Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

Spokane Valley, WA – Sprinklers stop apartment deck fire from spreading to surrounding units

Spokane Valley Fire Department said they responded to a deck fire at a second-story apartment early Sunday morning. Crews arrived at the Parkside Apartment complex around 4:00 a.m. Sunday. The alarm and sprinkler systems were activated and crews said the sprinkler stopped the fire from spreading to surrounding units.

SVFD crews said they knocked the fire down quickly and contained it to the deck.

All residents were safely evacuated, including the two adults and two children that lived in the unit. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Poughkeepsie, NY – Sprinkler system controls accidental kitchen fire at Hillcrest House

Approximately 120 people were displaced after a kitchen fire in the Town of Poughkeepsie Saturday. At 3:38 p.m., the Fairview Fire District responded to a fire at the Hillcrest House, 28 Snow Terrace.

The blaze was kept under control by the sprinkler system in the building until firefighters arrived, Chief Christopher Maeder said.

The cause of the fire was ruled “accidental,” and the result of unattended cooking, Maeder said.

Temporary housing needs for displaced residents was provided by the New York State Office of Mental Health and the American Red Cross. The residents are expected to return to the home Sunday afternoon, Maeder said.

Mutual aid from the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department, Roosevelt Fire District and Mobile Life Support Services. The Hillcrest House is managed by Hudson River Housing.

Apartment Building, Residential

Houston, TX – Sprinklers help control high rise apartment fire; no injuries

A fire broke out at a high rise in Midtown Saturday afternoon. It happened just before 4:30pm in the 5000 block of Fannin.

HFD arrived to find heavy smoke on the seventh floor of the high rise and a fire in the kitchen of an apartment. The sprinkler system was activated throughout the building. A second alarm was requested at 4:44pm. The fire was declared under control just before 5:30pm.

There was heavy smoke, water damage and fire damage to kitchen in the apartment.

The woman whose apartment the fire started in, tells Eyewitness News she was using her microwave when it shorted. She said she was able to get her kids and parents out of the apartment.

There were no injuries.

Apartment Building, Residential

Portland, OR – Sprinklers halt spread of fire caused by crafting heat gun

The fire caused by a crafting heat gun set on a hardwood floor by a resident damaged a Northwest Portland apartment building Sunday morning. No one was hurt in the fire, which was slowed by the building’s sprinkler system before firefighters arrived.

According to Portland Fire & Rescue, at approximately 8:40 a.m. on Oct. 11, Portland Fire Engine 3 was dispatched to the report of a fire alarm at 1420 N.W. Lovejoy St. When the engine arrived, a resident of one of the apartments met firefighters outside and reported that one of the units was on fire.

After circling the block to check out the building, firefighters noticed smoke coming from a second-story window. The commanding officer then upgraded the incident to an apartment fire, balancing the incident to the appropriate number of responders to handle it.

Once crews entered the building, they found that the alarm system had activated and the sprinkler system was flowing. Interior fire attack crews made entry into the apartment and reported that the sprinklers had slowed the forward progress of the fire.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Other - Residential

South Williamsport, PA – Sprinkler system quickly suppresses fire at care home; No injuries reported

Insinger’s Personal Care Home, 6 E. Central Ave. in South Williamsport, was safely evacuated when a small fire broke out in a second-floor bedroom about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday. The home’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the fire, which involved some linen, fire officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The home’s estimated 30 residents were placed with relatives, friends or were spending the night at the First Ward Fire house because the electrical system has to be inspected before the home resumes operation, officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gainesville, FL – Fire in elevator room at off-campus apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire in an elevator’s engine room at The Bartram apartments on Southwest Archer Road was extinguished by a fire sprinkler Wednesday night. GFR units were dispatched to Bartram at 10:48 p.m. Wednesday due to an active fire alarm, a Gainesville Fire Rescue news release said. When they arrived, the crews found smoke in an elevator shaft and the call was upgraded at that point to a building fire.

It turned out that there was a fire in the engine room beside the elevator, so a sprinkler was activated and the flames were extinguished quickly, the news release said. The fire was contained in the engine room and there were no injuries reported. GFR emphasized in its release that having a working sprinkler system usually can contain or extinguish a fire until Fire Rescue personnel arrive.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Hampton, VA – Sprinkler system contains fire at senior apartment building; no injuries

Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue responded to a fire in an apartment complex Wednesday morning, officials said. Dispatch was notified about 10 a.m. of a working incident at the Tidewater Senior Apartments in the 1400 block of West Queen Street.

The fire was put out shortly before 10:20 a.m., dispatch said.

The fire began in a third-floor unit’s bathroom, and it was contained by a sprinkler system until Hampton firefighters arrived on scene, Battalion Chief T.A. Hinton said.

The two units beneath the third-floor apartment suffered minor water damage because of the sprinkler system, Hinton said.

No one was displaced by the incident, and no injuries were reported.

Fire investigators determined the blaze was caused by a bathroom vent fan that malfunctioned, Hinton said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charleston, IL – Grease fire at University Court Apartments put out by sprinklers

A grease fire was reported at 7:02 p.m. Sunday in the Cooper Building of University Court Apartments. Assistant Fire Chief Steven Bennett of the Charleston Fire Department said the residents in apartment 23 were cooking when the grease got too hot and started to catch fire.

“The sprinklers had activated and put the fire out, so the sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do,” Bennett said.

There was minimal fire damage and little water damage in other apartments.

“The sprinkler was activated so it was putting the water out on the fire, so some of that water finds cracks and goes down into the apartment(s) below,” Bennett said

“Right now the fire alarm is now activated until the electrician can come and reset it,” Bennett said. “Because it activated when the sprinkler went off and right now the sprinkler system’s down until the plumber can change out the sprinkler head that activated.”

The fire alarm has been reset in Cooper.

The electricians and plumber were called and notified, and building service workers had already started cleaning up the water.

Residents were able to return to their apartments at 7:50 p.m. unless they were in the apartment affected by the fire.

Kelly Miller, associate director of housing and dining, said the people who had to leave Cooper because of the grease fire were staying with friends.

Miller said there was not a lot of physical damage, and the sprinklers went off as they were supposed to.

Apartment Building, Residential

Elko, NV – Apartment cooking fire extinguished by sprinkler system

A cooking fire early Monday morning at the Villas at Riverside showed the importance of having a fire sprinkler system, according to the City of Elko fire department. Deputy Chief Brian Burgess said the resident had fallen asleep while waiting for food to be prepared. The fire caused the sprinkler system to activate. There was minor damage to the microwave, stove and upper cabinets, said Burgess.

He said residents were evacuated for only an hour and the affected apartment was able to be occupied afterwards. It also had mild water damage. “Had this building been an unprotected building, the fire would have likely caused severe damage to the building, displacing all of the residents (and) threatening the lives of the occupants,” said Fire Marshal Joshua Carson, explaining the value and importance of the system.

Even though there was mild fire and water damage, it was far less than what would have been seen in a building without that system, he said. In addition, he stressed how the system salvaged the property and protected the residents. They were alerted by a unit smoke alarm and fire alarm system.

Carson explained this fire comes at a significant time. The Fire Prevention Picnic this past weekend showcased the dangers of cooking-related fires and the benefits of residential fire sprinklers. The latter was exhibited by a live fire demonstration at the picnic, said Carson. “Elko Fire Department is a huge advocate for residential fire sprinklers,” he said. “We hope we can soon protect all of our newly constructed residential use buildings with this lifesaving technology.”