Category Archives: Single Family Home

Residential, Single Family Home

Owings Mills, MD – Sprinkler system extinguishes arson fire after domestic dispute

A teacher’s aide from Washington, D.C., has been charged with throwing gasoline on her boyfriend and setting his home on fire, Baltimore County Police said Tuesday. Officers were called to the home in the 10800 block of Sherwood Road in Owings Mills just before 5 p.m. Sunday for a report of a domestic situation. While en route, they learned that the home was on fire.

The victim told police that his girlfriend, 29-year-old Lisa Lashell Finley had assaulted him that morning while she was intoxicated, according to court documents. When she went back to his home, he told her he wanted to end their relationship of about two years and told her she could gather her things while he waited in the basement.

He smelled gas and went upstairs to find the stove on but no fire. Finley then threw gasoline on him, according to court documents. Holding a lighter and a can of hairspray, she allegedly threatened to kill him. Police say the man left the home. But when he returned, he found a fire burning inside. A sprinkler system extinguished the fire.

Finley later turned herself in at the Franklin Precinct Monday afternoon. She has been charged with attempted first degree murder, first degree arson and first degree assault. Finley is an educational aide at Anacostia High School, an official with D.C. Public Schools confirmed. She was hired in Oct. 2013. Her current employment status is not known at this time.

Residential, Single Family Home

Petaluma, CA – Sprinkler controls fire in home under construction; Protective cap still in place

A blaze that broke out Thursday inside a three-story home under construction northwest of Petaluma could have been much worse had a sprinkler system not activated and limited the fire’s spread, a fire official said.

“Under different circumstances, it could have been a much larger fire,” said Rancho Adobe Fire Battalion Chief Mike Weihman.  The blaze at 3528 Skillman Lane was reported at about 5:55 p.m. by a neighbor who spotted smoke billowing from the unfinished house.

Weihman said the fire broke out in a first-floor room at the rear of the structure that was being used by construction workers. The room also had an overhead fire sprinkler that activated despite being so new that it still had a dust cover over it. Weihman said water from the sprinkler doused most of the flames, greatly assisting firefighters, who brought the blaze under control within 20 minutes of their arrival on scene.

Residential, Single Family Home

Derry, NH – Sprinkler system helps 14-year-old girl escape intense garage fire

Fire officials say a residential sprinkler system helped knock down an intense garage fire at 3 Alder Court on Monday, and also helped save a 14-year-old girl who was home at the time.The girl was in the basement and unaware of the fire in the attached garage until she noticed water running from the sprinkler system and saw smoke filling the house. After seeing the garage was on fire, she was able to escape, said Derry fire Lt. Jack Webb.The forward progress of the fire in the garage was stopped until firefighters could arrive and extinguish the blaze. “That sprinkler system stopped the fire,” Webb said, adding “it allowed the little girl to get out of the house.”Firefighters were able rescue a small dog that was uninjured, he said. The first call came into the dispatch center at 3:36 p.m. and crews were on the scene at 3:44 p.m., Webb said.When they arrived, the garage was fully involved, with fire above the roof line.Firefighters from four stations responded to the blaze that went to two alarms, Webb said. Crews had to contend with bitter cold and icy conditions. There were also five other calls that occurred in town during the fire, including a major sprinkler system burst at Shaw’s Supermarket.The crews poured a lot of water onto the garage of the two-story Colonial-style house and the fire was declared under control at about 5 p.m., Webb saidCrews remained on the scene until 7:23 p.m. for overhaul and to assist the family members recover their belongings. There was some extension of the fire into the attic and roof of farmer’s porch. The living area of the house received smoke and water damage; it will be uninhabitable until professionally cleaned, Webb said. The family was renting and will stay with relatives temporarily, he said. The garage and its contents are considered a complete loss. Fire loss, including contents of the garage, is estimated at $150,000. A corvette was lost in the blaze, Webb added.The cause of the fire isn’t suspicious and appears to be accidental, Webb said. –

Residential, Single Family Home

Lafayette, CA – Sprinkler system helps stop fire in single-family home, Fire crews rescue dog

Crews responded around 8:45 a.m. to reports of a fire at a house on Kim Road and arrived to find that a sprinkler system inside the home had helped prevent the blaze from spreading, fire Capt. George Laing said.  Firefighters rescued a pet dog from a fire that damaged a hillside home in Lafayette this morning, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman said.

The home’s hillside location and its distance from the nearest fire hydrant made it tough to access and douse the flames, but crews were able to get the fire under control around 9:20 a.m., Laing said.

“All in all, this was a great job by the crews and a save by the sprinkler system,” the fire captain said.

Residential, Single Family Home

Sprinklers limit spread of garage fire to single-family home, no injuries (Fontanta, CA)

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which was reported at 12:25 p.m. in the 7300 block of Kamloops Avenue. The fire apparently started at an exterior fence, spread to the attached garage, and then jumped into a second story bedroom. All of the occupants of the house escaped safely. While inside, they had smelled smoke and went outside to discover the fire in the garage. The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes, and the residence had a sprinkler system which helped protect the second story bedroom, the Fire Department said.

Residential, Single Family Home

Sprinkler system controls house fire, residents evacuate safely (Tucson, AZ)

Capt. Adam Goldberg with Northwest Fire tells KGUN9 that crews responded to the 11,400 block on North Vista Ranch Place near Thornydale and Tangerine Roads for a house fire.  The residents were preparing for a dinner party when they saw fire coming from the microwave. The couple and a neighbor who was over for the dinner were able to evacuate safely and call 911.

Residential, Single Family Home

Residential fire sprinklers protect lives and property from fire (Prescott, AZ)

An afternoon fire erupted in a single family home on July 1st. The residents of the home were not aware that their home was on fire until a neighbor notified them. The fire, which began in the garage, had reached the ceiling when the residents first saw it; however, the installed fire sprinkler activated on the fire, and by the time the fire department arrived, the fire was out. 

The estimated loss from the fire was $1,000, and an estimated $600,000 in building and contents were saved thanks to the fire sprinkler system. The cause of the fire was overheated batteries which were being charged on a work bench. No injuries occurred in the incident.

Residential, Single Family Home

Sprinklers prove worth in house fire (Antioch, CA)

A two-story home caught fire on Tuesday night following what investigator’s believe was a spark near the home’s fuse box. Fire crews were able to put the fire out within minutes.



Residential, Single Family Home

Home fire put out by residential sprinkler system (Portsmouth, NH)

A Thanksgiving Eve fire at an Osprey Drive home was sparked by a lamp and displaced the residents, but sprinklers “saved the house,” said Deputy Fire Chief Carl Roediger. Firefighters were called to the home at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, when one of the residents said he just returned home and found his couch on fire, Roediger said. The fire had been “pretty much put out” by the residential sprinkler system and firefighters removed the smouldering couch from the home, according to the deputy chief.

Residential, Single Family Home

Fire sprinklers prove worth in home fire (Woodinville, WA)

An automatic fire alarm activated just before 3 a.m. on November 3 at an unattended home. Firefighters arrived to the scene and found that the fire, which had started due to a burning candle, had been extinguished by the home’s fire sprinkler system. The development in which the house resided required fire sprinklers installed in each home. There were no injuries reported.