.m., according to the Ithaca Fire Department. Students evacuated the building to the Towers parking lot.

Ithaca firefighters arrived and entered the building to search for anyone still inside, while others stretched hose lines to the fire. The fire was quickly knocked down.

No one was injured in the blaze and students were moved into the Towers dinning hall due temperatures in the teens, the fire department said. The fire caused significant damage to the the dorm room, but the fire was contained and did not spread to any other rooms, the department said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

“Early notification and quick responses keep these potentially serious events, from turning tragic,” the fire department said on its Facebook page.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Hutchinson, KS – Fire in residential high rise contained to kitchen area by sprinkler system

A Hutchinson man “narrowly escaped the smoky conditions” of a kitchen fire late Friday night on the 11th floor of the Plaza Towers that caused other residents to flee their apartments in the 12-story building, the Hutchinson Fire Department stated.

The man used a stove burner to heat the apartment when other material on the stove ignited, according to a press release. A single sprinkler went off, and the man made his way through the dense smoke and out of the apartment. The sprinkler helped contain the fire to the kitchen area. Firefighters found the blaze spread to the kitchen cabinets when they arrived after 11:45 p.m.

Firefighters used thermal-imaging equipment to locate the fire, the release said, while other firefighters evacuated the 11th and 12th floors of the apartment building at 17 E. Second Ave. Approximately 45 apartments are being rented, the fire department said.

The man was the only one in the apartment at the time, fire Chief Steve Beer said. He was treated on site by Reno County EMS and is being assisted by the American Red Cross. Beer said the man and his son were the only residents displaced by the fire