Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

Bullhead City, AZ – Fire sprinkler activates in two-story apartment garage, saves property; No injuries reported

On May 25, 2020, at approximately 10:05 PM, several BCFD units were dispatched to the report of an alarm sounding in the 1600 block of Havasupai Dr. Engine 761s crew arrived first on the scene reporting a two-story apartment structure.

Several tenants had already self-evacuated advising firefighters that a garage on the lower level was on fire. Crews quickly located the two-car garage, which was filled with smoke. Fortunately, the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system which properly activated a single sprinkler head in the garage area, extinguishing the fire before it was able to spread. All property, including two vehicles that were parked inside of the garage, were undamaged from the fire.

Bullhead City Fire Department attributes the working automatic sprinkler systems to saving lives and property. Because of the location of this fire, it could have very easily extended into the living spaces of the apartments above, causing extensive damage to both lives and property.

No injuries were reported from this incident and the cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albuquerque, NM – Fire sprinklers contain apartment fire to single unit on eighth floor

Albuquerque Fire Rescue is investigating the cause of a fire at a northeast Albuquerque senior apartment complex early Tuesday morning. AFR responded to the Encino Terrace Apartments around 12:21 a.m. in response to a fire alarm however, the call was upgraded to an active fire while crews were en route to the scene.

As crews arrived, apartment residents were already evacuating the 11 story building and told firefighters the blaze was on the eighth floor. A total of 25 AFR units responded to the scene and crews initiated evacuation and fire suppression efforts.

AFR states the building’s fire sprinkler suppression system had put out the fire before crews arrived. A woman who had suffered injuries from the fire was found near the stairwell on the eighth floor by crews.

She was rescued and taken to the hospital. Her condition is unknown. There were no other injuries to residents or fire personnel. Eighteen residents have been displaced as a result of the fire.

The blaze was contained to a single apartment unit. The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

Other - Residential, Residential

Gasden, AL – Sprinkler system helps put out kitchen fire at group home; No injuries reported

A bad situation Saturday morning could have been a tragic one, according to Rainbow City firefighters, when a kitchen fire started in a group home.

Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the home, Nick Hill of the RBC Fire Department said in a press release, and while en route, they received an update that a heat/smoke alarm and a sprinkler system at the home had activated.

Rainbow City Dispatch told firefighters a caller said grease had boiled out of a pot onto a stove, starting the fire.

“Upon arriving on scene we found smoke exiting the structure,” Hill said. Crews went to work to locate anyone who might be in the structure and to battle the blaze, he said.

“Search and Rescue crews found that there was a bed-bound subject within the home,” Hill said. That person was safely brought out of the home.

Fire fighting crews found a small fire on the stove in the kitchen, he said, but thanks to the activation of the sprinkler system, there was minimal damage.

“What fire remained was still burning due to the stove hood blocking the water from the sprinkler,” Hill explained. The fire was extinguished with a dry chemical extinguisher, and crews checked for fire extension into the walls and cabinets.

They found no evidence the fire had spread further.

All occupants in the residence were accounted for and safe, Hill said. Property owners and managers were looking into finding a place to move the occupants until the residence was repaired.

The outcome of this incident, Hill said, can be greatly attributed to the working smoke/heat alarms and the properly working sprinkler system.

Rainbow City Fire Rescue has a smoke alarm installation program to install smoke alarms in the homes in Rainbow City at no charge to the residential property owner, he said.

“This is a program provided by anonymous donors at a state level, ‘Get Alarmed Alabama!’ and ‘The Alabama Fire College,’” he explained.

For any questions about the smoke alarm installation program contact Rainbow City Fire Rescue at (256) 442-2511.

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Fire sprinklers keep fire from spreading at second floor apartment

The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) responded to a reported water flow alarm at the Magnolia Ranch apartments located at 3191 Medical Center Dr., at 1 p.m. on May 17. Units arrived to find smoke alarms going off and water running off the balcony of one of the second floor apartments. Fire sprinklers kept the flames from spreading and firefighters were able to shut the fire sprinkler system down.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

St. Paul, MN – Fire on 10th-floor of residential high-rise contained by fire sprinklers

Hundreds of people were forced from a St. Paul high-rise by a fire on Monday night, but sprinklers helped contain the damage.

The fire started just after 8 p.m. in the 16-story Wilder Park senior high-rise a few blocks from the junction of Interstate 35E and Ayd Mill Road.

Resident Diane Welch said she could hear the fire burning right above her 10th-floor unit as alarms sounded.

“And I knew things were crumbling, because I could hear it in the walls, like if you put sand through a sifter,” she said. 

Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso said that more than 60 firefighters responded to fight the fire and evacuate residents. Paramedics stood by and St. Paul police helped search the building and get residents into waiting buses.

Some residents who could not use the stairs were left in place, due to what the building’s governing board told residents was serious damage to the elevators.

Mokosso said at least some areas in the building had sprinklers and the system had activated. Fire investigators were at the scene on Monday night, trying to determine the cause of the fire.

A high-rise fire at a Minneapolis Public Housing building without sprinklers killed five people in November.

Apartment Building, Residential

Oklahoma City, OK – Apartment sprinkler system puts out fire suspected to be started by a Molotov cocktail

An investigation is underway after an apartment fire officials believe was started by a Molotov cocktail.

Fire crews were called to the West Chase apartments on NW 23rd street near Ann Arbor around 12:30 AM Friday.

A witness on scene said they saw one person running, after placing a Molotov cocktail outside of a building at the complex.

The fire was small and was put out by the apartment’s sprinkler system.

No one was inside the unit at the time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bristol, VA – Apartment kitchen fire controlled by sprinkler system

Five people were rescued Monday night when firefighters responded to a blaze in one unit at Douglass School Apartments in Bristol, Virginia.

Multiple crews arrived at the scene after the fire was reported at 9:17 p.m. at the apartment complex off Oakview Avenue, according to Mike Armstrong, the city’s fire chief.

Firefighters located the fire in the kitchen area of an apartment, where it appeared to have started on a stovetop with some type of combustible material, Armstrong said.

A sprinkler system contained the fire in the apartment where it started, but surrounding apartments still suffered water damage, he said.

A total of five occupants were evacuated from various apartments, and one person was treated for smoke inhalation but was not transported to a hospital, Armstrong said. No other injuries were reported.

Although the fire damage was contained, water damage in other apartments displaced at least two occupants, and the Red Cross is assisting them, he said.

The fire was determined to be accidental, the fire chief said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Iowa City, IA – Sprinkler system contains fire at assisted living facility

Officials said that one person was taken to the hospital after a fire in a unit at a west side assisted living facility on Saturday morning.

At around 12:42 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, the Iowa City Fire Department was sent to a report of a structure fire at Melrose Meadows Retirement Community, located at 350 Dublin Drive. The staff reported a fire in one of the assisted living units.

Firefighters arrived and located the fire, which was being kept under control by a sprinkler system. They were able to extinguish the flames within five minutes.

The person living in the unit was able to be evacuated safely by the staff, and nearby units were also evacuated.

Fire department officials said that one person at the facility was taken to the hospital via ambulance. There was no information given about their condition.

Officials estimate the damage to the building at around $20,000.

The Coralville Fire Department, Iowa City Police Department, and Johnson County Ambulance Service assisted in the emergency response.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Forest Grove, OR – Sprinklers extinguish fire sparked while residents move into new apartment; No injuries

Residents accidentally sparked a fire while moving into their new apartment on Wednesday evening, according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.

The fire at the Jesse Quinn Apartments in downtown Forest Grove occurred in a second floor unit. Firefighters arrived to find the flames had been extinguished by fire sprinklers. Crews then worked to mitigate the water from the sprinkler activation. They found water in two neighboring units and a tap house below.

Investigators say the residents while moving in had set a box on the stove, most likely accidentally turning it on at the same time. The box started to burn as they were bringing additional items up to the apartment.

Firefighters say three apartments are uninhabitable right now. Affected families are being assisted by the Red Cross. The tap house below, The Growler Garage, is closed until water damage can be mitigated and electrical wiring can be assessed, according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters from Cornelius, Hillsboro, and Banks assisted at the scene. Forest Grove police officers and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office also helped.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charleston, SC – Apartment kitchen fire controlled by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Charleston Fire Department (CFD), James Island Fire Department, Charleston County EMS, and Charleston Police Department responded to a fire at the 35 Folly Luxury Apartment building just before 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

According to CFD, dispatch was alerted to the fire by an automatic fire alarm as well as a 911 call from a resident. Crews responded within four minutes of the call.

Upon arrival, firefighters “encountered light smoke and searched the building.” They discovered that a small fire originated in the kitchen of an apartment, and was put out by the sprinkler system. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters “verified the fire had been extinguished, controlled the water to the system, and ventilated the smoke from the building.”