Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

Huntington, VA – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A kitchen fire was put out by a sprinkler system and caused no injuries at a Huntington high-rise building on Saturday, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue.

Units responded to the eight-story apartment building in the 5900 block of Richmond Highway around 5:05 p.m. Saturday. Three residents were home when the fire occurred in the kitchen. A child found the fire and alerted her father, who unsuccessfully tried to put it out with a towel. The resident notified his roommate, who called 911.

Fire department units arrived to find the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. Investigators determined the cause of the fire was an air fryer igniting on the electric stove top when a stove burner was accidentally turned on. Damages were estimated to be $25,000.

Four residents were displaced, and Red Cross assistance was declined. Building management is helping the displaced residents.

Apartment Building, Residential

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Early morning balcony fire extinguished with help of sprinkler system

An early morning balcony fire was extinguished by Kelowna firefighters today.

The Kelowna Fire Department was called to the fire in the 900 block of Academy Way at about 4 am.

The first officer to arrive activated a sprinkler on the first-floor balcony, which successfully contained the fire.

Furnishings on the balcony were still damaged in the fire, however.

The fire has been deemed accidental.

KFD Platoon Captain John Kelly added: “We would like to remind everyone to fully extinguish smoking material in an appropriate container.”

Firefighters responded with three engines, a ladder truck, rescue unit and command vehicle with 16 crew members.

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported

Firefighters are crediting automatic sprinklers installed in an apartment on Madison’s near east side with quickly extinguishing a kitchen fire before it could spread further.

Authorities said occupants of the apartment complex in the 800 block of Williamson Street were evacuating the building as firefighters arrived just after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

When crews entered the building and made it to the second floor where the fire initially broke out, they found an automatic sprinkler flowing, but no active fire. Crews then shut off the sprinkler system and worked to remove water from the unit.

The occupant of the unit where the fire started told firefighters they were heating up a butane-powered hot pot when flames began coming from the butane bottle rather than the burner. The occupant threw water on the flames which caused a flare-up that triggered the sprinkler. The sprinkler put out the fire before firefighters arrived.

No one was injured in the incident, according to fire officials.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Tempe, AZ – Sprinkler system extinguishes stove fire at University Towers

One person was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a small kitchen fire broke out at the University Towers student housing complex Tuesday evening, according to Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department spokesperson Brandon Siebert. 

The occupant who was injured suffered smoke inhalation and other minor injuries after falling while evacuating the building. Another person was evaluated by paramedics on scene but declined any further care, Siebert said.

Three people were temporarily displaced by the fire: two people from the unit that caught fire on the second floor, and one in the unit below, which sustained water damage, Siebert said.

The fire started after a frying pan with cooking oil was left on the stove unattended, Siebert said. The building’s automatic fire sprinkler system extinguished the flames and prevented the fire from spreading to other apartments.

University Towers is located at 525 S. Forest Ave. in Tempe.

Apartment Building, Residential

Nashville, TN – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported

The Franklin Fire Marshal says a moving box left on a stovetop caused an apartment fire Tuesday morning.

According to a release from the Franklin Fire Department, the fire began around 9:49 a.m. at a four-story apartment building on Nichol Mill Lane.

The residents of the apartment were in the process of moving out and were outside putting items into their moving truck when the fire ignited.

The Fire Marshall says a stovetop burner was accidently left on and caused a carboard box placed on or beside it to catch fire.

The residents found the fire when they returned and tried to put it out with an extinguisher, but were not able to. They then evacuated the apartment. Crews say a single fire sprinkler head activated and put the fire out before the fire department arrived.

The Fire Marshal says because of that sprinkler system, only four apartments were damaged. Damage is estimated to be around $25,000. Nobody was injured.

No other information was immediately released.

Apartment Building, Residential

Williamsport, MD – Apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A five-year-old playing with a lighter caused an apartment fire in Williamsport on Wednesday afternoon.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office says fire fighters were dispatched to  11339 CiCi Way just after 5:30 PM. . When they arrived, they found the fire had been contained and was extinguished by the sprinkler system. No one was hurt.

Damage is estimated at $1,000 to the structure, and $2,000 to the contents. .

Investigators says the fire started when the child playing with a lighter in a closet ignited some clothes on the floor. The heat from the fire activated the sprinkler head in child’s bedroom.

The Fire Marshal’s Office says 30 fire fighters responded to this fire call.

Apartment Building, Residential

Manhattan, KS – Sprinkler system extinguishes blaze at apartment complex; No injuries reported

The Manhattan Fire Department said a sprinkler system put out a blaze inside an apartment early Wednesday morning.

Fire crews were called to The Links of Manhattan apartment complex at 517 Gatlinburg Way around 3:45 a.m. on a report of a structure fire.

When they arrived, they said they could not see any flames or smoke coming from the three-story apartment building outside.

Crews investigated and found a sprinkler system in the kitchen of a first-floor apartment had put out the fire.

Firefighters then searched the apartment and rescued a dog and cat. No one was home at the time of the fire.

The apartment building has 24 units. Investigators estimate a total loss of $20,000 to the building, but only the unit that caught fire was affected.

Manhattan Fire said the cause remains under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire on 5th floor of senior living community; No injuries reported

Atlanta firefighters evacuated the fifth floor of a senior living community Thursday morning after a fire broke out inside an apartment, officials said.

The fire occurred at the Lakewood Christian Manor off Springdale Road in southwest Atlanta, battalion Chief Tony Terrell said at the scene.

“The sprinkler system kept it in check,” and firefighters were able to get inside and extinguish the blaze, Terrell said, but crews were forced to evacuate residents on that floor because of water damage.

Fire officials said it appears the small blaze began inside a closet.

“We had a basket of clothes and laundry burning inside the closet,” Terrell said, adding that the fifth floor of the high-rise sustained water damage from the apartment’s sprinkler system. No injuries were reported, but seven residents have been displaced.

While fires at senior living complexes aren’t common, Terrell said the biggest challenge is evacuating residents who are unable to get out on their own. The building is nine stories tall and houses hundreds of residents, most of whom are older or disabled.

“The rest of the residents were allowed to shelter in place because we only had smoke in the hallway where we had the fire,” he said.

Volunteers from the American Red Cross responded to the scene and are offering temporary assistance to seven residents from six units that were damaged, agency spokeswoman Sherry Nicholson said. In addition, a company was called in to remove the water from the fifth floor.

“They’re going to have to wait until all the water is cleaned up before they can return to their apartments,” Terrell said.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

McFarland, WI – Exterior fire sprinkler controlled second-story balcony fire

McFarland Fire & Rescue responded to a second-story balcony on fire just before 11:30 a.m. on Monday, which staff says was controlled by a fire sprinkler.

At 11:21 a.m., crews were dispatched to the fire at 5601 Lexington St. in the village of McFarland, which they found controlled by an exterior fire sprinkler head. They were able to extinguish the fire within about 15 minutes of it being reported.

According to a press release from the department, the sprinkler prevented the fire from extending into the attic of the building, though it did spread into the furnace room of the apartment, displacing one tenant.

Though the apartment that caught fire was unoccupied, one apartment resident was transported by a city of Madison ambulance with a non-life-threatening medical emergency.

A passerby called 911 after seeing the sprinkler activate.

“Without the fire sprinkler and fire alarm system, the fire’s outcome would have been much worse,” the department said in a release.

The city of Madison and city of Monona fire departments, along with the McFarland Police, responded to the incident as well.

Apartment Building, Residential

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler system quickly douses kitchen fire; No injuries reported

A small kitchen fire broke out in a third-floor unit of the RainCity Housing on Yale Road.

It was doused quickly by the building’s own automatic sprinklers putting the kibosh on any major damage – before fire crews even arrived.

Chilliwack Fire Department got the call at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 28) about the fire in the 45000-block of Yale Rd, according to Assistant Chief Chris Wilson. Firefighters responded from Halls 1 and 4, and gained access to a third floor unit where they discovered a small fire in the kitchen area.

“The fire had been extinguished by the building’s automatic fire sprinkler system prior to the arrival of fire crews, which significantly limited fire damage to a small area around the kitchen cabinets,” assistant chief Wilson said.

“Without a working sprinkler system in place, this fire had the potential of causing extensive fire, smoke and water damage to the unit.”

Chilliwack Fire had nothing but praise for preventative measures like alarms and sprinkler systems.

“The presence of an automatic fire sprinkler system in conjunction with a working smoke alarm greatly reduces the chance of being injured or dying in a fire, and also significantly improves public and firefighter health and safety by reducing the chance of injury and exposure to harmful contaminants and carcinogens.”

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported.