Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

Liberty Lake, WA – Fire sprinklers extinguish second floor apartment fire started by cigarettes

The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to a fire at the Bitterroot Apartments Wednesday night, which was extinguished by a functioning sprinkler system.

They received multiple calls of smoke and visible flames on the second floor of the apartments, with one caller speculating that it was a barbecue fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters saw light smoke on the second floor deck, but confirmed that the fire was extinguished.

Spokane Valley Fire Inspector Brett Anderson determined that residents were throwing out cigarettes into a cardboard box on the deck, which caught fire before an automatic sprinkler system put it out.

“Sprinklers work!” said Anderson, stressing the importance of having a working sprinkler system.

“Fire sprinklers are an effective method to mitigate fire damage,” said Spokane Valley Fire Marshal Greg Rogers. “They allow individuals the opportunity to escape a burning structure. You have about a 50% chance [to escape] compared to an 80% chance in a structure with a sprinkler system.”

The Fire Department has seen a rise in incorrect cigarette disposal over the past few months and recommends discarding cigarettes in clean metal paint cans.

Apartment Building, Residential

Maple Ridge, BC, Canada – Apartment sprinkler system stops second floor fire from spreading; No injuries reported

The call initially came in late Tuesday night as alarms sounding, but it turned out to be an actual fire in the kitchen of a second-storey apartment on 224th Street and 122nd Avenue in Maple Ridge.

“It originally came in as alarms ringing, but when the crews arrived on scene, they actually found there was a fire in a suite,” Maple Ridge Fire and Rescue chief Howard Exner said Wednesday.

Initially, two trucks arrived on scene when the call first came in just before 11 p.m., but that was soon upgraded to 10 trucks.

No one was home at the time, but there were two dogs and a cat in the suite, said Exner.

“And they’re doing fine.”

He added that the building is equipped with water sprinklers.

The sprinklers activated and stopped the progress of the fire, “and allowed us to put out the remaining parts of the stuff that was on fire,” Exner said.

In addition to the fire-damaged suite, there was also some water damage to units below.

There were no injuries.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

New Haven, CT – Fire sprinklers extinguish fire in Yale dorm room started by lit candle; No injuries reported

A small fire broke out in a student dorm room in Pauli Murray College Monday afternoon, with subsequent water damage affecting the buttery, the college’s student meeting room, the dining hall loading dock and two student suites. No students, faculty or staff members were injured.

The fire — which began from a lit candle — broke out in Entryway E around 2:50 p.m. Alarms sounded throughout the college as the sprinkler system put out the fire before firefighters entered the building. The water in the suite, which was on the second floor, leaked down into the suite below it and then into the elevator shaft, causing damage in the basement.

Head of College Tina Lu sent out an email to Pauli Murray students approximately two hours later, explaining that nobody was hurt and informing students about the damage. She also emphasized the rule against candles in undergraduate dorm rooms.

“Candles are dangerous,” Lu told the News. “And the takeaway is that the undergraduate regulations, that particular one, is there for a very good reason. We all grew up with candles, but in this communal living environment, they’re dangerous, and they caused a lot of damage.”

Lu did not specifically elaborate on how the fire started, citing that she wanted to protect the privacy of the student. However, she did mention the danger of having a candle lit with the window open on a windy day, as wind can carry the fire.

She said that while she was not on campus when the fire broke out, she returned when the firemen arrived and later did a walkthrough of the college with the fire marshal to survey the damage. Excluding the student’s suite, all of the damage to the college is water-related, and the facilities staff have already begun repairing the college’s property.

“All [the repairs] are taking place right now, but in a building that is this complicated, it’s a bunch of different moving parts,” Lu said. “We are working hard to make sure that it’s as fast as possible.”

Casey Ramsey ’20, who lives in the suite below the room in which the fire started, told the News that he and his suitemate have been temporarily relocated to a different entryway due to water damage. None of their items were damaged, but there is a crack in their ceiling that was leaking water, he explained. Firefighters discovered an inch of water in the walls of the hallway outside their room, according to Ramsey.

Ramsey was in his room at the time of the fire but said he did not think that the alarm was serious. He only left when his friend texted him that the fire was directly above him, he said. After the fire was extinguished, firemen and the fire marshal examined his suite and decided that he should move as a precaution so that adequate repairs could be made.

“It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s not unpleasant,” Ramsey said. “At least we got to stay in Murray, and we got to keep our own rooms and have our own space still, and it’s not too far.”

Shira Minsk ’23 lives in the same hallway as Ramsey, but her suite did not suffer any water damage. However, there was a small leak in the hallway outside her room, which had stopped by Tuesday morning.

Minsk, like Ramsey, was in her room at the time of the fire. She recalls at least two other times this year that the fire alarm has gone off in her entryway, both of which turned out to be false alarms or fire drills. So, when she heard the alarm this time, she said she put in her headphones and continued to study. She added that she only left the building when one of her friends who lives down the hall informed her that there were firefighters coming. Once outside, she saw smoke coming out of a second-floor window and then saw water from the sprinklers.

“I totally think it could have happened to anyone … Lots of people I know in Murray light candles,” Minsk said.

Pauli Murray College is located at 130 Prospect Street.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Sterling, VA – (no media coverage) Sprinkler system keeps townhome garage fire from spreading; No injuries reported

Automatic Sprinkler System in Sterling Townhouse Held Fire in Check as Firefighters Responded

Loudoun County Fire Official’s credit a Sterling townhome’s automatic fire sprinkler system with preventing a garage fire from spreading further before first responders arrived.

On Thursday, January 16, 2020, fire and rescue units from Cascades, Sterling Park, Kincora, Ashburn, and Fairfax County, along with various command staff officers, responded to a report of a car on fire in the garage of a home in the 46,000 block of Pryor Square in Sterling.

Firefighters arrived on scene to find a three-story, end-unit townhouse with a car on fire in the garage and the residents safely outside the home. Fire crews quickly extinguished the remaining fire that was being controlled by the automatic fire sprinkler system. Fortunately for the residents and neighbors, the fire and subsequent damages were contained to the vehicle and the garage with no fire extending to the remaining portions of the townhome. No other dwellings were affected and there were no reported injuries to citizens or first responders.

The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office has determined that it was an accidental fire, originating in the engine compartment of the vehicle. Damages to the vehicle and home are estimated at $20,000.
“If the sprinkler heads had not been in place and operated as designed, this fire could have been significantly more severe,” said System Chief Keith Johnson. “This incident is a prime example of the positive impact of automatic sprinkler systems in residential homes. The sprinkler activation kept the fire under control until firefighters could get on scene and damages to the home were directly minimized.” Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials remain strong advocates of automatic fire sprinkler systems and their safety benefits. To learn more about fire prevention activities and education in Loudoun County, visit http://www.loudoun.gov/firemarshal or call 703-737-8600.

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Apartment Building, Residential

Chattanooga, TN – Fourth floor apartment fire kept in check by fire sprinklers

Crews with the Chattanooga Fire Department battled a fire at the Vista Cameron Harbor apartments that broke out overnight in the middle of frigid temperatures.

According to the fire department, the first fire company that arrived reported a fire on a fourth-floor balcony.

Firefighters made their way into the apartment and found the sprinkler activated in the bedroom.

Glass from the balcony doors broke due to the fire and the sprinkler activated kept the fire from spreading.

Firefighters extinguished a small fire on the balcony that remained after the sprinklers were activated.

Several apartments received water damage due to the sprinklers. Fire crews used tarp to cover the affected areas.

All occupants were evacuating the building upon the arrival of firefighters.

Due to the frigid temperatures, apartment occupants were sheltered on the first floor until they got approval to return to their apartments.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Red Cross was called to assist two people.

Apartment Building, Residential

Katy, TX – (no media coverage) Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by fire sprinkler

FD stated that they were dispatched to an apartment fire and upon arrival they found a sprinkler controlled kitchen fire. They said prior to their arrival a Willowfork FD chief had arrived to active fire and water flow alarms, entered the apartment and found the fire extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system. There was minor water damage throughout the apartment but minimal fire damage. The occupant who rents the apartment and lives there with her daughter said that she was home heating a pot of cooking oil in preparation to make some fried chicken. The pot was unattended at times while heating. At some point she stepped out of the apartment. When she re-entered the apartment she saw the black smoke coming from the kitchen. Upon investigation she found the pot of oil had ignited. She placed a kitchen towel over the fire, located her daughter, left the apartment and called 911.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Decorah, IA – Fire sprinklers activate to control dorm room fire; No injuries reported

A fire inside a Luther College dorm in Decorah caused damages but injured no one Wednesday evening.

The Decorah fire department says they were called to Miller hall on Luther’s campus for the fire in the dorm room.

Authorities say they were directed to a room on the second floor of the building, when they got to the room in question there was no one inside, but there was a small burned area in the room.

Firefighters say the sprinkler system inside the hall had been activated and there was smoke found in the building. The sprinkler system was turned off by firefighters and the smoke was ventilated from the room and building.

What caused the fire is still under investigation by the Decorah fire department.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pearland, TX – (no media coverage) Single sprinkler head puts out apartment fire; No injuries reported

January 7, 2020 – The Pearland Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire in the 2500 block of Business Center Drive. Upon arriving department officials discovered that the kitchen fire had been extinguished by the fire sprinkler installed in the building. The fire was contained and extinguished using a single sprinkler head. The apartment suffered minimal smoke, fire, and water damage throughout. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Appleton, WI – Apartment kitchen fire put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Officials credit a sprinkler system for limiting the spread of an Appleton apartment fire. Crews were called to the units along the 400-block of North Richmond Street around 6:00 this morning on the report of a water flow alarm. They found that a fire had started in the vent hood of a microwave–but was put out by the sprinklers. The apartment was vacant at the time and was being cleaned out. No one was hurt. Damage is estimated at 60-thousand dollars.