Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

La Mesa, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

Thirty residents of a La Mesa apartment complex were displaced after a fire sparked in their building Monday evening, a fire official said.

Crews were dispatched just before 7:40 p.m. to the Spring Hill Apartments, on Spring Street northeast of state Route 125, Heartland Fire & Rescue spokesperson Andy McKellar said.

There was a fire in a top floor apartment. Crews had it out by shortly after 8 p.m., he said.

The sprinkler system did activate, “helping to keep the fire in check,” McKellar said.

McKellar said firefighters contained the fire to one unit, but an additional 15 apartments were affected by water from the sprinkler system.

He said the Red Cross was called in to assist residents who needed help.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes cooking fire in condo

A cooking fire that broke out in an east side condo was quickly extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler, minimizing damage and preventing fire-related injuries to occupants and firefighters.

Crews were sent to the 5300 block of Congress Avenue for reports of fire in a condo unit. Engine Co. 11 entered and found there had been a small cooking contained to a pan on the stovetop. An occupant was heating vegetable oil in the pan when it ignited. The occupant reflexively put water on the fire, which caused the fire to flare up rather than extinguish. The flare-up created more smoke and heat, triggering an automatic fire sprinkler to activate from above. The fire was extinguished by the fire sprinkler before firefighters arrived.

There was minimal smoke damage in the kitchen and no damage to nearby countertops or cabinets. The exhaust vent above the stove did suffer some fire-related damage.

Firefighters cleared remaining smoke from the unit and cleaned up some of the water. Property managers were notified of the incident and given guidance on what steps to take to restore alarm and sprinkler systems following the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system stops kitchen fire at apartment complex

A sprinkler system stopped a kitchen fire in its tracks at a northeast Bend apartment Saturday evening, but the resulting water and smoke damage displaced six residents of five nearby apartments until cleanup is completed, officials said.

Bend Fire & Rescue responded around 5:35 p.m. to a fire in a third-floor unit at the Legacy Landing Apartments on NE Tucson Way, Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki said.

Most of the residents already had evacuated the building before fire crews arrived, and the fire had been controlled by the building’s sprinkler system, Derlacki said.

Crews worked to stop the water and clear smoke from the building, which has 60 apartments on the upper three floors and a Mosaic Medical clinic on the ground floor. Derlacki said water damage also was found in the clinic, “but shouldn’t keep the business from opening for regular business on Monday.” Damages are estimated at $50,000.

An American Red Cross disaster team was called in to help the six affected occupants find hotel rooms for the night, while the rest were able to safely return to their apartments, after the sprinkler and alarm systems were restored, Derlacki said.  A restoration company was on scene to begin the cleanup process.

Derlacki said the fire sprinkler system stopped the fire quickly and helped keep the damage to a minimum. With the fire stopped before it could spread out of the kitchen, the amount of smoke in the building was kept to a minimum and allowed the occupants to evacuated safely. 

“Bend Fire Department reminds everyone to keep a watchful eye on anything you’re cooking,” the fire official said in a news release. “Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires in the country.

Other - Residential, Residential

Quebec City, QC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire in underground parking lot

Hyundai recalled some 77,000 Kona EVs in 2020 due to the risk of them bursting into flames from possibly defective battery packs and even though it supposedly fixed all vehicles that potentially had problems, the fires didn’t completely go away. Now another electric Kona caught fire while it was parked in an underground parking lot in Quebec City, Canada.

Firefighters responded to the call but they say they first had to ventilate the underground part of the building in order to gain access to the vehicle in order to extract it from the garage. They quickly managed to do that and even though they say it was the battery pack that was the source of the fire, this particular Hyundai Kona Electric has much less damage compared to others we’ve seen.

It is also noted that the vehicle was parked under a sprinkler for the emergency fire suppression system and even though the battery pack (the source of the fire) was under the car where water couldn’t quite reach it, it probably played its part in keeping the fire contained and preventing it from spreading to other cars parked nearby.

It was not noted in any of the reports that we found whether or not the vehicle had been plugged in and charging when the fire started.

The fire was reported at around 4 AM and firefighters decided to evacuate the entire eight-story building to make sure everyone was safe. Even though the fire was contained and flames were never visible from the outside, smoke had apparently entered the building’s ventilation ducts, posing health risks and making the evacuation necessary.

Everybody was given the green light to return to their homes two hours later and the fire reportedly caused no damage to the building or any of the other cars parked there at the time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Huntsville, AL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Multiple units responded to a structure fire in Huntsville Saturday morning.

Huntsville Fire and Rescue said multiple units responded to 2130 Old Fairway Road NW just before 7:30 a.m. This is located at the Cottages at Watercress, just off Jeff Road north of US-72.

HFR told News 19 that a small fire in one of the third-floor apartments triggered the sprinkler system. The sprinklers did their job, extinguishing the fire. Crews entered the apartment, checking to see if the fire had spread elsewhere, but no further fire was found.

The apartment resident is likely to be displaced temporarily, but nobody was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

St. George, UT – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at apartment complex

A fire at an apartment complex that firefighters say could have displaced dozens of Cedar City residents was extinguished by an activated sprinkler system.

At approximately 12:56 p.m. on Aug. 20, the Cedar City Fire Department received a call involving a kitchen fire at an apartment complex located at 163 N. 300 W. in Cedar City, according to a press release issued by the city.

Upon arrival, no flames or smoke were visible from the exterior; however, water was spraying out of the unit due to an activated sprinkler system.

Cedar City Fire Department responded with on battalion chief, one engine and one squad unit with a total of seven firefighters. When investigating, firefighters found a cooking fire had started on the stove but was extinguished by an activated sprinkler system that suppressed the flames. Firefighters credit the sprinkler system for saving dozens of lives and preserving multiple apartment units, the release states.

“This type of fire could have easily spread to nearby units, displacing tenants and damaging not only this apartment unit but neighboring ones as well,” firefighter Chad Barnes said in the news release. “We are thankful this building had a working sprinkler system that meets code requirements because it ultimately saved lives and property.”

Firefighters returned to the property a few days later and the water salvage was nearly complete with tenants moving back in and resuming normal operations.

The fire department encourages all business and property owners to explore installing sprinkler systems, especially if the building is older and initially was not required to do so according to older code. Cost is usually the main factor that causes hesitation in property owners, but the long-term benefit outweighs the up-front cost should a property ever experience a fire.

“Recovering from an unexpected fire or disaster is always the hardest part of resuming normal operations,” Fire Chief Mike Phillips said. “As seen with this apartment fire, do what you can now to prepare for an unfortunate event and your business or property will be able to recover quicker.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Tulsa, OK – Sprinkler system contains fire at apartment complex until fire crews arrive; No injuries reported

Fire crews were called to the scene of a fire that broke out at the Woodward Park Apartments on Wednesday morning.

Crews were able to put the fire out just before noon and firefighters say this may an arson situation. Investigators with the Tulsa Fire Department say the exact cause of the fire is still undetermined but investigators believe it is related to someone trying to steal gas. Firefighters say a drill and a gas can were found in the garage where the fire broke out.

According to fire crews, two cars caught fire in a garage beneath an apartment unit.

Officials say the garage sprinkler system helped manage the fire until crews arrived on the scene. There was no damage to apartments and no injuries were reported. Investigators say they do not have any suspects at this time.

Residential, Residential High Rise

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.

Residential, Residential High Rise

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.

Residential, Single Family Home

Streamwood, IL – Sprinkler system activated for fire in basement of home

A fire that started in the basement of an unoccupied Streamwood home Saturday didn’t cause serious damage thanks to the sprinkler system, officials said.

Streamwood fire crews responded to the home on Moraine Court around 5 p.m. but found only light smoke coming from a basement window, according to a news release.

Officials said the fire was extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system so the damage to the home was minimal. Upon inspection, officials determined the fire had been started by a lithium battery pack that malfunctioned while being charged, the release said.

The village of Streamwood has required fire sprinklers installed in all new homes since 2002.