Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Williamsport, PA – Fire at senior apartment home triggers fire sprinklers, containing fire to one apartment; No injuries reported

A three-alarm fire broke out late Wednesday night at the Williamsport Manor, 450 Center St., forcing the evacuation of the apartment building’s nearly 100 residents.

There were no reports of any fire injuries, but a few residents were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion or medical-related issues.

Many of the residents are elderly or have to cope with minor medical problems or disabilities.

The fire erupted in a kitchen in an apartment on the fifth floor, the top floor, about 9:15 p.m., fire officials said.

The fire triggered both the building’s fire alarm and sprinkler systems.

A team of city police officers helped more than a half a dozen residents down flights of stairs.

“The fifth floor was starting to fill up with smoke,” one officer said.

The second and third alarm brought additional firefighters and ambulances from South Williamsport, Old Lycoming Township and Montoursville.

The fire was confined to the one apartment, but two apartments on the fourth floor sustained some water damage.

The majority of residents were expected to be allowed back in their apartments by the end of the night, for officials said.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Madison, WI – Overnight fire caused by electric bike controlled by fire sprinklers

A fire that broke out in a garage overnight was contained by an automatic fire sprinkler until firefighters arrived to bring the fire to a complete stop.

Engine Company 14 and other fire companies were dispatched to a condominium complex on Catalina Parkway just after midnight. One resident greeted firefighters and advised that an electric bike was on fire in the garage. The remainder of the building was evacuated as firefighters proceeded to the basement. They found the sprinkler system had the fire under control, and only a small amount of smoke had entered the living space within the complex. Crews extinguished the remaining fire and stopped the automatic sprinkler system.

Investigation determined the homeowner had left the e-bike on a charger for the night, the battery on the bike started on fire, which activated the sprinkler system. Fire damage was isolated to the bike, with slight damage to a workbench nearby.

The owner advised that the electric portion of the e-bike was an aftermarket kit they had purchased on eBay.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Aurora, IL – Fire at assisted living facility extinguished by single fire sprinkler head; No injuries reported

No injuries were reported in a fire that caused $1,000 in damage to an apartment building in Aurora on Wednesday.

According to the Aurora Fire Department, fire fighters were dispatched to the 1300 blk. of E. Indian Trl. at around 1:09 p.m.

Upon arrival, fire crews found a wood frame multi-unit assisted living apartment building with nothing showing from the exterior.

Further investigation found moderate smoke in the common hallway of the building.

The smoke was discovered to be coming from an end unit where a sprinkler head had activated and extinguished a fire that started in the living area.

Staff members attempted to put the fire out, but were unsuccessful.

All residents were able to evacuate when they heard the fire alarm; no injuries were reported to civilians or to fire fighters.

The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

Officials say the unit where the fire occurred sustained minor damage and is still habitable.

Apartment Building, Residential

Yuma, AZ – Apartment fire started by TV set put out by fire sprinklers

Firefighters believe a bedroom television set triggered a fire inside a home at La Posada Apartments Tuesday night. 

According to the Yuma Fire Department, firefighters responded to the apartment located 900 West 30th Street. Authorities arrived at the scene and found that a fire sprinkler head had extinguished a fire inside the bedroom. Two people were inside the apartment at the time of the fire and were able to evacuate safely.

Fire officials believe the fire started in a bedroom television set. The damage reported was limited to items in the immediate area and wall behind the set. 

The American Red Cross assisted the two residents with temporary accommodations. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Secaucus , NJ – Sprinkler system puts out fire at apartment started by 12-year-old boy

A 12-year-old Secaucus boy suffered minor burns and he was charged after police say he set fire to the bathroom of his family’s apartment, Secaucus officials said.

Secaucus firefighters responded to 120 Park Plaza Dr., a new apartment complex near the Walmart and Sam’s Club shopping area, at 10:30 p.m. on June 26, Secaucus police Capt. Dennis Miller said.

By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, Miller said. The apartment suffered severe water damage and three apartments on the floor below also suffered water damage, Miller said.

An investigation, conducted with the assistance of the Hudson County Regional Fire Task Force, revealed that the fire was set on purpose, Miller said.

The boy, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, was charged on July 1 with arson and causing or risking widespread injury or damage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Salvation Army apartment fire put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A small fire at the Salvation Army Castleview Residence at 120 N. Broadway Avenue Tuesday morning forced residents to evacuate and created a mess, according to a firefighter on the scene.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at about 9:30 a.m. and found smoke and water on the fourth floor. They found the source of the smoke in a fourth-floor apartment where the sprinkler system extinguished a fire but flooded several neighboring units in the building.

Fire crews shut off the sprinkler, ventilated the fourth floor and spent about an hour on scene clearing water from the fourth floor.

The smoke and fire damage was limited to the fourth-floor apartment but the first through fourth floors sustained water damage.

No one was injured in the incident and no damage estimate was released.

Other - Residential, Residential

Spring Valley, CA – Sprinkler system puts out house fire ignited by lamp; No injuries reported

Firefighters responding to a house fire in Spring Valley Friday morning came across two guinea pigs swimming for their lives as a sprinkler system doused the flames.

At around 2:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a resident’s report of a fire at home in the 9800 block of Avenida Ricardo.

Responding fire crews entered the structure as the home’s built-in sprinkler system was active and putting out much of the flames.

However, crews saw that the water from the system had soaked two guinea pigs and flooded their cage.

Crews rescued the two guinea pigs and helped safely remove two dogs from the home. The pets’ owners were not home at the time of the blaze.

Fire officials believe a lamp fell near the guinea pigs’ enclosure and ignited some hay next to it.

No animals or humans were injured in the fire, but the home suffered extensive water damage from the sprinkler system.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fayetteville, NC – Fire at apartment complex controlled by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Cheryl Spence didn’t know what to think when she heard a loud boom noise “like a cannonball” on Thursday afternoon as thunderstorms were moving through, then saw smoke coming from a light fixture in her kitchen.

Before she knew it, her apartment on the first floor of Regency Apartments at 505 Regency Drive off Cliffdale Road was engulfed in smoke.

“It scared the dickens out of me,” Spence said. “I had gone in the kitchen to warm me up something to eat. I looked up and saw the smoke coming out of the light fixture. It kept getting thicker and thicker. The firm alarm was going off, too, out there.”

She was among six residents living in four, first- and second-floor units in the complex off Cliffdale Road who were displaced after fires damaged four units.

“We gave them some funds for food and clothing because they needed to replace their clothing,” said Lori Nieves, a disaster team coordinator for the Red Cross.

Nieves said the apartment complex was not the only building damaged by lightning from Thursday’s storm. She said a family who lives in a home on Jenna Shane Drive in Fayetteville also were put up for the night by the Red Cross after their home was damaged by a lightning strike.

Spence and other residents and the manager of the complex say they are convinced that a lightning strike from a passing thunderstorm was the culprit.

“I guess the lightning or whatever (caused the fire),” she said. “The bedroom was damaged. The kitchen was damaged. They had to tear the ceilings out. The outside of the building had some damage where they had to take the vinyl siding off.”

Jamie Everitte, Fire and Life Safety Education officer with the Fayetteville Fire Department, said there were no injuries in the fire, and the official cause of the fires at the complex has not yet been listed. “The investigation is still ongoing,” he said.

He said six people were displaced. The dollar amount of the damage to the units has also hasn’t yet been determined, he said.

″(The units) were damaged by water from sprinkler heads and by smoke, so they are probably not all ready,” he said.

The Fayetteville Fire and Emergency Management Units responded to Regency Apartments on Regency Drive at 5:20 p.m. on Thursday.

The first unit reported smoke in several areas, and firefighters discovered smoke coming from between the first and second floors.

Residents were evacuated as emergency personnel began fighting the fire. A second fire was located in the laundry area of a separate apartment. That fire was controlled by the sprinkler system The Fayetteville Public Works Commission was asked to disconnect power to the units, and the fire was under control by 6:24 p.m.

Spence said she is grateful to the Red Cross for paying for three nights in hotel room for her, as well as food and clothing.

The apartment complex requires renter’s insurance, Spence said, which will be paying for a place for her to stay for several weeks while her unit is being repaired from the fire damage.

Angela Raupp, the manager of the complex, said she is also convinced that lightning cause the fires.

“That’s what we believe,” she said. ”(Spence) is not the only one who told me there was loud thunder before the fire started.”

She said in her 17 years of managing apartments she has never seen a fire caused by lightning damage an apartment building.

“We require residents get insurance in the event of something like this happening,” she said. “Thankfully, everybody was OK. Thankfully, this insurance requirement makes this a little easier on the residents.”

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Apartment fire stopped from spreading by fire sprinkler activation

The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) reports that an apartment fire was stopped by the home fire sprinkler system on Saturday, June 29. MFD received a call about smoke at the Reserve at Stonebridge Ranch Apartments, 2305 Custer Rd. Units arrived to find that fire sprinklers had stopped the fire from spreading beyond the kitchen area. No one was home when the fire broke out. 

“Fire sprinklers have been around for more than a century in public and commercial buildings,” said McKinney Fire Marshal Mike Smith. “That same lifesaving technology is just as effective when it comes to protecting your home.” 

The NFPA reports that unattended cooking is a factor in one-third of home cooking fires and half of the associated deaths.