Category Archives: Residential High Rise

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Victoria, BC, Canada – Stove fan fire in high-rise apartment building doused by sprinkler system

A small fire in an apartment building on Fisgard Street will likely have residents of least a few units looking for somewhere to stay tonight. Crews were called to the 12-story Hudson Mews building at 780 Fisgard just before 8 p.m.

People living in the 120-unit building were forced out as firefighters arrived and searched for the cause. It turned out to be a fire in a stove fan on the fifth floor of the building.

“When crews arrived on scene, they found that a suite on the fifth floor had had sprinkler activation,” said Victoria Fire Department Acting Battalion Chief Mark Robertson.

“it was caused by a small fire in a hood vent.” The fire doesn’t appear to have caused much damage but it set off sprinklers.

“The fire has been extinguished but there was quite a bit of water damage to the suites below,” said Robertson.  City of Victoria Emergemcy Social Service attended to take care of any residents that were unable to return to their suites.

The building’s management team assisted with contacting their repair contractors and organizing their residents.  Those who could return home were allowed back in about 45 minutes later.

The building opened in May 2014.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Nashville, TN – Elevator motor fire in high-rise condominium building extinguished by sprinkler system

Firefighters responded to a downtown Nashville condo building after an elevator motor caught fire.  The fire broke out at Virdian Condos on the 400 block of Church Street around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon.  Crews on scene said that an elevator motor caught fire. It was put out by the sprinkler system before firefighters got on scene.  No one was injured during the incident.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Bradenton, FL – Fire at senior and assisted living facility extinguished by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire has damaged apartments in a Manatee County assisted living facility.  According to the facility management, a guest of a resident at the Westminister Towers & Shores left a basket on a stovetop. The contents inside the basket soon caught fire. The fire was quickly contained and extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system and Bradenton Fire Department.  No one was injured during the fire.  Westminster Towers & Shores will be relocating the three residents whose apartments need to be restored.

Residential, Residential High Rise

San Jose, CA – Early morning fire in high-rise apartment building held in check by sprinkler system

Roughly 40 to 60 residents in a 12-story high-rise apartment building in downtown San Jose are without a home for at least a week after a Sunday morning fire, San Jose fire officials said.  A faulty light fixture sparked the blaze at 4:22 a.m., immediately activating the building’s sprinkler system, San Jose Fire Department Captain Mitch Matlow said.

“The sprinkler system did it’s job,” Matlow said.

The fire, which was reported at Sixth and East Santa Clara streets, was extinguished quickly, but cleaning up the water damage will keep residents out of the building for at least a week, according to Matlow. “The people were sheltered in a VTA bus for a while, then they had to go back in and get their belongings because it’s going to be about a week before these people can come back to their homes,” Matlow said. “They have to dry the building out and make sure all the electrical is working before they can reoccupy the building.”

The American Red Cross will temporarily house and feed the displaced residents, according to Demetrious McCarthy from the Red Cross. That shelter is up and running at Burnett Middle School in San Jose, the Red Cross said.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Honolulu, HI – Sprinkler system suppresses fire on 15th floor of 42-story high rise; No injuries reported

More than 40 firefighters responded on Tuesday afternoon to a two-alarm fire at a high-rise building in Kakaako, the Honolulu Fire Department said.

Officials said the fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. at a 42-story building located at 425 South St. Firefighters arrived to find smoke emanating from the 15th floor. However, the fire had already been extinguished by a sprinkler and a bystander who used a cabinet fire hose.  Firefighters remained on scene to ensure complete extinguishment and removal of excess water.

No one was reported in the unit at the time of the fire.  Damage is estimated at $21,000. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Chicago, IL – Kitchen fire in downtown residential high-rise smothered by sprinkler system

** FIRE DEPT REPORTED *** Chicago Fire Department – Fire in a High Rise – 30 S Jefferson St Chicago, IL

A minor kitchen fire was put out by a sprinkler system at 10:54 am. BC3 reports smoke conditions in a high-rise building and requests a fill out to a “Still in a High-Rise.” Aerial Tower 1 checking the East Stairwell Fire Attack Stairwell. T1 assigned west stairwell.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Danville, VA – High rise apartment fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

Two Danville House apartments were damaged in a Saturday afternoon fire blamed on unattended cooking. The Danville Fire Department responded to the call on the eighth floor in apartment No. 802 at 600 Main St. at about 1:45 p.m., according to a news release.

A fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by a sprinkler system but filled the apartment with smoke. “After confirming there was no additional fire, the engine company stopped the flow of water from the sprinkler head,” Battalion Chief Brian K. Alderson said in the release. “Water was running down into apartments on the seventh floor.”

Crews redirected water out a window and covered furniture and other valuables with salvage covers, Alderson said. Power to the affected apartments also was turned off. Firefighters stayed on scene until about 340 p.m. There were no injuries.

The apartment on the eighth floor received smoke, heat and water damage, and another apartment on the seventh floor received water damage. The Danville chapter of the American Red Cross is helping one occupant and her pet.

Another occupant will stay with family. “All other tenants were allowed to return to their respective apartments,” Alderson said.  The cause of the fire was unattended cooking, according to the release.

“The DFD reminds everyone to stay alert and in the kitchen when cooking,” Alderson said. “The sprinkler system at the Danville House kept this fire from becoming a large fire that would have displaced many residents.”

Residential, Residential High Rise

Hutchinson, KS – Chemical fire in student’s apartment confined by sprinkler system

Hutchinson police investigators think a Hutchinson college student was experimenting with mixing chemicals to create an explosion when he caused a fire in his Plaza Towers apartment Tuesday evening. Local authorities also contacted Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after their investigation revealed the man was sharing his knowledge in chemical bomb making with people in other states, Hutchinson Police Detective Jamie Schoenhoff said.

Police arrested Chase Lee Coble, 22, on suspicion of aggravated arson in an occupied building, unlawful possession of explosives in an occupied building, conspiracy to commit use of explosives and felony criminal damage to property. He has not yet made a court appearance and remains jailed on $12,500 bond.

Firefighters responded to Coble’s apartment at the Plaza Towers, 17 E. Second Ave., at about 4 p.m. after a fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system. The fire itself was small, said Deputy Fire Chief Doug Hanen, and was confined to the top of an upright freezer. He estimated damage from water to the apartment, however, at $4,000 to $5,000.

“After the fire department responded, they discovered numerous chemicals in the apartment they thought might have been meth-lab-related,” Schoenhoff said. “Due to my past history with investigating meth labs, I quickly observed it was not a meth lab but something, in my opinion, more nefarious.”

Police called the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which in turn contacted the South Central Region Homeland Security Hazmat Response Team. All of the chemicals were collected and properly disposed of, Schoenhoff said.

“Mr. Coble is a student at (Hutchinson Community College) majoring in chemistry,” Schoenhoff said. “He’s attended several colleges in other states, in the same major.”

He came to Hutchinson from Salina about a year ago, the detective said.  In talking with Coble and finding items throughout the apartment, they identified at least three chemicals that when mixed with others would create an explosion of flash fire, Schoenhoff said.

“That created a danger to all the occupants of the building,” he said.

The 12-story building has 63 apartments. There also were indications in the apartment that there had been previous fires or explosions there, Schoenhoff said, though none resulted in firefighters responding or significant damage.

“Of equal concern, he’d been communicating with individuals in other states with reference to giving advice and detailing how to make chemical explosives,” he said.

At least one such contact was in Minnesota.  That information, he said, led investigators to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI.

Investigators seized at least 10 computer servers from the apartment, though all “went through the sprinkler system shower,” he said.

“Right now, we’re handling it at the state level, but everyone is interested in the computer analysis.”

The chemicals, for the most part, Schoenhoff said, are items anyone can purchase and none was illegal in itself to own. The problem, he said, is in mixing them, and Coble admitted to attempting to create explosives.

“He knew his stuff, as far as chemicals and reactions,” Schoenhoff said. “He gave different reasons, some legitimate reasons, as to why he was trying to experiment.”

Police arrested Coble last month on suspicion of driving under the influence and battery on a law enforcement officer, Schoenhoff said.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Macon, GA – Arson fire at high-rise apartments contained with help from sprinkler system

Fire alarms and sprinklers went off again Monday morning at St. Paul Apartments, a high-rise at 1330 Forsyth St. plagued by recent arsons.  Macon-Bibb County fire investigator Sgt. Steve Wesson said several fires have been reported at the building in the past three or four weeks. 

“A resident was setting something on fire and throwing it down the trash chute, causing the Dumpster to catch on fire,” Wesson said before leaving the apartments Monday morning.

About 5:30 a.m., Macon-Bibb firefighters responded to a small fire in room 904, a vacant apartment that was being used for storage, Macon-Bibb fire investigator Lt. Ben Gleaton said.

The room had been burglarized, some tools stolen and a fire set, Wesson said.  “I hope you get whoever. This is crazy,” fourth-floor resident Brigitte Gramke told the investigators as she walked her dog outside the brick building near downtown Macon. “It’s really bad.”

A Bibb County deputy arrested Robert Walter Hutchens, 75, who lives in room 901 at St. Paul Apartments.  Hutchens was charged with burglary, according to Bibb County jail records, and stolen tools were recovered.

Additional charges are pending if Hutchens is found responsible for the fire.  The sprinkler system caused water damage in some of the building, Gleaton said.

“It has to cost a fortune and usually it’s arson,” Gramke said of the multiple fires.  The St. Paul Apartments manager declined to comment Monday morning.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Honolulu, HI – High rise apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Honolulu firefighters rushed to a Kinau Street apartment early Thursday following reports of an odor of smoke. According to the Honolulu Fire Department, more than 10 firefighters were dispatched around 1:30 a.m. to Kinau Vista located at 1150 Kinau Street. Upon arrival at 1:35 a.m., they discovered that an activated sprinkler head extinguished a fire that broke out earlier. HFD did not have further details regarding the fire, but there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire and damage estimates are under investigation.