Category Archives: Residential

Residential, Residential High Rise

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.

Apartment Building, Residential

Jackson, WY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

At 10:40 a.m. this morning, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS responded to a structure fire at the Blair Place Apartment Complex.

Upon arrival, first responders observed flames coming from the third floor of apartment building 245. 

After arriving on the scene, firefighters were able to successfully control the fire which was contained to the third floor and roof, causing fire damage to two apartments according to Battalion Chief Mike Moyer. Other units on the first and second floors experienced water damage. 

The fire alarm and sprinkler systems were activated and responsible for effectively alerting residents of the  14-unit building and for helping to control the fire.  

“This is a good reminder to make sure your fire alarms and sprinkler systems are in working condition because they do make a difference,” Moyer said.  

While all residents were able to evacuate without injury and several pets were able to be evacuated. Residents will not be able to return to their apartments at least through tonight as the fire department will conduct its investigation and property managers will assess the damage to fire alarm and suppression systems.

Apartment Building, Residential

College Station, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; NO injuries reported

Residents in three units of a College Station apartment complex were relocated following a fire Monday afternoon.

College Station fire investigators found an electric skateboard battery that blew up while it was being charged.

CSFD responding to a smoke detector alert at The Zone complex found sprinklers had turned on and kept the fire from going full blown.

Firefighters found on the third floor heavy smoke and arcing electrical equipment that was shut down.

No one was injured, and the damage came from water from the sprinkler system.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Kennwick, WA – Sprinkler system activated for attic fire at nursing center

Kennewick fire officials are praising a sprinkler system for preventing a possible tragedy at a rehabilitation and nursing center early Tuesday. About 30 residents were at the facility at 2 a.m. Tuesday when a fire ignited in the attic of the Regency Canyon Lakes Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Ely Street. Fire Chief Chad Michael said the fire sent a light amount of smoke through the building. Firefighters arrived within four minutes of being called and discovered where the fire started.

A heating and ventilation system is suspected of causing the fire. “Fortunately, the attic space is fully sprinklered and a single sprinkler head contained the fire until fire crews arrived on the scene,” said the release.

All the physical, occupational and speech therapy patients living at the center and staff members were able to remain sheltered in the building, though firefighters helped move 12 patients to different rooms. Michael pointed out that sprinklers reduce fire-related deaths by 87% and injuries by 27%, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gainesville, FL – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire; No injuries reported

Gainesville and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to an apartment fire on Sunday.

A resident reported smoke inside of their apartment on the third floor around 5 p.m.

When rescuers arrived, heavy smoke was visible inside, but the sprinkler system inside contained the fire to the closet.

Crews were quickly able to extinguish the small fire.

No people were injured.

Other - Residential, Residential

Campbell RIver, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at homeless housing facility

No injuries to report after flames broke out in a top floor unit at a supportive housing facility in Campbell River.

Just after 11:30 last night (Wednesday), Campbell River fire chief Thomas Doherty says crews were dispatched to Q’waxsem Place.

The 50-unit building, located at 580 Dogwood St., opened in February and provides homes with 24/7 support for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

According to Doherty, an alarm call is what first prompted Campbell River Fire Rescue to attend.

Once on scene, he says crews quickly noticed smoke spewing out a third-floor window. They then utilized hose lines, working to extinguish the blaze in hopes it wouldn’t spread to other units.

But Doherty says the building’s sprinkler system did activate, which played an ‘instrumental’ role in getting the job done.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.

“All said and done, there’s damage to the one unit on the third floor, and a little bit of water damage as well to some subsequent units,” Doherty explains. 

However, while a number of residents did evacuate before firefighters arrived, others did not, which posed a challenge, Doherty tells My Campbell River Now.

Eventually, everyone made it out. Doherty notes that a transit bus stopped by, offering a warm and dry place for residents to stay while crews assessed the damage.

“We were fortunate to be able to let the occupants return to their units, with the exception of those that were damaged,” he adds.

Residential, Single Family Home

Frederick, MD – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire in home; No injuries reported

A microwave caught fire Monday morning, endangering a Frederick home, but fire department officials say sprinklers kept the blaze at bay.

The Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services responded to a kitchen fire in the 1500 block of Rambling Way South at about 9 a.m., according to posts on the division’s social media. The American Red Cross came to assist three adults and three children, but the fire marshal determined the house was still livable after firefighters extinguished the flames. There were no injuries.

The home’s sprinkler system reportedly contained the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albany, OR – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

An apartment house fire occurred at 707 SW 10th St. around 7:50 a.m. Friday, Oct. 22, displacing 10 residents.

Twenty firefighters, two chief officers and a fire investigator responded to the incident, which was caused by unattended cooking in one of the units.

“Fortunately the fire was quickly suppressed by a sprinkler located in the kitchen,” said Carmen Westfall, a fire prevention officer at Corvallis Fire Department. “The sprinkler did exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

While the fire damage was contained to the kitchen area, 10 people are now displaced because of the water damage caused by the downward trickle of the sprinkler system. There were no reported injuries.

“Unattended cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires,” Westfall said. “When you’re finished cooking, make sure you turn off your burners.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Durham, NC – Sprinkler system activated for fire in apartment building

A senior citizen was rescued from an apartment fire Tuesday night.

Firefighters responded to the senior apartment building, The Veranda at Whitted School, located at 200 East Umstead St., around 10:15 p.m.

A neighbor met firefighters to tell them an apartment was on fire.

The crew entered a smoke-filled apartment and rescued one resident inside a bedroom. The resident was in good condition but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Firefighters said an unattended hot stove may have caused the fire. A sprinkler system helped extinguished the fire, but there was water damage in the apartment and in a daycare located below.

If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop, officials warned, saying cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries.

Apartment Building, Residential

Nashville, TN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes after a two-alarm fire at an apartment complex in the Belmont area Monday night.

The fire began around 9:30 p.m. at the Belcourt Park Apartments on Belcourt Avenue.

No injuries were reported but the building has heavy water damage and smoke damage to the first and second floors while the remaining floors were not impacted, according to the Nashville Fire Department.

Fire officials reported crews arrived to find light smoke coming from the first floor of the five-story building and determined the fire was between the first and second floors, originating in the building’s community space.

Firefighters guided the residents outside though many were self-evacuating due to the fire alarm going off.

The Nashville Electric Service cut power to the building and all 76 units were evacuated for the night.

The American Red Cross was contacted to help the displaced residents. Those with pets were escorted back into the building to retrieve them before they were relocated.

“There were no real hazards other than locating the source of the fire when they arrived on scene. Between the first and second floor literally means that the fire was located in the ceiling of the floor so they had to search around for it a bit to locate the source of the fire. But as soon as they did that they were able to quickly extinguish it, but the sprinkler system did activate before we arrived on the scene. So that is going to attribute to a lot of the water damage that is going to be seen in this building,” explained Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Kendra Loney.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.