Category Archives: Residential

Apartment Building, Residential

Rexburg, ID – Fire sprinkler controls fire after remote control battery catches on fire; No injuries reported

On Friday around 11 p.m., a fire broke out in the NorthPoint Men’s building.

Witnesses said a remote control car battery ignited in an apartment, prompting residents to call 911. The Madison Fire Department and Rexburg Police Department rushed to the scene.

“My roommate bought a charger for an RC car, and I guess that one of them blew up,” said James Raney, a junior studying communication. “I guess there was a flame in his room. I opened the door and I just saw smoke everywhere.”

Witnesses said flames reached the ceiling.

“The battery caught on fire,” said Logan Wright, a freshman studying mechanical engineering. “We were outside and the water (from the fire sprinkler system) would not stop. I was sitting on the couch and I could hear the thing burning, it sounded like the space shuttle. The flame was up to the ceiling.”

Wright called the 911 to report the fire before evacuating.

“We were dispatched here for smoke in a room,” said Ben Williams, a firefighter for the Madison Fire Department.

Firefighters said they extinguished the fire before it spread. The building was evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Crowds gathered outside questioning why the alarms had gone off. Some guessed it was the result of burnt food, as has happened earlier in the semester.

“This is the third time that this has happened this semester,” claims Jared Davey, a sophomore studying psychology. “The last few time it was because someone actually burned their food and…(had to) air out their apartment.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Ocala, FL – Attic fire at assisted living home extinguished by fire sprinklers

Swift actions by the staff at an Ocala assisted living facility, coupled with fire suppression from a sprinkler system, diffused what could’ve been a tragic situation early Thursday morning.

Ocala Fire Rescue responded at 4:42 a.m. to reports of a commercial structure fire alarm at Ocala Cluster Facility, located in the 3200 block of SE 17 Street. While en route, firefighters were told that residents were being evacuated because light smoke was evident inside the facility, an Ocala Fire Rescue report states.

Upon arrival at the single-story, multi-unit residential structure, fire crews found moderate smoke showing. After making entry into the building, firefighters identified an active sprinkler head in the attic. Pulling ceiling tiles, crews gained access to the sprinkler head and verified the fire had been extinguished, the report says, adding that firefighters also ventilated the building to remove the smoke.

“The urgency with which the facility’s staff evacuated residents was essential to minimizing the effects of this fire call,” Battalion Chief Richie Lietz said. “Thanks to their prompt action, not only were multiple bedridden residents out of harm’s way before our arrival, but they avoided smoke inhalation and trauma from experiencing a fire.”

A building inspector was called to the scene to assess the integrity of the structure. No other injuries were reported. And Marion County Fire Rescue also responded to offer assistance, the report says.

Apartment Building, Residential

Middleborough, MA – Sprinkler system controls fire caused by unattended cooking

Just after 7:00am Tuesday morning, the Middleborough Fire Department received an automatic alarm at the Central Fire Station indicating a heat detector activation, immediately followed by another alarm indicating a sprinkler activation at the Shoe Shop Place, 151 Peirce Street.

Car 91 (Shift Commander), Car 93 (Code Enforcement) and Engine 1 were dispatched from Central Fire Station and Engine 6 from South Station. Upon arrival firefighters encountered a kitchen fire in a first floor apartment that was mostly extinguished by the sprinkler system.

Firefighters extinguished the remaining fire, made sure it did not extend beyond the apartment of origin, and secured the sprinkler system keeping the damage to a minimum.

The five occupants were alerted of the fire from the alarm system and quickly evacuated.

“It appears the fire was due to unattended cooking,” said Middleborough Fire Chief Lance Benjamino. The alarm system and the sprinkler system did their job and the firefighters did a tremendous job at controlling this fire and the damag.”

Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, the chief added, and offered a few cooking safety tips.

Apartment Building, Residential

Mount Prospect, IL – Fire sprinkler keeps fire at 70-unit apartment building in check

Mount Prospect Fire Department Chief Brian Lambel said an alarm inside the building at 701 Huntington Commons Road alerted the fire department to the situation just after 2:30 p.m.

A call then came into the department, reporting smoke in the building.

When firefighters arrived on the scene and discovered the fire was on the third floor, the call was upgraded to a code-4, or confirmed structure fire.

Fire departments from Elk Grove, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines and Elk Grove Township were then dispatched to support the Mount Prospect team.

Firefighters discovered the smoke was originating in a laundry room of the four-story, approximately 70-unit building. A single overhead sprinkler had kept the fire under control and firefighters were able to use an extinguisher to put out the remaining flames.

“The building was ventilated due to smoke on the third and fourth floors,” Lambel said, “Nobody was displaced.”

Arlington Heights Emergency Medical Service Division Chief Rick Manthy said an ambulance took a resident to a local hospital at 3:30 p.m. Citing HIPPA privacy restrictions Manthy was unable to provide further details.

According to Lambel, total apparatus on the scene included five engines, two trucks, five ambulances, five fire chiefs and seven other vehicles.

Lambel explained personnel from three of the ambulances were engaged in ventilation activities, one was on standby for firefighters and one was for evaluation of the patient.

Cause of the fire is under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Shrewsbury, NJ – Sprinkler system puts out dryer fire at assisted living facility

Residents who are part of an assisted living community off Route 35 were temporarily evacuated Thursday evening after a fire broke out in a basement dryer in one of the residential buildings, authorities said.

The incident occurred at Brandywine Living at The Sycamore, according to Facebook post from Shrewsbury Hose Company 1.

The incident was first reported after 6 p.m.

“The fire was quickly extinguished by the sprinklers and our firefighters,” the post said. “An evacuation of the facility was initiated with the assistance of Shrewsbury PD (Police Department), and several Fire and EMS partners were requested for assistance. Damage was limited to the dryer room, and all of the residents were returned to the building.”

The Eatontown Fire Department and EMS, Little Silver Fire Department and EMS, Oceanport Fire Department, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, Monmouth County EMS Task Force and Shrewsbury and Eatontown police departments all responded to the blaze, the post said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Clovis, CA – Fire at senior living facility extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A senior living facility was evacuated for the second time this month as a fire broke out in a residential unit Sunday night.

The fire was put out by the sprinkler system at Solstice Senior Living at Fowler and Shaw avenues around 11 p.m.

The second alarm was called because Clovis Fire officials needed additional resources to evacuate residents who may not be able to get out on their own.

There were no injuries reported.

Fire crews are checking units for any water damage from the sprinkler system.

The first fire that officials responded to on May 10 was for a fire that sparked from a blanket set on a heater. No one was injured in that fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Santa Rosa, CA – Garbage fire minimized by fire sprinkler activation; No injuries reported

Working sprinklers inside a garbage enclosure at a Santa Rosa apartment complex may have helped prevent a much more serious blaze than the one Sunday morning that did about $5,000 in damage, Santa Rosa firefighters said. 

Fifteen firefighters and four trucks responded at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday to the apartment complex in the 1100 block of Fourth Street. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from an enclosed garbage room on the first floor of a three-story apartment building, firefighters said. 

The flames were contained to two dumpsters inside the garbage enclosure, where most of the damage was. Several apartments suffered minor smoke damage. 

Occupants of the building were evacuated for a short time while the fire was brought under control and the smoke removed from the apartments. No firefighters or apartment occupants were injured. 

It took firefighters about 15 minutes to put out the fire. 

A working fire sprinkler in the trash chute likely prevented flames to spread to the floor above the garbage room, firefighters said. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Colorado Springs, CO – Fire sprinkler activation puts out two kitchen fires hours apart

Two small kitchen fires within hours serve as a warning to be careful when using a stove.

“Fortunately, all it was, was burning food,” said Colorado Springs Police Lt. John Koch of the first fire, which started in an apartment on Fountain Boulevard Friday night. “There’s no structure damage, no structure fire, nobody was injured.”

Police and firefighters got the call just after 10 that an apartment was on fire and were at the complex in the 3300 block within minutes.

“When we got here, fire officials had already gone into the apartment and determined that somebody had burned some food on the stove, and as of a result of that burned food we get a reported structure fire,” Koch said.

Due to the quick response, firefighters kept the fire contained to the stovetop.

Just over 12 hours later, a second stovetop fire was reported in an apartment complex, this time at the Casa de Cerro Apartments on Yuma Street. Firefighters say the fire triggered the unit’s sprinkler system, which doused the fire.

Two apartments were still displaced due to water damage.

Experts say either fire could have easily been worse; according to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2012-2016, kitchen fires accounted for 48 percent of all house fires nationwide.

“Pay attention when you’re using your stove. When you’re cooking dinner. All of us have left our stove on at some point, but it’s important that you pay attention,” Koch said.

“We don’t want anyone being injured in a structure fire. Especially in apartment buildings and in high-density places like that. We just ask people: pay attention, remember what you’re doing. Don’t get distracted by your phone or watching TV or Netflix or whatever, and we can avoid stuff like this.”


Apartment Building, Residential

Des Plaines, IL – Sprinkler system keeps apartment fire in check until firefighters arrive

Firefighters from four area departments responded to a six-floor apartment building in Des Plaines to extinguish an apartment fire today (Tuesday).

Deputy Des Plaines Fire Chief Pete Dyer said when firefighters responded to the top floor unit in a building on Brown Street near Laurel Avenue at approximately 11:12 a.m., they found the apartment ablaze with flames “kept in check” by an activated sprinkler system.

Dyer said firefighters hooked a hose into the building’s standpipe system and had the fire under control by 11:40 a.m. He said all residents had evacuated the building by the time firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters from Des Plaines, Niles, the North Maine Fire Protection District and Rosemont responded with fire trucks and ambulances.